SPRINGFIELD—With barely two weeks left until Election Day, the City Council’s regular meeting—a hearing meeting is scheduled for next Monday—featured little controversy. It was neither in councilors’ interest or frankly the mayor’s to stir up anything that might move to electorate. Indeed the agenda’s most
SPRINGFIELD—There may not be much debating in the mayoral contest with the incumbent resisting public accountability, but the City Council races are far different. At least three at-large debates/forums are planned and the first, last week’s debate at American International College, offered a window into
SPRINGFIELD—In a quiet meeting Monday the City Council mostly handled bookkeeping issues, a welcome respite from the more tempestuous gatherings of September. However, there was a vigorous debate about a retail project at a major intersection for traffic—and the divisions within the city. Aside from
SPRINGFIELD—After a 12+ hour flight from Tel Aviv to Boston, would Israeli businessmen, entrepreneurs and high-tech engineers be willing to make an additional hour and a half trip here? That is what Israeli Consul General for New England Yehuda Yaakov and state Senator Eric Lesser
SPRINGFIELD—Ralph Slate received an email September 18 from an MGM Springfield official requesting a meeting. Although the historic issues on the plot MGM had purchased for their casino had been largely settled, some details were still in flux. It did not surprise Slate, the chair
SPRINGFIELD—After an arduous two-part, nearly three hour special convocation of the City Council, there was some substantive action to show for it. Overall however, everything seemed to become an exclamation point on deterioration of both the Council’s own statutory authority and the body’s relationship with the
Governor Charlie Baker has been on a Western Massachusetts kick of late, visiting the region and Springfield in particular quite a bit. He will be back in the city tomorrow for a fundraiser at the Student Prince hosted by busing magnate Peter Picknelly, restaurateur Andy
UPDATED 5:47PM: To reflect an addition of MGM’s response to the referendum. Following MGM’s announcement Tuesday that it was scaling back the height, if not the overall size of its hotel as part of its casino complex, it was immediately apparent this constituted a change
UPDATED 10/1/15 2:07AM: To reflect a correction. A previous version of this post credited MGM’s new rendering to us, when in fact it is MGM’s image obtained via the Springfield city website. SPRINGFIELD—The skyline will not undergo any dramatic changes when MGM Springfield opens after design
Were Springfield at-large Councilor Bud Williams to find something to blame for the rising temperature in this year’s Council election, unfortunate serendipity should come to mind. Positive headlines aside—some real, others just text belching “progress”—discontent remains afoot in the Land of Springfield, permeating its competitive