LONGMEADOW—In the shadow of the 2002 recession, each community felt cuts to local aide—inevitable as acting Governor Jane Swift ruled out new revenue—in their own way. During an assembly in January that year, students, faculty and staff at the high school gathered and learned what
WESTFIELD—Following years of political malpractice and perhaps poor judgment of electoral strength, Democrats are in a prime position to take back the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district from Senator Don Humason, who won the seat in a special election last year. However, Democrats first must
Come January, tipped employees in Massachusetts will receive their first raise in over 15 years. The increase will be meager $1.12. The full minimum wage will rise to $11 from $8. Still, this time, the most vulnerable workers affected by minimum wage laws are not
UPDATED 7/21/14 3:14 PM: For grammar and clarity. EAST LONGMEADOW—Nik Nadeau was not sure if everybody was clearly in the frame as he took a picture of Eric Lesser supporters lined up in front of the sign-filled windows of the campaign office. “I need everybody to
UPDATED 9:13PM: For clarity. BELCHERTOWN—The pitch begins easily enough for Chip Harrington. He enters one of the businesses facing the Historic center of this sprawling Hampshire County town and strikes up a conversation. “Hi, I’m Chip Harrington, running for state senate,” he says greeting a
Some of the winners from Friday’s State Ballot Law Commission decision are obvious, starting with Eric Lesser, the former White House aide running in the contest to replace retiring senator Gale Candaras. The voters and indeed other contestants in the race are winners, but the
The State Ballot Law Commission ruled unanimously this morning to overrule an objection to Eric Lesser‘s candidacy for the 1st Hampden & Hampshire Senate district. In doing so the commission rejected the challenge from Springfield City Councilor Tim Allen, another candidate in the race, and
UPDATED 5/29/14: For updates, including the state AFL-CIO’s endorsement on May 28. All such references to the AFL-CIO are new and remainder of material dates to May 20 publication date. Although its counterpart has received a great deal of attention so far, the 2nd Hampden
UPDATED 5/4/14 11:07PM: For clarity, grammar and additional links. Three months after Senator Gale Candaras said she would retire from the 1st Hampden & Hampshire Senate seat, the Democratic primary has descended into a slugfest. The target: Eric Lesser, the former White House aide from Longmeadow.
The endorsement game picked up a bit more this week as two candidates in the 1st Hampden & Hampshire Senate district secured new support from area electeds. Set against signs that the race has ventured into the political meta, the endorsements cap a week of