Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | January 21, 2019 | wbjournal.com T H E T I C K E R $100,000 Total donation from Middlesex Savings Bank in Natick to the Discovery Museum in Acton Source: Middlesex Savings Bank First-quarter revenue decrease for Marlborough-based ReWalk Robotics due to a slow product-to-market speed 16% Source: ReWalk Robotics 204 Source: NRP Group Apartment units to be built on a 114-acre site in Berlin by Ohio-based NRP Group Grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to Battery Resourcers in Worcester for a zero-waste recycling system of electric vehicle batteries $174,000 Source: Massachusetts Clean Energy Center B R I E FS Continued from previous page Community Foundation CEO to retire in June Ann Lisi, president and CEO of the Greater Worcester Community Foun- dation, will retire at the end of June. A search committee has been formed to find a replace- ment for Lisi, who has led the organi- zation as executive director since 1992. She joined the foundation in 1989 as a program officer. Lisi leaves the organization aer it grew from $24 million to now over $155 million with more than 550 named funds that award nonprofits up to $8 million annually. She's credited with leading several initiatives and programs including nonprofit management, diversity, lead- ership and creativity. Plan for 700 Westborough homes moves forward A long-planned redevelopment of the former Westborough State Hospital is closer to reality aer a $7-million sale of the site. e property, which was owned by the town, was bought by Atlanta home builder Pulte Homes. e most recent plans call for de- molishing the site's existing buildings and constructing 14 buildings with 700 over-55 housing units. Sentinel owner making play for USA Today Digital First Media, the owner of daily newspapers in Fitchburg, Lowell and Boston, has made an offer to buy USA Today publisher Gannett. e move would put one of the nation's largest daily publications in the same hands as Fitchburg's Sentinel & Enterprise, along with roughly 200 oth- er publications. Gannett publishes USA Today and daily publications across the country, from the Arizona Republic to the Burlington Free Press. Becker adding animal care dual degree Starting this fall, students at Becker College in Worcester studying animal care will be able to earn an associate degree in that field and get a bachelor's degree in four years. e new program allows students to more easily combine degrees in animal care with those in business, criminal justice, forensic science or psychology, as much as a year sooner otherwise. Julie Bailey, the dean of Becker's School of Animal Studies and Natural Sciences, said those four bachelor's degree programs were chosen because they were most popular with students studying animal care. State rejects Charlton marijuana bylaw A $100-million marijuana cultiva- tion facility was handed another legal win in January as Charlton grapples with its proposed 1-million-square- foot cultivation facility. A general bylaw brought by a citi- zens petition and approved at an Octo- ber town meeting required selectmen to obtain town meeting approval for host community agreements. at law was partially struck down by the state Attorney General's Office. In a letter to the town, Assistant Attorney General Margaret Hurley called parts of the bylaw unreasonably practical because it conflicts with state law governing the marijuana indus- try, which states a town's board of selectmen are the body approving host community agreements. Brewery, arcade negotiat- ing Union Station leases The Worcester Redevelopment Authority is moving forward on lease negotiations with a nanobrewery for Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co. and arcade bar and restaurant Quarters for about 8,000 square feet of vacant space in the Union Station garage. "We feel these are good uses for the backside of that garage," Chief Devel- opment Officer Michael Traynor told the board. Boston Scientific settles patent dispute for $180M Marlborough biotech Boston Scientific and California competitor Edwards Lifesciences resolved a patent spat in all courts around the world. All pending cases or appeals in courts and patent offices will be dis- missed with a one-time $180 million payment from Edwards to Marlbor- ough-headquartered Boston Scientific. e patent disputes between the firm included transcatheter aortic valves, mitral valve repair devices and le atrial appendage closure devices. Hudson pot retailer Temescal opens e Cannabis Control Commission made it eight marijuana retailers that are licensed to sell cannabis products in the state aer notifying Temescal Wellness that it can open its Hudson and Pittsfield stores. e company previously got approv- al from the Worcester Planning Board to grow and manufacture adult-use cannabis products at an 18,000-square- foot facility. Temescal Wellness is also planning a Framingham retail location. Insulet to switch CFO after Acton move Insulin management systems Insulet Corp., which moved from Billerica to Acton in December, has hired a new chief financial officer. Wayde McMillan, a 20-year veteran of finance and accounting, will offi- cially take over March 1 from Michael Levitz. McMillan will join the compa- ny in February with Levitz remaining in an advisory capacity. McMillan boasts a career with multi-billion dollar companies and small start-up ventures. McMillan's arrival comes shortly aer CEO Shacey Petrovic assumed the top role in the company effective Jan. 1 aer outgoing CEO Patrick Sullivan's retirement. Winery to open in Higgins Armory Cra beer seems all the rage, with dozens of breweries opening every year in Massachusetts, with new wineries far between. Chris Simpson hopes to change that story by opening a winery in a 1,200-square-foot space in the Higgins Armory in Worcester. Simpson is calling his company Sail to Trail WineWorks, which will develop wines via partnerships with vineyards on the West Coast and in Texas. e products will then be shipped to the Worcester tasting room and bottled for the wine drinker's kitchen table. Julie Bailey (left), dean of Becker College's School of Animal Studies and Natural Sciences Ann Lisi, CEO of the Greater Worcester Community Foun- dation

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