The full Holyoke City Council ended the stalemate over the Community Preservation Act (CPA) ordinance last Tuesday by voting to override Mayor Alex Morse’s veto and enacting the bill. The ordinance, which establishes the city’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC), sailed through the Council early last
The fate of Holyoke’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was thrown into doubt earlier this week when a veto-proof majority that exist only a few weeks ago melted away Tuesday. The Council could repeat the 11-2 vote from earlier this month after Mayor Alex Morse vetoed the
Further UPDATED 3/8/17 12:13PM: Holyoke Councilors approved the CPA ordinance Tuesday night, but an amended now requires a 2/3 vote to remove CPC members before their term is up. UPDATED 11:48AM: Holyoke Mayor Morse says he will veto the CPA ordinance if the Council passes it with
UPDATED 2/22/2017 8:09M: To include comments Jourdain gave to The Republican and quotes from Mayor Morse’s statement on Facebook and to reflect a correction. A previous version of this post incorrectly identified the former Ward 6 councilor as Thomas McGee. He is Todd McGee. The
The wreckage of this month’s national election has had a number of effects across the country. Given the continued down ballot troubles of Democrats, one immediate consequence has been pushing forward a younger generation of figures in the party. In the Pioneer Valley, this has
Closing an odd and fraught chapter in the history of Holyoke, the City Council selected former Ward 2 Councilor Diosdado Lopez to fill the seat once held by at-large councilor Jennifer Chateauneuf. Following a long feud with a critic, Chateaunef resigned April 4, prompting a scramble
HOLYOKE—Filling a vacant seat is nothing new to veteran city councilors here. Yet, even at-large Councilor Joseph McGivern, the body’s longest-serving member, finds the task of replacing his colleague, Jennifer Chauteauneuf, who resigned earlier this month, a departure from previous times the Council filled a vacancy in its
UPDATED 4/6/16 7:29PM: To reflect a correction. H.U.S.H. published Chateauneuf’s Facebook announcement before The Republican, although the paper did report the Clerk’s receipt of the resignation first and for a clarification of the sources named in the final paragraph. Following an episodic stretch of controversy and public feuding,
UPDATED 11/9/15 5:41PM: To reflect that O’Connell did give an interview on Election night to The Reminder. Afterglow 2015 is a series analyzing the results of the 2015 municipal elections in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. HOLYOKE—Music blared, drinks flowed and hugs abounded. In the
Holyoke is at a crossroads. Intractable problems of poverty, disparity and want remain as it has in ilk cities for some time. Yet of late, there is a spark of life among the citizenry and in the earth of the Paper City. People are engaged