Worcester Community Foundation Awards $1.47M in New Scholarships

WORCESTER — Greater Worcester Community Foundation has awarded $1.47 million in new scholarships to Worcester County students pursuing college this year, the foundation announced Thursday, Sept. 24.

The foundation distributed an additional $494,000 through existing renewable scholarships to students already enrolled in college. In total, the awards include 247 new scholarships for high school seniors starting college this fall — 145 one-time awards and 102 renewable awards — along with renewable payments to 241 students already in school.

The scholarship program, founded in 1978, now includes 150 funds. Average awards have grown to $2,000 for one-time scholarships and $12,000 for renewable ones, according to the foundation.

The largest scholarship in the foundation’s history was awarded this year through the Becker Scholarship Fund: $104,000 to Michael Sobolewski to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Another Becker recipient, Aedan Gonzalez, received a $68,000 award to attend Assumption University, which will match it with up to $5,000 per year under a partnership with the foundation, bringing his total to $88,000. Vanessa Biddy, a Hoosac Valley High School student, received a $32,550 Grace S. Hampel Becker Scholarship to attend college in Worcester County; the Assumption matching partnership will bring her total to $52,550.

“These scholarships represent the hopes and aspirations of generations of donors who believe deeply in the potential of local students,” foundation President and CEO Pete Dunn said in a statement.

The foundation’s Harold R. Jensen Memorial Scholarship, one of its largest funds, supported more than a dozen students this year, including Nathan Lopez of Worcester, who plans to study biology at Boston University. According to the foundation, Lopez was inspired to pursue cardiology after his younger sister underwent multiple surgeries for a heart condition.

Another of the foundation’s largest funds, the Mary T. Cocaine Scholarship Fund, was established after the foundation received a $4 million gift from the Mary T. Cocaine Trust in 2023, according to the nonprofit news outlet Massnonprofit.org.

This year’s new scholarship recipients come from 66 cities and towns in Worcester County and beyond. More than two-thirds will attend school in Massachusetts, including 44 enrolling at institutions in Worcester County; UMass Amherst, Worcester State University, UMass Lowell, Assumption University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute were among the most common destinations, the foundation said.

Earlier this year, the foundation announced a new Scholarship Emergency Fund to help recipients cover unexpected costs that could otherwise interrupt their education. The foundation is partnering with the national nonprofit Scholarship America to administer the fund, which it expects to launch by the end of the year.

Founded in 1975, Greater Worcester Community Foundation manages a $270 million endowment made up of more than 650 named charitable funds and has awarded more than $186 million in grants, according to the foundation.

Worcester Offers Free Parking Ahead of Weekend Wind Storm

WORCESTER — The city will offer free parking at two municipal lots during an approaching storm, giving residents in flood-prone areas a place to move their vehicles, Worcester officials said Friday, Sept. 25.

The free parking applies to the lot at 40 Highland St. and the McGrath library lot at 40 Salem St., starting at 8 p.m. Friday. Normal rates resume at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, but vehicles already parked in the lots will have until noon Tuesday to leave without being charged.

The offer does not extend to any other municipal garages or lots, which will charge their usual rates, the city said.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for southern Worcester County, in effect until 8 a.m. Sunday, forecasting northeast winds of 15 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph. The weather service said the advisory’s long duration, combined with heavy rain and fully leafed trees, raises the risk of downed tree limbs and power outages, and warned that the winds could make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles.

Rain is expected to move in overnight Friday and continue through the weekend, with the heaviest totals expected on Saturday.

Worcester Council to Hold Hearing on City Charter Review Sept. 28

WORCESTER — The City Council’s Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee will hold a public hearing Monday, Sept. 28, on a review of the city’s charter, the City Clerk’s Office announced.

The hearing is set for 5 p.m. in the Esther Howland Chamber on the third floor of City Hall, 455 Main St. The committee is inviting residents to share ideas and ask questions about a possible charter review, according to a flyer the clerk’s office is distributing in English and Spanish.

Worcester has operated under a modified Plan E charter since January 1987, which established the city’s council-manager government, an 11-member City Council with six at-large and five district seats, and a popularly elected mayor. The charter was last amended in 2022.

The committee has previously discussed two distinct paths for changing the charter: a voter-initiated charter commission, which would require signatures from 15% of registered voters and election of commission members, or narrower amendments pursued through the council or special legislation.

Substantial structural changes, such as altering the makeup of the council, would require the commission route rather than council action, the outlet reported.

Residents unable to attend Monday’s hearing can submit comments to the City Clerk’s Office at clerk@worcesterma.gov.

Four New Brands Coming to Blackstone Valley Shops in 2027

MILLBURY — The Shops at Blackstone Valley announced Thursday, Sept. 24, that four new brands — Caffè Nero, Topcoat Nail Bar & Spa, Lovesac and First Watch — will open at the Central Massachusetts shopping center in 2027.

