Business Bulletin

Stem Haverhill Marks 5th-Year Anniversary with Four-Day Celebration

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Stem Haverhill—Haverhill’s first adult-use cannabis retailer—will mark five years of doing business on Washington Street with four days of events. The celebration kicks off Thursday, May 29, at noon with musical performances, refreshments and vendor tables, at Stem, 124 Washington St. A new mural at the entrance to the shop will be unveiled at the playful time of 4:20 p.m.

A party gets underway on Friday at 9 a.m.

A reception is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. and building tours at 11:30 a.m. On Saturday, building tours get underway at 10 a.m. On Sunday, Stem launches its new community education initiative “We(ed) Can Help” at noon. “We’ve grown with this city, and we’re honored to be part of its downtown community,” Stem owner Caroline Pineau said. “From the beginning we’ve been on a shared journey, discovering cannabis together, focusing on quality, education and being good neighbors.

Protest sign
Business Bulletin

Demoulas Spokesperson Says Market Basket in Midst of ‘Hostile Takeover,’ Board Cites Concerns

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More than 10 years ago, Market Basket’s Arthur T. Demoulas, supported by thousands of customers, pulled off what many thought impossible—wresting back control of his Market Basket grocery store chain after a bitter family fight and boardroom coup. Hit repeat. In a statement Wednesday, his spokesperson said, the company is in the midst of a another “hostile takeover.”

“Demoulas was ousted from his position as president and CEO of Market Basket by his three sisters and their three appointed board members—Jay Hachigian, Steven Collins and Michael Keyes,” said Justine Griffin in a statement. Griffin added Demoulas’ daughter, Madeline, and son, Telemachus, and several other Market Basket executives were placed on leave. “Under Mr. Demoulas’ leadership in December of 2024, the company paid off $1.6 billion in debt that financed the purchase of the company in 2014.

Business Bulletin

WHAV’s Coco to Take Part in ‘Remaking Local News’ Panel as Part of Meet the Media 2025

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Tim Coco, president and CEO of WHAV, will join industry colleagues next week in Boston when he provides his insights on the future of local news as part of Meet the Media 2025. Coco will take part in a panel, “Remaking local news: Challenges and Opportunities in a digital world,” moderated by Boston Globe Media Reporter Aidan Ryan. Others on the Thursday morning panel will be Marblehead Current Editor/Co-Founder Leigh Blander, El Mundo Boston President and CEO Alberto Vasallo III, Cambridge Day Board Member Niko Emack and Northeastern University’s Reinventing Local TV News Project Professor Mike Beaudet. Meet the Media 2025, presented by the State House News Service and MASSterList, features a two-part panel discussion. The first, “Reporter Roundtable: Insight and perspective from reporters covering the daily headlines,” is moderated by State House News Service Reporter Chris Lisinski and includes Axios Boston Reporter Mike Deehan, Boston Globe Reporter Jess Bartlett, GBH News State House reporter Katie Lannan, Boston Herald Reporter Chris Van Buskirk and The FlipSide Founder/Editor-in-Chief Yawu Miller.

Business Bulletin

Merrimack Valley Planning Commission Receives Extra $750K from EPA to Address Brownfields

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Efforts to clean up and put potentially polluted sites across the Merrimack Valley back into productive use is receiving a financial boost. The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission said Friday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the Commission’s track record in promoting reuse of industrial sites and awarded it an additional $750,000 from the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund. This award is part of a national investment of more than $42 million in supplemental grants distributed to 34 grantees across the country. “MVPC is honored to receive this new round of EPA funding, which reflects our more than 20 years of success in advancing Brownfields revitalization across the region,” said Commission Executive Director Jerrard Whitten. “We are excited to put these dollars to work immediately, helping our communities transform contaminated and underutilized properties into productive assets that support economic growth, environmental health, and local vitality.”

The money enables the Haverhill-based Commission to assist communities across the Merrimack Valley with the remediation and redevelopment of underutilized and potentially contaminated sites.

Business Bulletin

Sen. Finegold to Address Greater Haverhill Chamber Members and Guests at ‘Eggs & Issues’

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Sen. Barry R. Finegold will address, and take questions from, members of the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce during its next “Eggs & Issues” forum. Each Eggs & Issues breakfast, which take place the third Wednesday of each month, are intended to bring influential public and private figures together with the local business community for “crucial conversations around the challenges and opportunities” the region faces. Finegold speaks Wednesday, June 18, from 7:30-9 a.m., at Hampton Inn, 106 Bank Road, Haverhill. Admission is $15 each for Greater Haverhill Chamber members and $25 each for non-members and includes breakfast,

Registration takes place online at HaverhillChamber.com.

Business Bulletin

Tattersall Farm Setting for Three ‘Farms-to-Taste’ Dinner Events

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Haverhill’s Tattersall Farm will host three “Farms-to-Taste” dinner events this summer, showcasing local chefs and locally grown produce as well as other farm products from throughout New England. The events are run by Craft Haverhill. “It’s a wonderful way for people to experience and taste micro seasons within the summer from early season flavors in June all the way through to August’s sun-drenched produce and farm goods,” said organizer Jimmy Carbone. Tattersall Farms-to-Taste “First Blush” is scheduled Thursday, June 26, at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 for walk-around tastings, curated drinks and live music. Reserved seating is available for tables of eight for $400.

Business Bulletin

Stem’s ‘Bong and Pong’ Event Raises $3,000 for Patriots Helping Vets Charity

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Massachusetts cannabis retailer Stem in Haverhill recently hosted its second “Bong and Pong” event, attracting more than 250 people and raising $3,000 for Patriots Helping Vets, a nonprofit that helps veterans heal through cannabis horticulture. The money will help the group provide 15 complete cannabis grow sets to veterans across the nation. “Once again, the cannabis community has come together to support a great cause and a great group of people—people who have put their lives on the line for our nation and who now want to find safe, natural therapy and healing methods,” said Stem owner and founder Caroline Pineau. Pineau hosted the first Bong and Pong in 2023 and has put together a number of cannabis-themed fundraising events for other local and regional nonprofits. Since opening in 2020, Stem has raised and donated more than $250,000 for charitable and nonprofit organizations.

Business Bulletin

SPS New England, Others to be on Hand to Make Hires at MakeIT Haverhill Job Fair

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SPS New England, a construction company, and Vitra Health are among the companies represented at Thursday’s MakeIT Haverhill Job Fair. SPS New England is looking to hire laborers, a foreman, CDL drivers, quality control technicians, construction billing specialists and a HVAC Technician. Vitra Health is looking for caregivers. Other employers expected include Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods, Community Action, Penacook Place and Mary Immaculate, Home Instead, Northeast Independent Living Program, Opportunity Works and Smyth Cannabis. The job fair is Thursday, May 22, from 3-5 p.m., at MakeIT Haverhill, 301 Washington St., Haverhill.