Business on Cape Ann: what our Business section offers, and a new Friday series

Cape Ann runs on small businesses: fishing boats and boatyards, shops and restaurants, builders, artists and the people who work for themselves. The Cape Ann Current's Business section is where we keep track of how that economy is doing in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea.

Here is what you can find there now.

The Economy Desk. Our Economy Desk puts local numbers in one place and updates them as new figures come out. It shows how many residents are looking for work, jobs and pay in each town, what people do for work, how many people work for themselves, and how the port of Gloucester compares with other ports. It also has a map to find a Cape Ann business.

Property taxes. Our property tax page shows what a tax bill would be in each town, the average single family home and its bill, why bills can rise even when tax rates fall, and how much room each town has left under Proposition 2½.

Business updates. We post updates on openings, closings, new owners and town decisions that affect local businesses, like licenses, permits and budgets.

Following the money

Starting Friday, Oct. 16, we will run a Business story each Friday for three weeks. Each one follows public money and asks what share reaches Cape Ann businesses.

• Friday, Oct. 16: How much the Commonwealth of Massachusetts spends with diverse and small businesses, which programs grew, which fell short and how few Cape Ann businesses are in them.
• Friday, Oct. 23: What Massachusetts state agencies and departments paid for goods and services in six years, how much Cape Ann businesses received and where local firms can get help selling to the state.
• Friday, Oct. 30: The federal market, including the HUBZone program, which sets aside contracts for small businesses in certain areas, and what it could mean for Cape Ann.

The series is built on public records, mainly the state Comptroller's spending data. For official records, visit the Comptroller's CTHRU site.

Coming Oct. 30: the State Spending Explorer. With the last story in the series, we will open a free tool that lets you search every vendor Massachusetts state agencies and departments have paid since 2010, see what any town or department received and build your own charts and tables.

Do you run a Cape Ann business that sells to the state or the federal government, or tried and could not get in? Tell us at [email protected].