WESTON, MA- Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a developer of high tech companies, makes its first foray into the area with an office at 9 River Rd. The company chose to open here because it considers the market a "major center for software development.

BOSTON- After years of wrangling over control of the 30 acres of prime real estate that will be exposed once the Big Dig puts the highway underground, Governor Jane Swift files legislation to create a public trust that will determine its fate.

GRAFTON, MA-As part of an ongoing effort to fund the Clean Elections law, representatives of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Warren E. Tolman seize 242 acres that it is considering for auction. Stunned local officials charge that the move is politically motivated.

SPRNGFIELD, MA-The first Hilton Garden Inn hotel in the state is opened at 800 West Columbus Ave. by Hilton Hotels Corp. The 143-room, six-story hotel will be owned and managed by Columbus Hotel Management under a franchise license agreement.

LEXINGTON, MA-ICF Consulting relocates its regional headquarters from Cambridge by taking 35,000 sf at 33 Hayden Ave. The consulting firm is taking space previously leased to Mercer Management Co., which is relocating to the city.

BURLINGTON, MA-Digimarc ID Systems, an Oregon-based company that develops digital watermarking technology, is leasing 60,000-sf of space at 63 Third Ave in the Northwest Office Park. The company was the winning bidder for the local division of Polaroid's ID Division.

MEDFIELD, MA-In an effort to see its downtown area come to life, the town's board of selectmen is forming a downtown revitalization committee. A number of shops have recently left town and officials here want to see book shops and galleries fill the void.

WAKEFIELD, MA-The Robie Mills complex could be home to a Shaw's supermarket if the company is allowed to demolish the four buildings currently on the property. But a local group is doing everything it can to prevent that from happening.