Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | May 24, 2021 | wbjournal.com Stop by our new Shrewsbury branch at Lakeway Commons | 193 Boston Tpke Earn $300 1 when you open a new Free Business Checking or Complete Business Checking account by May 28, 2021 Earn $250 2 when you open a new personal checking account by May 28, 2021 Take advantage of one of our GRAND OPENING OFFERS To learn more, visit one of our branches or give us a call at 508.719.8857. 1. Limited to one bonus maximum amount of $300.00 per common ownership or customer. Businesses which currently own or have had a Rockland Trust Business Checking account within the 90 days prior to the account open date are not eligible. Rockland Trust employees are also not eligible. To be eligible for the $300 bonus you must open a new Free Business Checking or a new Complete Business Checking account with an initial account opening deposit of $1,000 of new money to Rockland Trust between March 29, 2021 and May 28, 2021. Initial account opening deposits funded by loans from Rockland Trust do not qualify. The bonus will be paid directly to your account by August 31, 2021. Account must be open and have a positive balance at the time the bonus is credited. Bonus payment will be reported to the IRS for the tax year in which it is paid. For new accounts funded by new money to Rockland Trust. Offer may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. Business checking account must be opened at our Shrewsbury branch location. 2. Limit one promotional personal checking account per household. Individuals who currently own or have had a Rockland Trust checking account within the 90 days prior to the account open date are not eligible. Rockland Trust employees are also not eligible. To be eligible for the $250 bonus you must open a new checking account between March 29, 2021 and May 28, 2021 and use your new Rockland Trust Debit Card to make at least 20 purchases of $10 or more within 60 days of your account opening date. ATM transactions do not qualify. The bonus will be paid directly to your account by August 31, 2021. Account must be open and have a positive balance at the time the bonus is credited. Bonus payment will be reported to the IRS for the tax year in which it is paid. Checking account must be opened at our Shrewsbury branch location. Offer not valid for Renew Checking accounts. Offer may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. Receive $250 by August 31, 2021 when you open a new personal checking account use your new Rockland Trust Debit Card to make at least 20 purchases of $10 or more within 60 days. B R I E FS T H E T I C K E R 2,035 Opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts in 2020, a new record high following three years where deaths had been slightly falling. Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health $16M Source: XL Fleet Corp. Acquisition price of Worcester electric vehicle charging equipment company World Energy Efficiency Services, by XL Fleet Corp. of Boston Date of first Worcester Railers Hockey Club home game in almost 18 months, as well as the day the College of the Holy Cross will play the first-ever football game at Polar Park Oct. 23 Sources: College of the Holy Cross, Worcester Railers Sale price of Fitchburg manufacturer Micron Solutions' main facility on Sawyer Passway, which the company agreed to lease back over a 10-year term $3.8M Source: Micron Solutions Report: Marijuana host communities received $2.5M in unlawful fees Advocates, lawmakers and former regulators urged a legislative committee on May 18 to provide more oversight of required contracts between municipalities and marijuana businesses, arguing that the system continues to be exploited by some cities and towns, which creates a barrier for small and minority owned businesses to get started in the industry. e issue of host community agree- ments has been one fraught with tension as people in the industry have argued for years that negotiations are oen "one-sid- ed," with municipalities having leverage. e result, according to testimony giv- en to the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, are agreements that oen violate the limits put on how much cities and towns can charge marijuana businesses for traffic, public safety and other impacts they have on a community. e committee held a hearing Tuesday on nine bills focused on host commu- nity agreements, returning to an issue the House tried to address with legisla- tion it passed last February, before the COVID-19 pandemic put most other issues on the back burner. Many of the bills would make it clear that payments are not to exceed 3 percent of gross sales and give the Cannabis Control Commission explicit authority to review and enforce the terms of host community agreements. Some who testified also asked for the CCC to provide clarity on how community impact fees can be spent. State law requires the fees must be "reasonably related to the costs imposed upon the municipality by the operation of the marijuana establishment," but a study released Tuesday found that cannabis companies have paid at least $2.46 million more than required under law, and that communities oen have no plan for how to spend the money they collect. at report, which was paid for by the Cannabis Business Association and conducted by Jeffrey Moyer of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, reviewed 460 host community agreements. "A significant proportion of the agreements we analyzed required additional payments from business beyond the legal limit, amounting to an excess of at least $2.46 million whether through reimbursements, local charity donations, so-called 'community benefit payments,' or donations of employee time to education efforts," Moyer said. WooSox sell out inaugural game at Polar Park In an event in the works since 2018 that likely would have been a sellout regardless of capacity, the Worcester Red Sox first home game May 11 at the $160-million stadium in the Canal District sold out. All 2,377 available seats were spo- ken for in advance of the first game at the 9,508-capacity Polar Park stadium. Attendance at the minor league baseball game against the Syracuse Mets had to be capped at 25% of the stadium's limit due to the state's regulations aimed at curtail- ing the coronavirus pandemic. Among the high-profile attendees were Pedro Martinez, the Hall of Fame pitcher from the Boston Red Sox; Jim Rice, the Hall of Fame outfielder from the Boston Red Sox; Bob Cousy, the Boston Celtics Hall of Famer; and Joe Torre, the chief baseball officer for Major League Baseball. Singer James Taylor and his son Henry sang the national anthem. e three men most responsible for the WooSox relocating from Pawtucket, R.I. to the Canal District -- Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus, WooSox Chairman Larry Lucchino, and devel- oper Denis Dowdle -- were among the honorees at the game on Tuesday, along with Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, and architect Janet Marie Smith. e WooSox won the game 8-5. e team's second game at Polar Park also sold out at 2,377. Hologic commits $20M to equality initiative Marlborough medical device man- ufacturer Hologic has announced a $20-million commitment to Project Health Equality, a new initiative aimed at addressing health inequities for Black and Hispanic women. e program seeks to address structural and cultural barriers preventing Black and Hispanic women in the U.S. from receiving the same quality health care as white women, according to a release from the company. It will focus initially on how health care is experienced by thousands of Black and Hispanic women in regions across the United States and then leverage Continued from Page 5 WooSox players (from left) Jarren Duran and Jeter Downs at the team's first game at Polar Park.

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