WORCESTER — U.S. Sen. Scott Brown yesterday assured several hundred people at The Research Bureau’s annual meeting that he loses no sleep over voting in Congress.

“If it increases taxes, increases the deficit, I’m not voting for it,” he told the audience at the DCU Center. “If it’s good for Massachusetts, creates jobs, I’m going to vote for it.”

The Research Bureau's May 18 report on storm water regulations in Worcester brings welcome clarity to a complex and contentious issue that has unnecessarily divided public officials and environmental advocates.

WORCESTER — Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, offered more than 1,100 Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduates a bit of advice yesterday that he received from a mentor as a young engineer more than 30 years ago.

WORCESTER — The public pension system cannot be sustained, but it can be fixed. That was the consensus of panelists this morning at a forum sponsored by The Research Bureau and the Rappaport Institute at Harvard's Kennedy School. The discussion was held at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences.

WORCESTER — Three municipal employees were honored last night with Thomas S. Green Public Service Awards at La Maison Francaise at Assumption College.

The awards are given annually by The Research Bureau for outstanding contributions to public service. Receiving the awards were Ronald Brown, Department of Public Works and Parks; Louise Clarke, Worcester public schools, and Officer John Mahan, Police Department.

Congratulations to the three city employees who are this year’s recipients of The Research Bureau’s Thomas S. Green Public Service Award.

They are:

•Ronald Brown, working foreman for the Department of Public Works and Parks;

•Louise Clark, grants development specialist for Worcester public schools; and

•John Mahan, a longtime city police officer.

WORCESTER — The state and the city are looking toward health care savings to help with budget shortfalls in the coming fiscal year.

Jay Gonzalez, state secretary of administration and finance, said yesterday controlling health care costs, which make up 40 percent of the total budget, is crucial as Massachusetts emerges from the recession that has decimated revenue.

While the governor's new budget will not have any new taxes, that doesn't mean Massachusetts residents won't feel the pain of state spending – or lack of it – in the coming fiscal year.

The Education Association of Worcester’s demand that teachers in the Worcester Public Schools receive an 8.5 percent raise over three years in return for modest concessions on bearing a greater share of their health care costs reminds us of another 8 1/2. That would be Italian director Federico Fellini’s famous movie, an autobiographical romp that mixes fantasy and reality until the viewer isn’t sure what the man was thinking.

Two recent reports give cause for concern about Worcester’s financial well-being in the years ahead. One is the five-year forecast City Manager Michael O’Brien submitted to the City Council. The other is an analysis by The Research Bureau, titled “Teachers Compensation Package + Worcester’s Finances = Do they Add Up?” Ignoring those warnings could have dire consequences for the community.