SPRINGFIELD—Emotion and politics ran high at Monday night’s City Council meeting as a labor pact with district fire chiefs failed and the food truck ordinance returned to committee. Both items faced months or even years of anticipation. The rejection of the labor pact with the
Discontent over winter storm cleanups are nothing new in Springfield. It’s hard to compare to the long past, but post-Control Board, inevitably, there are bad cleanups and good ones. The one follow this past Tuesday’s storm was not among the city’s best. It was only
SPRINGFIELD—Marking a continuation of ward councilors’ hold of the Council presidency, Ward 8 Councilor Orlando Ramos took the oath as President Monday morning. In a modest ceremony before friends, family and City Hall denizens, the Council formally voted to install him to succeed Ward 2
UPDATED 8:35PM: The Republican reports that Sarno has vetoed the ordinance. Tells paper on his flip-flop from 2007, “Quite frankly you learn that campaigning is much different than governing.” SPRINGFIELD—Edging closer to its second major rebuke of Mayor Domenic Sarno this year, the City Council
SPRINGFIELD—City Councilors here turned back an already-expired labor pact covering only ten employee in the latest battle over the issue of residency for city employees. The pact covered a four-year period ending this past June. That outstanding gap has been an impediment to future labor
SPRINGFIELD—Echoing demands from North End community leaders, the City Council made a dramatic call for upgrades to the German Gerena tunnel that many consider a public health risk to the vulnerable population that attends the school. The Council implored Gov. Charlie Baker to issue $3 million
SPRINGFIELD—With its annual review of the city budget looming ahead, the City Council flexed its muscles Monday night turning back or sending to committee several financial orders. It may be too early to assume the Council will cut Mayor Domenic Sarno’s $616 million budget, but
SPRINGFIELD— Ever since former Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna won the seat in the city’s first ward elections since 1959, the Latino establishment in the North End had tried to dislodge her. She had faced opposition in some form each election, but Luna’s own campaign style
SPRINGFIELD—In a low-key ceremony at the Old First Church, city councilors and Mayor Domenic Sarno, who began his second four-year term, were sworn in for their new terms of office. The event did not fill the 500 seat chapel, perhaps mirroring the little interest the
Afterglow 2015 is a series analyzing the results of the 2015 municipal elections in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. SPRINGFIELD—For one of the last times as a city councilor, Zaida Luna rose and implored her colleagues to support a resolve urging Congress to allow Puerto