$2.6M
The state attorney general's office announced it has reached a $2.6 million settlement with a Leominster-based ambulance company. MedStar Ambulance Inc., along with its parent corporation and affiliates, settled with the office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell to resolve allegations that the company submitted false claims to MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. MedStar provides services to several Central and Western Massachusetts cities and towns including Worcester, Fitchburg and Leominster. Campbell's office contended that the company knowingly submitted false claims to MassHealth for emergency ambulance services when only a less expensive level of service was provided.
1,200
A new Mexican express restaurant is now open at the DCU Center. Toro Loco Taqueria now occupies the 1,200-square-foot space located at Foster and Commercial streets. The spot was previously the home of Glazy Susan Specialty Doughnuts, which closed in January. The new Mexican eatery is owned by Miguel Perez and his wife, Denise Medina. The menu is based on family recipes that originate from their upbringing in Union de Tula, a town in Jalisco, Mexico. Hours are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
35
The Christmas Tree Shops location that has been at Olde Shrewsbury Village in Shrewsbury for more than 35 years closed Saturday, together with the store's branch in Hyannis. In the 1950s, Mark and Alice Matthews opened The Christmas Tree Gift Shop in Yarmouth Port. The chain's successive owners were Charles and Doreen Bilezikian, Bed Bath & Beyond and Handhil Holdings LLC. The chain filed bankruptcy in May. Built on 22 acres on the Shrewsbury-Northborough line at Routes 9 and 20, Olde Shrewsbury Village, at 1000 Boston Turnpike, opened with 40 stores and two anchors, Christmas Tree Shops and Calverts.
195
Signs indicating a contractor is beginning work on the demolition of the vacant building at 195 Mill St. were visible in front of the building recently. The building, the former site of a Big D and Price Chopper supermarket, features two prominent posters saying Bellingham-based demolition company Regional Industrial Services Corp. would be conducting the demolition. Vacant for two decades, the property has been a regular issue for city councilors and a recurring issue during election years, with city councilors lamenting the property becoming an "eyesore" and a missed opportunity for redevelopment in an attractive part of the city.
$1.2M
Less than a year after financial problems at the Family Health Center resulted in more than 30 staff layoffs, the nonprofit reported a budget surplus. The center announced a $1.2 million surplus in fiscal 2023 resulting from its Better Together turnaround effort that started in November. In September, the center laid off 35 workers, furloughed 15 and closed branches in Southbridge and Webster. Low state Medicaid reimbursements, fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and a computer malware attack were cited by center leadership as primary reasons for those moves. Family Health Center serves more than 30,000 patients, many of them low income.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Business Matters: Central Mass. by the Numbers