Small Business

Inequalities in the industry persist, and large multistate operators continue to dominate the cannabis market, even in the face of several Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission programs designed to give certain groups of people a leg up in entering the industry.

Having risen to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic in June and July, business confidence took a step back in August as Massachusetts employers dealt with waves of Delta variant cases, worker shortages and supply chain disruptions, Associated Industries of Massachusetts said.

The Worcester Region Chamber of Commerce announced on Tuesday the 28 professionals selected for its 7th annual Leadership Worcester class.

A strong outlook among manufacturers and a sense among all employers that economic conditions are improving helped drive business confidence up in July to a level not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Associated Industries of Massachusetts said.

BlueHive Group of Worcester, the parent company behind BlueHive Exhibits, continental Woodcraft, Trigon Creative and Lime I&D Services, announced on Tuesday it has launched a new brand called Bee Ready Graphics.

Count Gov. Charlie Baker among those uninterested in reversing the state's decades-old ban on "happy hour" drink promotions, even if that position makes him, as he put it, "a stick in the mud."

Before the program closed earlier in July, 306 Central Massachusetts businesses received more than $65.6 million in coronavirus federal aid from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, according to data from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Praising hairdressers, salon professionals and other personal care workers as "uniquely able" to identify signs of domestic violence, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan urged lawmakers Monday to launch a statewide training program so those workers are better equipped to support clients in crisis.

Sixteen months after COVID-19 first shuttered many businesses and other physical spaces and forced a shift in the way people think about work, a new state report released Tuesday concludes that the changes may shift the "center of gravity" in Massachusetts away from its urban cores and that high costs of living and doing business create a risk of future job growth moving out-of-state.

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce released the first Regional Economic Development Plan in 25 years on Monday outlining an extensive economic development strategy focused on unifying the region by improving connectivity, developing the workforce, and attracting visitors.