SPRINGFIELD—After nearly two hours of debate, City Councilors nudged Springfield closer toward new rules that would keep the city away from immigration enforcement. The Welcoming Communities Trust (WCT) Ordinance did not pass final step as expected after councilors raised some concerns. Despite the slowdown and
SPRINGFIELD—Days before Thanksgiving, the City Council ingested parts of its massive agenda Monday night while leaving some leftovers for later. Although the sprawling to-do list included myriad financial items and orders, the legislative prerogatives had the most attention. Some were continuation of prior approvals while
SPRINGFIELD—Compared to recent meetings, Monday’s City Council meeting was mellower than most. More throat-clearing than the advance of policy, it set the stage for a few issues like a plastic bag ban and tighter state health code standards. However, neither had the effect of law
SPRINGFIELD—In a comparatively—and mercifully—short meeting Monday night, the City Council’s responsibilities were largely financial. Although many of the meeting’s fiscal items veered toward the banal, a wistful to frustrated air fell over the body around two of them. Councilors had to approve over a million
SPRINGFIELD—Returning from its summer lull, the City Council faced an agenda that stretched their Monday meeting into midnight. Although the body notched some wins, the laborious agenda and procedural snafus mangled some items. Moreover, the meeting marked the beginning of a transition with Thomas Ashe
Following state approval of Denise Jordan’s selection to lead the Springfield Housing Authority, Mayor Domenic Sarno has announced her replacement as his chief of staff. Thomas Ashe, an at-large city councilor, will take over as Sarno’s top aide. As Ashe is expected to resign his
On August 24 an undeniably transformative event will occur in the City of Springfield. After nearly six years of negotiation, debate, votes, wrangling, construction, renegotiation, and a disappointment here or there, MGM Springfield will open. Those who read this blog know we have been consistently
UPDATED 9:39PM: To add statements from Councilor Williams. The Springfield City Council, during a special meeting Wednesday night, failed to override Mayor Domenic Sarno’s veto of the chief diversity office (CDO) ordinance. The proposal, which would create a new office to oversee programs and initiatives
SPRINGFIELD—Amid a flurry of financial orders for the closing fiscal year, the City Council acted on several items Monday night, many it had considered recently. Most notably, it advanced the chief diversity office (CDO) ordinance to the mayor, prompting executive freak out. The stated reason
UPDATED 6/9/18 10:07PM: To reflect a correction on the incineration ban. Springfield will levy fines of $1-5k for first offenses. Repeat offenses yield fines up to $10k. SPRINGFIELD—The City Council Monday night took long-awaited action on two highly anticipated ordinances even as the underlying issues