Take My Council Please: A League of Their Zone…
SPRINGFIELD—After years in the making, the City of Homes finally adopted a citywide revision of its four decade old zoning ordinance, which one activist described as so old it lacked the word “condo.” In stark contrast the tepid to frosty [...]
Take My Council, Please: Casino Vote Jimmied & Other Vanities…
UPDATED 5/8/2013 10:45PM : To reflect a correction. An earlier version of this post attributed to John Lysak an effort to move the Boston Road bonding to committee, which was incorrect and attributed to a misunderstanding; for clarity and grammar; [...]
Campaign Dollars/Common Cents Predictions…
For the first time since Springfield abolished its old system of government and ushered in a strong mayor-council government, and possibly ever, the city will hold a municipal election without the mayor on the ballot. Boston is the only other [...]
Take My Council, Please: The Conception of Priorities…
UPDATED 3/8/13 12:56PM: Photograph of current Springfield Senior Center added. SPRINGFIELD—During a particularly policy-heavy evening, taking form in both ordinance and other measure, the City Council confronted a host of issue from finance to foreclosures to bonding. However, while some [...]
In the Rearview Mirror: Winners & Losers
This Post is the First in a Series on Post-election Analysis It would be hard not to read Tuesday’s election as anything but good in the country at-large and certainly here in Massachusetts. The President won reelection very comfortably in [...]
Take My Council, Please: Sound & Fury Signifying What?…
For weeks now, tension has been building among city councilors over the mayor’s budget. Even before Mayor Domenic Sarno presented his budget two weeks ago, many councilors were almost livid over the process. Consequently, when the budget faced its annual [...]
Take My Council, Please: Fee for Service…
This post has been updated to reflect confirmation from the Department of Revenue on the Hotel Tax. With tension high following last week’s release of the mayor’s budget, on Monday the Springfield City Council staked out its own position on [...]
Take My Council, Please: Rules of Engagement…
The following Post refers to the 6/17/12 Council Meeting postponed from its originally scheduled date on 6/10/12 due to the death of Ofc. Kevin Ambrose on that day. We apologize for the delay in its posting. Less than twenty-four hours [...]
Take My Council, Please: Cheers & Jeers…
Monday was a day of minor victories, but also grim financial news and schizophrenic behavior at the Springfield City Council. With three members absent, councilors debated a host of resolutions, put off several measures to committee and even took some [...]
Take My Council, Please: Financial Cobwebs…
(WMassP&I) Under normal circumstances, Monday’s meeting of the Springfield City Council would have been a quick one. There were few controversial items and councilors seemed in agreement about the diciest issues before them. Rather, since the council had not met [...]
