More than four months after oral arguments, a panel of federal judges have effectively revived a suit that seeks to restore the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change (ECJCC) grant program. Last year Springfield and a motley band of municipalities and nonprofits sued the Environmental Protection Agency for illegally terminating the program.
When Liberty Junction was selected as the developer for the new Springfield Regional Justice Center, it seemed likely that the unsuccessful bidders would go quietly into the night. The invective and rending of garments was a job for the pols. The choice disappointed losing bidders, but it was not expected that they would take action against the choice.
Such was not the case.
In a spasm of suits, the United States Department of Justice challenged four states’ policies that blocked the feds’ use of confidential license plates. Last week, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced the Registry of Motor Vehicles would not provide Immigration & Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection with civilian plates to conceal their civil immigration operations.
A federal judge in Springfield has agreed to dissolve the consent decree that the city of Springfield and the federal government had agreed to in 2022. On Thursday, Judge Michael Ponsor granted the joint motion to end the agreement, which the parties had filed about 10 days ago. The ruling was not a surprise.
WASHINGTON—Fifteen months after Springfield formally accepted its Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change (ECJCC) grant, it and several cities and environmental groups were fighting to keep the program alive. Far from 36 Court Street, in a wood-paneled courtroom between the Capitol and the White House, a motley crew of grantees urged a federal appeals court to reverse a lower court’s dismissal that had doomed an effort to revive the ECJCC program.
Just over four years after the City of Springfield, the Springfield Police Department and the federal government reached a court-monitored settlement, the pact may be coming to an end. Springfield and the feds jointly have filed a motion to terminate the agreement. If the court agrees, it will end a saga that has cast a pall over Pearl Street and City Hall for years.
The City of Springfield, several fellow municipalities and environmental groups will try to convince a Washington appeals court on Monday to revive a lawsuit to restore climate grants the Environmental Protection Agency illegally eliminated. Springfield was one of the first recipients of the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant (ECJBG) program. Yet, the city like many others lost its grant amid the chaos of the Trump administration’s slashing last year.
There were four concurring opinions, two dissents, and a majority opinion that had only three votes in parts. Nevertheless, a solid six justices said Trump lacked the power to impose these tariffs. The Bay State’s electeds welcomed the ruling and blasted Trump for instituting them in the first place.
As of December 19, the lawsuit Darryl Moss, a former aide to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, filed against his ex-boss appeared to be entering its final phase—at least in Superior Court. Judge Jeremy Bucci took a Solomonic route through each side’s post-judgment motions that followed the November 7 verdict against Sarno.
A jury found Mayor Domenic Sarno and the City of Springfield illegally retaliated against former mayoral aide Darryl Moss last month. However, the case is far from over. In fact, it has not even reached the appellate phase. Both sides have entered a flurry of filings from everything to attorneys’ fees to motions to overturn the jury’s verdict.