Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | September 26, 2016 | wbjournal.com B R I E F S Worcester granted eminent domain powers An urban revitalization plan covering 118 acres in downtown Worcester has been approved by the state, opening up the city to leverage the power of eminent domain on 24 properties. The state Department of Housing & Community Development had approved the plan on Sept 15. The objective of the plan is to keep development moving along, focusing on underused properties such as brownfields and upper floors of downtown buildings that have remained vacant for more than 20 years, according to the city. The plan enables the city to take prop- erty from certain owners through the eminent domain process and sell them to other developers. According to city officials, this is a last-ditch effort, but one the city is willing to undertake. Dell to cut 2,000 EMC jobs Following the Dell Technologies pur- chase of EMC this week, between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs at the Hopkinton firm will be cut, according to a Bloomberg report relying on anonymous sources. That report from Bloomberg Technology said reductions will be made later this year among mostly U.S. employees in areas including adminis- tration and marketing as the company looks to achieve cost savings of $1.7 bil- lion in the first year and a half following the merger. Private jet fleet relocating to Worcester Rectrix Aviation – Massachusett's largest private jet service – will relocate its fleet to the Worcester Regional Airport after selecting the location as its maintenance base-of-operations. The jets will be housed at the compa- ny's new Aerodrome facility that opened in November. The airport offers access to the Boston market as well as the companies increas- ingly moving to the MetroWest and Worcester area, said Cawley. The jets had previously been housed in Hanscom Air Force Base. The Rectrix footprint at ORH encom- passes approximately 50,000 square feet of hangar and office space. T H E T I C K E R $14 Amount that National Grid's residential customers can expect an increase to their monthly natural gas bills this winter. Portion of Massachusetts residents without health insurance, the lowest in the nation 2.8% Amount the state could save in 2025 through the use of energy storage, allowing customers to only use energy when it is at its cheapest price. $800M The unemployment rate in Massachusetts in August, the lowest level since 2001 3.9% Continued from previous page BAKE YOU COOKIES. WE BRING YOU SO M E NE I GHBORS Member FDIC Member DIF Allow us to introduce you to Kasasa ® . It's free checking that rewards you each month for doing the things you already do. Like going paperless, swiping a debit card instead of writing a check, and having direct deposit. You can also link a Kasasa Saver ® account for additional benefits. So what are you waiting for? Learn more today at countrybank.com/personal/kasasa-cash-checking Source: National Grid Source: U.S. Census Source: Baker Administration Source: Executive Office of Labor & Workforce Development

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