The Worcester Regional Research Bureau announced the recipients for its 2013 Thomas S. Green Public Service Awards, which honor public employees for their exceptional service and commitment to the citizens of Worcester and the region.

The demographics of the City of Worcester underwent a considerable change between 2000 and 2010, according to a new report from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

A new report from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau makes the case for an academically selective public high school, sometimes referred to as an exam school, in Worcester and how it could benefit both students and the community at large.

A Research Bureau forum on Tuesday asked whether municipalities can afford public employee contracts, as public sector unions have overtaken their private sector counterparts in recent years as the majority in the American labor movement.

Worcester’s paltry number of female city employees has frustrated her for years, but City Councilor Konstantina Lukes’ outrage has finally boiled over. On the heels of a council meeting during which one of her colleagues raised questions about an organization headed by a woman, Lukes called GoLocalWorcester and pulled no punches about what she sees as a city government environment overwhelmingly tilted toward men.

Tax incentives in Worcester have helped attract new companies and encouraged established businesses to expand. They have created jobs, but there is concern that the new jobs are coming at the expense of existing businesses.

Worcester firefighters are slower in responding to emergencies than 10 years ago, but officials insist public safety has not been compromised.

Whether they liked it or not, Worcester taxpayers finally found out what their tax rate is this year. On Tuesday, just weeks before the end of the fiscal year, city councilors set the residential rate for fiscal 2012 at $16.98 per $1,000 assessed value. The commercial-industrial rate was set at $29.08 per $1,000.

Worcester has more than 1,500 nonprofits exempt from property taxes that would otherwise pump $21 million into city coffers. This puts the burden squarely on the shoulders of residential taxpayers.

The City of Worcester is currently owed $3.7 million in delinquent commercial and residential property taxes. GoLocalWorcester obtained the list of the top twenty most delinquent property tax bills for commercials properties.