Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/663568
www.wbjournal.com April 11, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 3 "Beer and pot on the cover? Sounds like my kind of front page." Associate Art Director Mitch Hayes kicked off quite the newsroom chuckle last week when he summed up the main sub- jects of our two cover stories this issue. The first from Digital Editor Sam Bonacci looks at how market demand has led to the rapid ascension of beer lovers turned exec- utives of three of Central Massachusetts craft breweries. The second, from Staff Writer Laura Finaldi, examines the placement of medical mari- juana dispensaries throughout Worcester and the impact on the entertainment destination the city is trying to create. While these stories have many complexities and are good market intelligence for the business-to-business audience, when I relayed to Mitch where to place each story in this issue – as I typically do – I described each story in a single word to use as our shorthand as the paper goes through production. Thus, Bonacci's story became known as "Beer," and Finaldi's story became known as "Marijuana." It was only when Mitch summed up over cover subjects so hilariously I realized these vices would dominate the beginning of the issue – an issue, by the way, focus- ing quite heavily on green businesses in the inside pages. In these days of chasing digital pageviews and social media shares, an easy cheat to bump your traffic is to write about vices like weed and beer. For one reason or another, stories about drugs, alcohol and sex attract larger audiences. While we want our stories to be well-read, as a business-to-business journal, we are more concerned about reaching our core audience, which is Central Massachusetts business owners and executives. Jumps in traffic are nice, but our goal is to provide this core audience with the knowledge necessary to grow their businesses and profits. So, even though our cover subjects this issue are weed and beer, they successfully accomplish our core objective by: provid- ing examples of how to handle rapid growth when your skill set doesn't match your new responsibilities; and presenting the conflicts that arise when newcomers disrupt your core vision. -Brad Kane, editor This Week In The WBJ Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920- 9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are avail- able for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsi- bility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal • 172 Shrewsbury Street • Worcester, MA 01604 • 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a March 28 story entitled "Space Age expanding with efficiency" inaccurately stated Sterling manufacturer Space Age Electronics makes parts for residential security systems. Space Age primarily manufactures in the commercial fire detection and notification space. Weed and beer NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 4 Briefing 5 Real Deal 8 Ticker 19 List: Green buildings 21 Rainmaker 22 Networking/Events 23 Fresh Beginnings 25 Knowhow ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS This issue's showcase is green business, from an MIT-startup-turned-Danish-company trying to gain a foothold in Framingham in the Shop Talk on page 8 to features on brownfields and solar financing in the focus section to advice on sustainable design in the 10 Things column in the Know How section. See pages 8, 12 & 25. From WBJournal.com to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, the Worcester Business Journal offers breaking news and thoughtful analysis throughout the Internet. Tweet of the week "ank you @WBJournal for highlighting manufacturing—integral to the #MA economy—and congrats to the other winners!" - Coghlin Companies (@coghlin_cos) March 30, on the WBJ Manufacturing Excellence Awards Top Facebook post "ere is great news from Worcester startup Skyscope that has not only been acquired, but will retain all its employees and keep its offices in the city." – Sam Bonacci, April 5, about Skyscope Top Facebook comment "is is exactly what Worcester needs. Young, forward-thinking entrepreneurs who will build real business and modern industry in our city. City council take note of this and the possibilities for Worcester. Congrats!" – Eric Butler, April 5, about Skyscope Most read stories on WBJournal.com 1. Auburn Mall to get movie theater, restaurant in 2017 2. Wachusett Brewery launches national line of alcoholic seltzer 3. Restaurant group nabs Bull Mansion for $480K 4. Shrewsbury company fined $31K for wage violations 5. 100-room Worcester hotel to open Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wjournal.com Digital Editor, Sam Bonacci, sbonacci@wbjournal.com (Real estate, construction, retail) Staff Writer Laura Finaldi, lfinaldi@wbjournal.com (Health care, manufacturing, energy, technology, higher education, finance, nonprofits) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, sshalhoub@wbjournal.com Livia Gershon Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Account Manager Daniel Pelletier, dpelletier@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com CFO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Kim Vautour, kvautour@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com Group Publisher, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com WBJournal .com Worcester Business Journal Online 6 Accounting growth Westborough accounting firm AAFCPAs has grown significantly in the past year by providing value to its clients and focusing on new products. 29 Voke/tech education Timothy P. Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, advocates for the state and the region to push more vocational and technical education. Top social story Auburn Mall to get movie theater, restaurant in 2017 WBJ Facebook post: It's official: The Auburn Mall is getting a 10+ screen movie theater and a restaurant. The story reached 38,285 people and had 1,928 reactions, comments and shares on Facebook. 26 Movers & Shakers 26 Accolades & Honors 27 Incorporations 28 Flash Poll 29 Viewpoint 29 Editorial 30 Photo Finish