Worcester MA

Brian Socha, a former loan officer from Brookfield, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding his employer of nearly $1 million. Socha worked for MassMutual Federal Credit Union. He was sentenced Friday, Feb. 27, in U.S. District Court in Springfield. He was ordered to pay $902,541.15 in restitution,...

The Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission during a Feb. 26 meeting voted to eliminate GLP-1 coverage for state employees and retirees. Chair Valerie Sullivan said removing the coverage would help with managing the budget. She called the vote “a very difficult decision.”. Several commission members opposed the...

A Brazilian national who was living illegally in Worcester has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a large-scale international human smuggling operation that funneled migrants into the United States and moved them across the country, prosecutors said. Flavio Alexandre Alves, also known as...

Massachusetts sheriffs just got hauled into the budget spotlight. On Friday, a state watchdog issued a blistering preliminary review of how the state's 14 county sheriffs plan and spend public money, branding the system "opaque, chaotic and deeply flawed." Investigators say many sheriffs routinely blow past their...

Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro has put the state’s transportation leaders under a harsh spotlight, sending an investigatory letter to Acting Transportation Secretary Phil Eng that flags conflicts of interest and procedural problems in the award of a 35-year MassDOT lease to Applegreen. The move...

When I was young, maybe 6 years old, I recall climbing up a long-retired rusted Minneapolis-Moline tractor at McCray’s Farm in South Hadley, Mass. There, lost in youthful imagination, I envisioned puttering down guess rows in the old tractor’s seat, its diesel motor puffing smoke. At one point,...

The danger comes from numbers. Officials issue warning after destructive forest insect spreads across US region: 'Report any suspected damage' first appeared on The Cool Down .

GRAFTON — On Feb. 25 at approximately 3:42 p.m., the Grafton Police Department received multiple 911 calls reporting a two-car motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Providence Road and Depot Street. Initial reports indicated that one individual had been ejected from a vehicle and was lying in the...

Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough has a new owner, and that handoff is forcing a hard look at what comes next for one of the region’s biggest enclosed shopping centers. After years of dwindling foot traffic and a court‑supervised receivership, most of the property changed hands late last year, with potential futures...

WRENTHAM, Mass. — Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, New England’s largest outdoor outlet shopping destination, is expanding its lineup of food and retail offerings with several new additions set to open now through the summer of 2026. The center announced that Big Chicken, Gong Cha, Fabletics, and Gymboree will...