UPDATED 2/21/19 4:08PM: To reflect a clarification that Ramos left Sen. Welch’s employ last month, not the same day Ramos’ mayoral interest became public. At last, a name. By no means is Orlando Ramos the only person who could take on Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno
BY LINDA MATYS O’CONNELL ARTS & CULTURE CORRESPONDENT SPRINGFIELD—Eager and open, Karen Finn is a new face on the cultural scene in Springfield. The executive director of the Springfield Cultural Partnership has been on the job in her modest office space in the Community Music
Before there was Jesse Lederman, Marcus Williams and Michael Fenton. Before there was Eric Lesser and Paul Caron. Even before there was Richie Neal. There was Dave Vigneault, a forerunner to Springfield’s undercurrent of electorally ambitious twentysomethings. First elected at the dawn of the Kennedy
SPRINGFIELD—The reconstruction of a key, but ancient intersection in the city dominated the February 4 meeting of the City Council. In comparative terms, the issue did not drag out. However, the project did glean a crash course in eminent domain law. This is to say
SPRINGFIELD—Western Mass Politics & Insight Editor-in-chief Matt Szafranski announced today that local activist and veteran journalist Linda Matys O’Connell has joined the longstanding political blog to helm its new coverage of arts in Springfield and the Pioneer Valley. O’Connell will cover the region’s arts &
By LINDA MATYS O’CONNELL, Arts & Culture Correspondent HOLYOKE—Eyes were sparking, smiles flashing on a pleasant Saturday morning in January as more than 80 ambitious representatives of the Valley’s creative community gathered and got caffeinated at Gateway City Arts. Anticipation riffled through the room as
UPDATED 12:54PM: To more accurately render Hinds’s UN service & correct a reference to Kurds’ negotiating partner. It was the rest of Iraq, not Israelis. NORTH ADAMS—Not quite a week after Beacon Hill’s great document dump—more formally, the bill-filing deadline—Pittsfield Senator Adam Hinds was discussing
A joint meeting of the Longmeadow Select Board and School Committee voted Thursday to restore the latter body to working order. Quadruple resignations on January 23 had paralyzed the seven-member education board. Without a quorum, it was incapable of conducting business including designating new members
In a jolt to the Whip City politosphere, Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan announced today he would not seek reelection to a third term. The decision not only marks the end of his mayoralty. It could signal a paradigm shift for politics in the city where
LONGMEADOW—Five days after simultaneous resignations essentially paralyzed the School Committee, the administrative clean up of the fallout has begun. The Select Board met in a special session Monday night with the Committee’s remnants. Together, they charted a course to resuscitate the school panel and, eventually,