Leominster

David McKeehan, the only president and CEO in the 30-year-history of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, will retire at the end of the year, the Fitchburg-based organization announced today.

HealthAlliance Hospital of Leominster has laid off four employees, and executives are evaluating the need to cut for more, according to Interim President Michael Cofone.

Leominster-based Wachusett Wealth Management has been acquired by a Woburn firm, the two companies announced today.

The state gaming commission has picked Plainville over Leominster and Raynham for the one slots parlor license mandated in the 2011 gambling expansion law.

Lowell-based Enterprise Bancorp Inc., which has branches in Acton, Fitchburg, Leominster and Westford, reported annual net income of $13.5 million for 2013, a 9-percent increase over 2012, in a milestone year for loan growth, according to an earnings statement.

Voters in Milford yesterday said “no dice.” No blackjack or slots either. In fact, there was nothing ambiguous about the denial they delivered yesterday to the developers of the proposed resort casino near the junction of Interstate 495 and Route 16.

UMass Memorial Health Care is bracing for layoffs as well as other cost-cutting measures in the face of a projected $57-million operating loss for its recently completed fiscal year.

Three of the least safe Bay State hospitals are located in Central Massachusetts, according to a report compiled Wednesday by a nonprofit.

Casino backers touted the economic benefits a $200 million slots parlor could provide to the North Central Massachusetts region, while opponents expressed concerns about traffic and property values yesterday at a public forum in Lancaster.

Having secured host community agreements and votes of approval, the three slots parlor applicants are reaching beyond the borders of the municipalities where they hope to locate and seeking to wrap up agreements with neighbors before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awards the lone license.