Leominster

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.

The parent company of Enterprise Bank, which has branches in three Central Massachusetts communities, saw net income grow 15 percent for its most recent quarter, and 10 percent for the first nine months of 2013.

Residents of North Central Massachusetts can weigh in Monday on the proposed slots parlor in Leominster.

Now that Leominster voters have endorsed the proposal by Cordish Cos. for a slots parlor in the...

With the pot containing the state's lone slots parlor license, three competitors pitched their geographic desirability, ability to fund and quickly construct a facility and their past performance before the state's gaming commission Monday.