The four new brands are:

• Caffè Nero, an international coffee house chain;
• Topcoat, a nail and beauty salon brand;
• Lovesac, a modular furniture retailer; will open in two newly built, centrally located buildings at the open-air center. First Watch, a breakfast, brunch and lunch chain, will open in a separate location across the property.

Topcoat and Lovesac will open in two newly built buildings.

The two buildings are part of a nearly 35,000-square-foot expansion first announced in late 2025 by WS Development, the Chestnut Hill-based real estate company that owns the shopping center, according to the Worcester Business Journal. The expansion added 10 retail, restaurant and wellness tenants along with new walkways, landscaping and electric vehicle charging stations.

Yard House, a Florida-based restaurant chain, opened in one of the two buildings this past summer.

The additions follow the previously announced arrivals of Shake Shack and Sweetgreen to the same expansion, along with the recent openings of Apple, Coach, the food hall concept Wonder and the clothing brand Aerie.

Avvio Ristorante, an Italian-American restaurant chain based in Rhode Island, is set to open its first Massachusetts location at the center this fall.

The Shops at Blackstone Valley, at 70 Worcester-Providence Turnpike, spans about 788,000 square feet of leasable space and is billed by its owner as the largest open-air shopping center in Central Massachusetts. Other tenants include Lululemon, Warby Parker, Sephora, Ulta, Barnes & Noble, Kohl’s, Nordstrom Rack, Target and a 14-screen Cinema de Lux theater, according to WS Development.

Image courtesy of the Shops at Blackstone Valley

Mass. OIG Flags Audit Gap in Service Plaza Lease Deal

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General on Tuesday, Sept. 22, issued a required review of the state’s draft contract to redevelop and operate the Commonwealth’s 18 highway service plazas, flagging one “material objection” and recommending stronger audit rights, record keeping, and financial safeguards.

Under state law, the inspector general and the attorney general must notify the Public-Private Infrastructure Oversight Commission within 30 days of any material objections to a draft contract prepared through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s public-private partnership procurement process.

The service plazas project, a 35-year lease covering fuel, food, retail, and parking facilities along the Mass Pike, Route 95/Route 128 and Routes 3, 6 and 24, is the first time the state has used that process for highway facilities.

Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro said the draft contract does not explicitly state his office’s right to audit and investigate the eventual operator, which he identified as the report’s sole material objection. Shapiro’s office also recommended that MassDOT clarify that government access to records extends beyond investigations of noncompliance to include routine audits and reviews.

“The OIG acknowledges MassDOT’s meaningful efforts to use the ‘lessons learned’ from the initial procurement to improve its processes,” Shapiro said in a letter accompanying the report. He said his office was issuing its findings both to fulfill its legal obligation and to help ensure an effective procurement for facilities used by millions of travelers.

Shapiro’s office went beyond its narrow statutory mandate and produced a fuller review of MassDOT’s procurement process. Due to the scale of the project, his office opted for a discretionary full review step was warranted given that this marks the state’s first use of a public-private partnership for highway infrastructure.

That review recommended MassDOT consider requiring a performance bond to guarantee the plazas are properly maintained and handed back to the state in good condition at the end of the lease. Shapiro’s report also reccomended MassDOT adopt stronger record keeping to document project milestones and decisions.

The review follows a failed first attempt to procure an operator.

MassDOT sought a single operator in 2024 to rehabilitate and run the plazas, most of which are over 20 years old, under a 35-year lease with a 10-year renewal option. After a two-stage evaluation of six proposals, the agency’s Board of Directors voted in June 2025 to award the contract to Applegreen LLC over competitor Global Partners LP.

Global Partners sued in Suffolk Superior Court that September seeking to block the award, and Applegreen terminated its contract negotiations with MassDOT roughly a week later, saying the two sides could not agree on a final contract.

The inspector general’s office reported in February that the first procurement suffered from an inadequate conflict-of-interest disclosure form, an apparent employee conflict of interest, contact-rule violations, unclear selection criteria, weak scoring documentation, and other flaws.

MassDOT restarted the process in October 2025, announcing it would split the 18 plazas into three regional groupings and use the new public-private partnership commission structure for its second attempt.

The report released Tuesday found MassDOT has incorporated most of the inspector general’s prior recommendations into the new draft lease and request for proposals, including clearer revenue-sharing terms, operator accountability provisions and a closed, sealed scoring process to replace the live scoring used in the first round.

The report also found MassDOT only partially addressed the audit-clause and record keeping recommendations.

