Dear Readers: Due to technical difficulties, we are unable to publish as we normally do. These problems have inhibited our ability to publish as we normally do. Consequently, the manic Monday markup has been cancelled for June 6 and posts will feature less multimedia for
UPDATED 6/2/16 9:32AM: For grammar and clarity. Two emotions have generally defined the five year anniversary of the tornado that touched down in Western Massachusetts. There is somber reflection, whether for the dead or in the form of thanks for surviving. In the alternative there
City Slickers: We begin today in Springfield, which will mark five years tomorrow since a tornado touched down in the city and adjacent communities. Monson and West Springfield suffered incredible damage, too, but the blow to Springfield was both blessing and curse. The destruction of
The Massachusetts Senate unanimously adopted an amendment offered by Longmeadow Senator Eric Lesser Thursday that would order the Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to study regular rail service between Boston and Springfield. While the Senate’s approval was unsurprising, it inches the commonwealth toward better connecting its
This post is the first in a series on the state of media in the 413. The economic crisis throttling media has hardly bypassed the Pioneer Valley. Big papers like The Republican have thinned considerably. Television news continues its drift to sensationalism. Alternative papers struggle,
Less than twelve hours before it was scheduled to take up Mayor Domenic Sarno fiscal year 2017, the Springfield City Council cancelled its budget meeting scheduled for Tuesday night. The cancellation, while last-minute, was not unexpected. Several councilors had expressed concerns about where resources had
…And the World: We begin today in Austria, where voters narrowly rejected a far-right anti-immigrant presidential candidate, Norbert Hofer, in favor of independent (and formerly Green Party) candidate Alexander van der Bellen. The presidency in Austria is largely ceremonial, but when Hofer came in first
On Tuesday, weeks of speculation about the race for the 11th Hampden House seat may come to an end. State Representative Benjamin Swan, the incumbent, has scheduled a press conference at his State Street office in Mason Square to make an undisclosed announcement. As Swan’s
SPRINGFIELD—With its annual review of the city budget looming ahead, the City Council flexed its muscles Monday night turning back or sending to committee several financial orders. It may be too early to assume the Council will cut Mayor Domenic Sarno’s $616 million budget, but
…And the World: We begin today in Israel where polls show the public unenthused by the prospect of a unity government that would bring the Opposition Zioinist Union into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led administration. Haaretz report that polls show the Zionist Union, itself a