SCOTUS dealt a potential blow to efforts to recover grants that Donald Trump’s administration had swiped from Springfield and other municipalities. In a fractured ruling, five of the nine Supremes stayed an order that had required the National Institutes of Health to restore grant funding. The ruling, in effect, said recovery of the funds did not belong in US District Court.
After a two-cycle reprieve, Springfield Congressman Richard Neal, the top Dem on one of Congress’s most powerful committees, will face a primary. Teacher Jeromie Whalen made the local media rounds this past week, confirming speculation that had been percolating at least since spring.
A huge hole has opened up under East-West rail. Thankfully, it is only a literal one.
Out west near Rensselaer, a sinkhole has prompted the suspension of rail service to points east of Albany. That means the Berkshire Flyer, a seasonal train between Pittsfield and New York City, and the Boston to Albany leg of the Lake Shore Limited have been bustituted until at least late Fall.
After eight heated municipal election cycles—three quarters of which featured mayoral races—the ballot will be cooler this year in Holyoke. Mayor Joshua Garcia will face no opposition on the ballot as he seeks another four-year term. There will be races down ballot, but even accounting for the lack of energy a mayoral race would draw, the Paper City may have its quietest November in nearly 20 years.
Little more than two weeks after the New North Citizens Council (NNCC) axed Maria Perez from her day job, the Springfield City Councilor for Ward 1 has struck back. Allegedly defamatory language now forms the basis of Perez’s suit that names her former employer, several NNCC staffers and board members, including Joesiah Gonzalez.
Six months after its formation, The Latino Agenda, a new Cesar Ruiz SuperPAC with a stated mission to elect Latinos and support their interests, is going live. In a release, the SuperPAC formally announced its leadership and restated its goals to reach the commonwealth’s fastest growing demographic and boost their turnout in elections.
UPDATED 8/5/25 12:34AM: To include an update from the court that it will hear all motions on August 5. Next week, the City of Springfield will do what countless entities have done since January 20—it will march into federal court to confront Donald Trump and