Retail

Spurred by millions in hotel tax collections and efforts by city officials to create a more well-rounded city, Marlborough is moving on from being a haven for major employers through new retail, residential and visitor developments.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo said lowering the tax rate now, after a prolonged recovery, would put Massachusetts in a "precarious financial situation."

Ever wonder how sports championship merchandise hits retail stores so soon after a victory? If you bought a Patriots Super Bowl winning T-shirt or hat right after the big game this past February, you may have Bay State Apparel to thank.

There may be a major tax cut competing with the significant tax increase that's already being prepared for the 2018 ballot in Massachusetts.

Construction has begun on the first phase of what will be a 114,000-square-foot office or medical building at the Apex Center of New England, a 43-acre development on Route 20 in Marlborough.

Senate President Stan Rosenberg joined his House counterpart in questioning whether the treasurer's office should retain full control over the regulatory body that will enforce legalized marijuana sales.

Communities are urging lawmakers to let them restrict or prohibit commercial marijuana sales by a vote of the municipal legislative body, rather than a community-wide referendum.

Our state's alcohol statutes, which were put in place in 1933, lack the cohesiveness that businesses and the ABCC require to operate efficiently and effectively.

Since it opened in May 2014, the city of Fitchburg has generated nearly $2 million in hotel occupancy tax from Great Wolf Lodge, including just over $1 million in 2016 alone.

New spaces along the edges of the center's towers are envisioned as restaurants and other retail uses that will enliven a development with 642,000 square feet of space – almost 30 percent of which is vacant.