SPRINGFIELD—A cautious, but generally supportive City Council approved the first step of a casino ethics ordinance Monday evening signaling more debate, discussion and possible amendment in the weeks ahead. Ward 2 Councilor Michael Fenton, the body’s president, and Ward 7 Councilor Timothy Allen introduced the
SPRINGFIELD—With the new year comes new committee assignments for the City Council. Ward 2 Councilor Michael Fenton, the body’s president, announced his choices to chair and sit on the various panels that investigate and review items referred to it by the full Council or on
SPRINGFIELD—Fresh from being sworn in for a second year as the City Council president, Ward 2 Councilor Michael Fenton kicked off the election year legislative session with a casino ethics ordinance that has turned heads across the state and the nation. The ordinance, an amendment
UPDATED 1/12/15 1:20AM: For grammar & clarity. Since Senator Edward Kennedy’s death in 2009, Massachusetts has endured a near endless election cycle that at last ended last November. While countless cities like Holyoke and Springfield will hold municipal elections this year, young candidate running in
SPRINGFIELD—Lighting a menorah on Court Square in downtown, a 35 year tradition, seemed unlikely to make world news. Local rabbis joined city officials, the mayor and US Rep Richard Neal to mark the first of eight days the temple menorah burned with only a day’s
UPDATED 12/30/14 12:44 AM: For clarity as to the length of US Rep Richard Neal’s political career. A Planned City is a new series on planning and development in Springfield and its impact on the fabric of and life in the city. Last weekend, The Republican
SPRINGFIELD—As it capped off 2014, the City Council formally and narrowly approved the tax rates for residential and commercial property following the annual deliberation over which group of tax payers were more in greater need of relief. On a 7-6 vote, the Council approved rates that
SPRINGFIELD—A Monday déjà vu agenda consisting largely of repeats from the last meeting made for a relatively prompt hearing. Items that returned either were dispatched with remarkable speed compared to the pace that sent them to committee two weeks ago. Both the agreement between the
SPRINGFIELD—Pulling into the parking lot of St Anthony’s Church and its connected Ceders Banquet hall, even in the dark of night, a ghastly void hangs in the background. The 2011 tornado that ripped through affluent East Forest Park neighborhood did not lay waste to any
SPRINGFIELD—With a light agenda primarily of grants, routine ordinance updates and some borrowing, the City Council trudged through its meeting, although disposal of the items seemingly hit a few snags, limiting what could have been a more expeditious meeting. A bond for school infrastructure and a