The state’s current service plaza operators — McDonald’s Corp., Gulf Oil and Global Partners — generated roughly $31.2 million in revenue for MassDOT in fiscal year 2023 under leases that expire between December 2025 and June 2027, according to the report. MassDOT has said it aims to have a new operator agreement in place by July 1, 2027, though the inspector general’s office noted the timeline for the oversight commission’s review has already slipped by several weeks.

The oversight commission is scheduled to meet again Oct. 15 before voting on whether to approve the request for proposals.

Image Credit: Kenneth C. Zirkel, McDonald’s at Eastbound Ludlow Service Plaza Massachusetts, CC BY-SA 4.0

BHN to Hold Worcester Listening Session on CHL Transition

WORCESTER — Behavioral Health Network (BHN) will hold a community listening session Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Worcester as it takes over services formerly run by Community Healthlink, the organization announced.

The session takes place at the Central Community Branch YMCA, at 766 Main St, at 5 PM.

BHN executives and community engagement staff will lead the discussion, which is open to the public. The organization intends the session to gauge behavioral health needs in the Greater Worcester area and to introduce residents to BHN’s programs and approach to care.

BHN said it plans to hold additional listening sessions and will post updates on its CHL transition page.

Community Healthlink, a UMass Memorial Health affiliate that has served Worcester County for more than 40 years, announced in April that it would close because of years of financial strain. The agency served roughly 20,000 patients annually for substance use, homelessness, and mental health services.

State regulators approved a plan dividing its programs among several providers, including BHN, which is taking over the Worcester Community Behavioral Health Center. Other organizations receiving programs include Clinical & Support Options, Eliot Community Human Services, Mentor South Bay, Open Sky Community Services, and the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance.

BHN, founded in 1938, is one of the state’s largest behavioral health providers, offering mental health, recovery, crisis intervention, developmental disability, autism and family support services across Massachusetts.

Image Credit; Goog;e

Gardner Man Pleads Guilty to Tampering With Hospice Opioids

WORCESTER — A local man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to tampering with oxycodone meant for hospice and memory care patients at a Fitchburg healthcare facility, federal prosecutors said.

Andrew Milgrim, 41, of Gardner, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product.

U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Jan. 7, 2027. Milgrim was charged in July.

Prosecutors said Milgrim diverted oxycodone from patients in the skilled nursing and dementia care units of the facility between September 2024 and February 2025. He initially took 5-milligram oxycodone pills prescribed for patients on an as-needed basis and consumed them himself instead of administering the doses, according to prosecutors. He then began replacing the missing pills with loratadine, an allergy medication similar in appearance to the oxycodone tablets.

In January 2025, Milgrim also diverted 10-milligram oxycodone pills from an elderly memory care patient and replaced them with levothyroxine, a thyroid medication, prosecutors said.

The charge of tampering with a consumer product provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Mass. Consumers Eligible for Generic Drug Settlement Payouts

BOSTON — Massachusetts consumers who bought certain generic drugs over the past decade may be eligible for compensation under a multi-state antitrust settlement, the Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday.

A federal judge in Connecticut this month granted preliminary approval of a plan to distribute settlement funds from generic drug manufacturers accused of conspiring to inflate prices. Massachusetts joined 47 other states and territories in the case.

Consumers who purchased an eligible generic drug between May 2009 and December 2019 can check their eligibility and file a claim here, by calling 1-866-290-0182 or by emailing info@AGGenericDrugs.com. A list of covered drugs is posted on the settlement website.

The distribution plan draws on roughly $96.5 million in prior settlements with manufacturers Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex and Heritage, along with Heritage’s parent company, Emcure.

The settlements stem from four antitrust complaints the state coalition has filed since 2016 against generic drug makers and executives. The first complaint named Heritage Pharmaceuticals and 17 other corporate defendants over 15 drugs. A second, filed in 2019, targeted Teva Pharmaceuticals and 21 other manufacturers, along with 16 senior executives. A third complaint, the first scheduled for trial, covers 80 topical generic drugs and names 26 corporate defendants and 10 individuals. Attorneys general filed a fourth complaint in February against Novartis AG and Sandoz, and later announced a $400 million settlement in principle with Sandoz.

Investigators built the cases on cooperating witnesses, millions of documents and phone records that they said showed competing executives regularly communicating to divide markets and hold prices steady, using terms such as “fair share” and “playing nice in the sandbox,” according to the complaints.

The following states and territories joined Tuesday’s announcement: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, the Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Healey Marks First Veterans Suicide Awareness Day in Mass.

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey marked the state’s first Military Service Members and Veterans Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day on Tuesday, Sept. 22, a designation she signed into law in 2025 to honor service members and veterans lost to suicide and raise awareness of mental health resources.

Veterans Services Secretary Eric Goralnick and the Executive Office of Veterans Services hosted the first official remembrance ceremony at Memorial Hall in the State House. Families who have lost loved ones to active-duty or veteran suicide joined state leaders, veterans advocates and community partners for the event.

