UPDATED: 2:36PM: For grammer and to include details from a General Assembly fiscal report. At one point the Mohegan and Pequot tribes bid to blunt the impact of MGM Springfield was enjoying an incredible turnaround. Originally, few put any stock in a bill passing this
SPRINGFIELD—It was a made for TV moment: the confetti, the standard mound of dirt, and the construction equipment. With great fanfare, gushing speeches and conveniently clear weather, MGM Springfield had its groundbreaking in the South End with the damaged Zanetti School as a backdrop. The
UPDATED 3/12/15 11:13AM: For a correction on a quote. Senator Bobb Duff said, “bus out our jobs,” not “bust out our jobs.” HARTFORD—Determined to counter the expansion of gambling in Massachusetts and other nearby states, legislative leaders, tribes and organized labor here laid out plans to
UPDATED 2/14/15 11:35PM: To reflect a correction. The vote to transfer bond proceeds to overruns on other projects was originally reported to be 13-0. It was, in fact, 12-1 with Fenton in dissent. SPRINGFIELD—Finally holding a meeting after a rush of early-week storms scrubbed its typical
SPRINGFIELD—A cautious, but generally supportive City Council approved the first step of a casino ethics ordinance Monday evening signaling more debate, discussion and possible amendment in the weeks ahead. Ward 2 Councilor Michael Fenton, the body’s president, and Ward 7 Councilor Timothy Allen introduced the
SPRINGFIELD—Fresh from being sworn in for a second year as the City Council president, Ward 2 Councilor Michael Fenton kicked off the election year legislative session with a casino ethics ordinance that has turned heads across the state and the nation. The ordinance, an amendment
The question of whether casinos are coming to Massachusetts and Springfield in particular is decided. Voters last week, as expected, retained the law establishing the “resort-style” facilities by a margin more or less consistent with polling. We opposed the law, opined against MGM Springfield and
A fascinating slate of questions go before voters on November 4. All of them are significant policies, some of which will ripple out far beyond the immediate implications of their passage and failure. Read why we urge NO on 1, YES on 2, YES on
Four ballot questions will face voters’ judgment this November. Not only is this a fairly large amount of questions, but all of them are deep, substantive issues with far-reaching implications. That may be a little bit of an overstatement on some questions, but there is
A week after its ruling, the impact of the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision to allow the casino referendum on the ballot appears easier to measure. While the entire concept of repeal had long been a factor in the gubernatorial and attorney general races, it existed