One could not chuck a rock in Springfield without hitting someone praising Mayor Domenic Sarno for choosing Lawrence Akers to be the next Police Superintendent. The incumbent super Cheryl Clapprood praised the choice. Longtime frenemy Michael Fenton, now City Council President, hailed Akers. Even frequent Sarno critics the Bishop Talbert Swan and at-large councilor Tracye Whitfield feted the move.
Injustice had no greater foe in the City of Springfield than Michaelann Bewsee. After co-founding what would become the city’s feistiest community organization, Arise for Social Justice, Bewsee contributed to innumerable battles for equality and fairness. She embraced the city’s cultural mosaic without losing sight
UPDATED 3/17/14 5:52PM: To include details of press release from community groups on McFarlin and his response to the release on Masslive. This post is the third in a series on the debate over Management of the Springfield Police Department. Since announcing how he would
The speed at which the city has careened toward succession in the Police Department has raised the alarm among many in the community, especially as many have sought to alter the setup of Police Management in the city of Springfield. Mayor Domenic Sarno has announced
This post is the second in a series on the debate over Management of the Police Department in Springfield. Since the debate to reform Police leadership has begun in Springfield, Mayor Domenic Sarno has employed a number of legal and rhetorical arguments to halt the
SPRINGFIELD—In a victory for organized labor, the City Council unanimously approved an arbitration award, securing a contract between the city and it’s the International Brother Hood of Police Officers, Local 364 through July 2016. Despite fears that the mayor’s office was maneuvering to kill the
This post is the first in a series on the debate over Management of the Police Department in Springfield. SPRINGFIELD—At a rescheduled committee meeting residents pled their case for a return of the Police Commission while a few representatives from Mayor Domenic Sarno’s administration vehemently