Several big cities are using tax dollars and private funds to buy and refurbish foreclosed properties to help declining neighborhoods survive.

Some hotels either give a suite as a standard upgrade for those who book meeting space or they waive the room rental if the guest guarantees a certain minimum food and beverage expenditure.

Northeastern is using Kaplan Inc. to find students for, and help run, a special program for international students.

The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, which secured more than $500 million in educational loans last year, announced that it would not offer loans for the coming academic year.

State overseers of the Big Dig highway project in Boston said total costs of the project would reach $22 billion, nearly 50 percent higher than the most recent public estimate.

On the long-neglected site of a state mental hospital that closed more than two decades ago, a mixed-income community is under construction.

On the long-neglected site of a state mental hospital that closed more than two decades ago, a mixed-income community is under construction.