Food & Research: UMass Amherst is rolling out a $120M “Future of Food” push, adding a 36,000-square-foot research facility and new endowed roles to tackle climate, safety, and feeding a growing population. Defense & Maritime Tech: Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics won a five-year contract to deliver portable autonomy kits that can turn existing vessels into remotely operated or autonomous platforms for U.S. Special Operations. Clinical Ops & AI: Parexel will lead DPHARM 2026 panels in Boston on enterprise AI, workforce readiness, and patient-first clinical development. Digital Industry: The Digital Twin Consortium and NTT DATA announced COMPOSE, a testbed aimed at scalable, modular digital twin adoption for asset-heavy industries. Biotech Moves: Akebia dosed the first patient in a Phase 2 basket trial of ebribafusp for rare complement-mediated kidney diseases; Alveus started its Phase 2 PRESERVE trial for ALV-100 in long-term weight management. Energy & Jobs: UMass Dartmouth received $730,090 for offshore wind workforce training and Gulf of Maine research. Construction & Local Business: Connolly Brothers finished a dining-kitchen renovation and addition at Endicott College’s Lodge in Beverly. Retail & Consumer Tech: Chip prices are rising fast, squeezing local retailers’ inventory and costs for memory cards and computers. Infrastructure Resilience: Belchertown secured $1M to convert the former Tadgell School into a community resilience hub for extreme weather outages. M&A & Distribution: Watsco agreed to acquire The Granite Group, a $500M Northeast plumbing/HVAC distributor spanning Massachusetts and nearby states. Logistics: ShipAndStorage.com expanded door-to-door storage and worldwide delivery scheduling online.