SPRINGFIELD—Taking a break from lawmaking per se, the City Council approved several orders that signal the start of budget season. The body accepted its major federal grants including the meaty Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
BY LINDA MATYS O’CONNELL, ARTS & CULTURE CORRESPONDENT SPRINGFIELD—Flowers are raising their heads outside my window. Last Friday, the city’s artistic community bloomed downtown. I like this eventuality: April showers, then May flowers with promise. The artistic flowering was the Art Stop(s) celebration showcasing Springfield’s
SPRINGFIELD—When Dean Fay found out the building Central City Boxing & Barbell used was up for sale, he sprang into action. He had already invested his and others’ money into sprucing up the old auto repair shop at the foot of Belmont Avenue. He had
SPRINGFIELD—After weeks and months of fits and starts, the City Council passed its ban on the free distribution of plastic bags. However, passage came at the expense of the fee on non-plastic bags provided at retail, intended to discourage consumer use of single-use bags regardless
Springfield will have a second open ward seat this November. Ward 4 Councilor E. Henry Twiggs, a local civil rights icon and one of the four original ward councilors elected in 2009, has announced of his departure. Among the reasons he cited not seeking reelection
SPRINGFIELD—Facing a rising tide of scandal flowing from the Springfield Police Department, the City Council’s Public Safety Committee reviewed legislation on Thursday that aims to contain the latest runoff. The ordinance, would essentially reverse efforts to revive the Police Commission and codify the mayor’s police
SPRINGFIELD—City councilors continued their legislative blitz on April Fool’s night, passing a new array of laws to reign in pawn shops and tax incentives. But it was no laughing matter. In fact, the bills were extensions of existing rules. Yet they were notably for the
BY LINDA MATYS O’CONNELL ARTS & CULTURE CORRESPONDENT Hungering to refresh my perspective on the present social and political challenges, I turned to Springfield’s colleges. Campus dining has improved since I was in school, but is food for thought still available on campus, I wondered.
A pair of retirements in two Lower Valley cities announced Friday mark transition for their respective councils. The now-open positions in Holyoke and Springfield are both ward seats. and the outcome of neither’s election is likely to alter any balances of power. Rather, the significance
SPRINGFIELD—The bill that would bar retailers from distributing plastic bags had been cruising for passage two weeks ago. But on Monday night, concerns—some fresh, others riper—and public confusion about the ordinance bogged it down before final passage. On another level the sudden surge of unsureness