“When our service members come home, we want Massachusetts to set the standard for how we support them and their families,” Healey said in a statement. “That means making sure veterans can get mental health care when they need it, expanding suicide prevention and peer support, and recognizing that women veterans and military families may have different needs and experiences.”

In Massachusetts, one in nine suicides in 2020 involved someone with current or past military service, according to the administration.

“Service members, veterans, and their families face unique pressures—from the demands of military service to difficult transitions, loss, and the challenges of asking for help in a culture that focuses on strength and self-reliance,” said Veterans Services Secretary Eric Goralnick. “Creating a culture in which people feel safe speaking up, checking in on one another, and seeking help without stigma, can strengthen our military community and help save lives.”

Healey’s office says her -Driscoll administration has taken several other steps aimed at veteran suicide prevention:

• Signed the HERO Act, which expanded access to outpatient behavioral health treatment and increased benefits for disabled veterans.
• Strengthened the Statewide Advocacy for Veterans Empowerment program and established a Suicide Mortality Review Committee to identify risk factors.
• Awarded $2 million to 15 community organizations for behavioral health and peer support programs.
• Trained Veterans Services Officers and distributed firearm safety devices carrying crisis line information through a statewide lethal means safety initiative.
• Launched a $20 million campaign to end veteran homelessness that has helped more than 1,000 veterans secure housing.

State agencies will hold the annual Governor’s Challenge conference on suicide prevention this week.

Worcester Schools Hold Steady in 2026 Accountability Data

WORCESTER — Worcester Public Schools retained its overall state accountability classification of “not requiring assistance or intervention,” with a designation of “making moderate progress toward targets,” according to 2025-26 school year data released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Of the district’s 44 schools that received accountability classifications, 31 were designated as not requiring assistance or intervention, while 13 were classified as requiring assistance or intervention.

Four Worcester elementary schools — Columbus Park, McGrath, Midland and Worcester Arts Magnet — were named Schools of Recognition for 2026, a designation the state gives each year to a limited number of schools showing notable progress toward accountability targets, with particular emphasis on achievement and growth in English language arts and math.

The state’s accountability ratings rely heavily on student performance on the MCAS exam. Statewide, MCAS scores declined in English language arts and held flat in math this year. Worcester’s results largely mirrored that pattern, with scores remaining flat in grades 3-8 and declining in grade 10. A 2024 ballot initiative removed a passing MCAS score as a requirement for high school graduation.

Superintendent Brian E. Allen said the accountability data helps the district identify where to focus its efforts.

“Accountability data gives us the urgency to look under the hood,” Allen said in a statement. “State testing gives us one piece of the picture. We must stay the course with our core academic strategies, focusing on areas that are working well, and pinpointing learning gaps to target support where it’s most needed.”

The accountability report also shared the following information for Worcester Public Schools as a whole:

• The four-year graduation rate remained at about 86%, the same as the year prior. The statewide average is 89%.

• The dropout rate remains unchanged from the year prior at 2% in 2026.

• The advanced coursework rate increased from about 52% in 2025 to 54% in 2026.

• English Learners in grades 1-8 exceeded targets on English language proficiency attainment, gaining 7 points since the prior year; high school students declined by 3 points in this area.

• The chronic absenteeism rate remains essentially unchanged from the year prior: 19% for grades K-8 and 34% for grades 9-12.

District-wide MCAS scores show the following:

• English Language Arts, grades 3-8, meeting or exceeding expectations:

  • 2026: 25%

  • 2025: 26%

• English Language Arts, grade 10, meeting or exceeding expectations:

  • 2026: 26%

  • 2025: 33%

• Math, grades 3-8, meeting or exceeding expectations:

  • 2026: 24%

  • 2025: 24%

• Math, grade 10, meeting or exceeding expectations:

  • 2026: 20%

  • 2025: 24%

School-Level Summary

• Of the 44 district schools subject to accountability designations, four schools “met or exceeded targets,” 19 made “significant progress,” 18 made “moderate progress,” and 3 made “limited or no progress” toward their 2026 targets.

• 21 schools increased their overall accountability scores from last year. The following schools increased by at least five percentage points:

  • Flagg Street Elementary

  • Lake View Elementary

  • Wawecus Road Elementary

  • Midland Street Elementary

  • Worcester Arts Magnet Elementary

  • Columbus Park Elementary

  • McGrath Elementary

The following schools met 75% or more of their annual progress targets in 2026.

• Columbus Park Elementary School: 98% of targets met in 2026

• Worcester Arts Magnet School: 90% of targets met

• Flagg Street Elementary School: 89% of targets met

• Francis McGrath Elementary School: 89% of targets met

• Worcester Dual Language Magnet School: 80% of targets met

• Elm Park Elementary School: 78% of targets met