Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com April 25, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 3 This week, I gained new respect for gov- ernments and corporation that collaborate on complex projects. I used to think, "Why can't a commissioner in Massachusetts call up a commissioner in Connecticut, hatch out a good idea, put a handful of their best people on it and come out with a final product that is greater than the effort both sides put in?" Why don't collaborative efforts happen all the time? Now, I know. Here at Worcester Business Journal, we are owned by New England Business Media, which owns two other business-to- business publications: Hartford Business Journal in Connecticut and MaineBiz in Portland. Whenever we would all get together for our annual meeting, the editorial teams would talk about the need to collaborate on stories, so that we could maximize our resources. It seemed so simple, but it never quite came together. Before coming to WBJ, I was the managing editor at HBJ, and I have a solid relationship with the folks in Maine, so I felt con- fident we could finally pull off this collaboration. I covered energy in Connecticut for five years, which is an issue impacting all of New England. So, I figured we could pull off a tri-publica- tion story about the tri-state proposal Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island put together to buy more renewable energy. The end result, you see on the front page of this issue, "Outsourced Ideology." MaineBiz ran its version on April 18, and HBJ is set to run its version in the coming weeks. While I am extremely proud of the final version, I now realize what a diffi- cult task collaboration can be. Yes, all three offices are friendly with each other and generally have the same goals, but we all have various responsibilities and schedules and don't naturally interact on a regular basis. What I originally thought was going to be WBJ publishing a great story at one-third the effort became something of a minor miracle to pull off. I understand why these collaborations don't happen all the time, especially at more complex organizations. Yet, I still see the benefits of when they come together successfully. No, they won't happen all the time, but they should and will happen. -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: In the April 11 article "Brewing Executives," the graphic showing barrels of beer produced yearly transposed the numbers for Wormtown and Jack's Abby breweries. The correct set of numbers correspond to Wormtown and Jack's Abby anticipating 18,500 and 30,000 barrels per year in 2016, respectively. CORRECTION: In the April 11 article "Brownfield complexities cause developer caution" and the editorial "Embrace brownfield development," the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund was incorrectly said to have $75 million in funding. It started with that amount but ended 2015 with $649,462. CORRECTION: An April 11 article "Canal District cannabis" misspelled John Glowik, the CEO of Prime Wellness. A tri-pub story for a tri-state proposal NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 4 Briefing 5 Real Deal 8 Ticker 16 List: Accountants 17 Knowhow 18 Fresh Beginningss 18 Movers & Shakers ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS Workforce development is the focus of this issue. The lead story examines Gov. Charlie Baker's efforts to use vocational technical schools to fill the skills gap in the state. A Nichols College professor lays out how a $1-million gift will enable the school create modern accountants. See pages 12 & 14. 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 "e #wagegap costs MA women $11B annually. We need to #CloseeGapMA via @WBJournal" - Suzanne M. Bump (@MassAuditor), April 12, on the wage gap between the sexes Top Facebook post "Congrats to Holy Cross for being named the 7th best Catholic college or university in the nation!" – Sam Bonacci, April 13, on College of the Holy Cross' ranking on College Choice's list Top Facebook comment "1/2 of Worcester goes to the BBC in Falmouth, so this seems logical. ; )" – Michelle May, April 12, about the British Beer Company opening in Worcester Most read stories on WBJournal.com 1. Niche opening new restaurant in June 2. Growth in craft beer market turns local brewers into leaders 3. Central Massachusetts 2016 brewery guide 4. Worcester Railers have their eye on the corporate prize 5. $5M Hanover Theatre expansion set for summer opening 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 Biz-friendly Metrowest MetroWest communities Natick and Marlborough have found creating a single point of contact for the business community works wonders in enticing economic development. 21 Solar benefits The national Solar Energy Industries Association praises Massachusetts for expanding its net-metering program but warns the new limits will only go so far. Top social story Niche opening new restaurant in June WBJ Facebook post: Niche is in for a big expansion that will see the Fix grow to seating for more than 200 people. The story reached 3,757 people and had 89 reactions, comments and shares on Facebook. 19 Incorporations 20 Flash Poll 21 Editorial 21 Viewpoint 22 Photo Finish

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