SPRINGFIELD—Ranking at or near the bottom by various wealth metrics, the City of Homes looked like a sitting duck as the pandemic crashed upon the United States. In the weeks after the City Council’s March 16 meeting, its last in-person since then, Massachusetts and Connecticut
A Mayor Called Sue(d) is an occasional series on litigation over the Springfield Police Commission and executive power in the city. There are fresh filings in the Springfield City Council’s suit against Mayor Domenic Sarno over the Police Commission. Earlier this month, Hampden Superior Court
UPDATED 3/25/21 8:42PM: An earlier version of this post misidentified Councilor Vacon’s ward. She represents Ward 5 not Ward 2. Holyoke famously releases its ballot petitioning papers early in municipal election years. In 2021 one person was not among the scramble for mayor for the
SPRINGFIELD—Rare are week after week regular Monday meetings of the City Council here. Normally, the next meeting after a regular session is for permits and one did appear on the agenda. Yet, this week, there was another regulation session with its own clutch of legislation
UPDATED 3/18/21 11:13AM: To confirm Mayor Morse had signed the petition and to note that Northampton’s charter allows councilors to pick an alternate acting mayor from among its membership. After an hour of debate, Holyoke city councilors approved a home rule petition Tuesday night to
UPDATED 3/17/21 12:23AM: The City Council approved the petition as the Charter & Rules Committee recommended on Monday. Full story here. There is now a date certain for Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse’s exit from office. At the moment, what happens after is anything but clear.
UPDATED 3/13/21 12:09PM: To include demographic data of Springfield vaccinations. SPRINGFIELD—After weeks of pleading, the city Health & Human Services Department here will soon have its own clutch of COVID-19 vaccine to distribute to neighborhood residents. Over the course of four days between now and
UPDATED: 3/14/21 8:58PM: To clarify a building program Sullivan worked on was a proposal. By Adam Bass Correspondent-intern Holyoke at-large City Councilor Michael Sullivan is all but certain to run for mayor. Though he has not formally announced his candidacy, the three-term city councilor filed
SPRINGFIELD—Beyond selecting a new colleague, the City Council’s Monday night remained within the normal. Still, there were a few standout items. The Council approved the first components of the city’s new master plan for downtown, namely around MGM and the MassMutual Center. A discernable vision
SPRINGFIELD—Facing a once-in-a-lifetime decision thanks to a quirk in the city charter, the City Council selected a new councilor to replace Adam Gomez who resigned last month. Monday evening, Councilors chose Gumersindo Gomez, a noted veterans activist and father of the senator, to serve out