Retail

The City Council will be asked Tuesday night to approve the $1.3-million sale of the Worcester County Courthouse to a development group to pave the way for a $53-million redevelopment project.

Two top executives at TJX were the highest paid in Central Massachusetts last year, with the retailer's CEO and executive chairman each earning around $20 million.

Proponents of a major sales tax cut and supporters of a $15 minimum wage and a paid family and medical leave proposal say they've gathered more than enough signatures to advance their proposals.

A 48-unit housing development with commercial and retail space has been proposed for a site next to The Lofts at Loomworks and Royal Worcester Apartments.

Sometimes timing is everything. Massachusetts retailers are buoyant about the impending holiday shopping season, heartened by a favorable calendar that gives shoppers five full shopping weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

T.J.Maxx and HomeGoods open Thursday at Milford Crossing, the first major tenants to open at the remade shopping center.

TJX saw net income rise 17 percent in the third quarter, hitting $641 million, on a sales increase of 6 percent to $8.8 billion, the Framingham retailer announced Tuesday.

With the election of Yvonne Spicer, the community once dubbed America's largest town sees new opportunities once it becomes a city in January.

At first, it looks to be an imagination at work, or maybe the doings of ghosts: groups of tall shelves stacked with packages of clothing and moving entirely on their own.

MassDevelopment, the state's development arm, is seeking developers for a largely unused building at 526 Main St. in downtown Worcester.