File photo, 2024. John Souza (J.A.S. III)
Business
Openings, closings, licenses and permits show up first on a town board's agenda. We read the agendas, and we report what the documents say, not what a press release hopes.
What Business covers
- New licenses and permits. Liquor, food service, entertainment and sign decisions that a select board or licensing board votes on in public.
- Zoning and planning. A planning board hearing on a new building or a change of use, with the vote as the minutes record it.
- State and regional money. Grants and contracts that land on a local business or a working waterfront, from the state's own postings.
- Closings and notices. A business's own announcement, labeled as its words.
Rules for business stories
We write about a business when a public document or the owner's own announcement gives us a fact worth reporting. A spotlight runs only if the owner agrees, and it is labeled. Advertising never runs as a story: a paid message is always marked and lives on its own, away from the news. See how sponsorship works.
Our owner runs other South Coast businesses. A business story that touches one of them, or one of their clients, carries the connection in the story or does not run. The rule is on the sourcing standards page.
The agendas we read
Links go to each town's own site. Checked Oct. 7, 2026; a few town sites block automated checks, so those rows link to the site's front page.