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
Senator Ed Markey has already received support for his reelection from the commonwealth’s east and west. That support is now meeting in its (geographic) center. In a video, Worcester Congressman James McGovern, who also represents much of Franklin and Hampshire counties, announced his support for Markey adding “there is no better fighter in the Senate.”
In a late afternoon press release, the New North Citizens Council (NNCC) announced it had terminated its housing chief, Maria Perez. Perez has served as the Ward 1 City Councilor since 2022. The brusque, shocking release all but accuses Perez of misappropriating NNCC funds, including those it received from the federal government by way of City Hall.
Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil came to Capitol Hill to lobby on behalf of Palestinians. Of course, the context of Khalil’s visit was not just the war in Gaza he had opposed as a student. Donald Trump and cronies had imprisoned Khalil, a lawful permanent resident with US citizen family, for his activism at Columbia after the war broke out. Among those Khalil met were members of the 413’s delegation including Senator Ed Markey and 2nd Massachusetts District Rep James McGovern.
Returning for July before it summer semi-recess, the Springfield City Council blasted through a pile of grants, funding acceptances and other financial orders on July 14. Relatively noncontroversial financial items were not the only things to move with speed last Monday. The body granted first step to an ordinance that purports to control out-of-town landlords, provide transparency and address housing prices, if indirectly.
Senator Elizabeth Warren kicked it off. In a video, she announced her support for the reelection of her Senate colleague, Ed Markey. Since then, a bevy of pols in Southeastern and Western Mass have come out for the incumbent. Such an early show of force—and
Transition is coming early to the City of Easthampton. Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, who had announced last year she would not seek another term, will resign early to take on a new state role. Come July 21, LaChapelle will join Governor Maura Healey’s administration as Commissioner of the Department of Conservation & Recreation.
Last Tuesday, Governor Maura Healey signed a $1.3 billion supplemental spending bill. The funds will pour hundreds of millions of dollars into both education and transportation. The Millionaires Tax, or Fair Share Amendment, voters approved in 2022 will pay for the spending. Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and legislators gathered to fete the critical investments in the commonwealth’s people and infrastructure.
It is hard to believe a little over a week before, Healey seemed to doubt the tax.
Michael Lachenmeyer, a Wilbraham native, announced Monday he would challenge 12th Hampden Rep Angelo Puppolo in next year’s Democratic primary. Such an early start is unusual for legislative races, yet it presents opportunities for both incumbent and challenger.
SPRINGFIELD—A crowd of hundreds—and perhaps well over a thousand—here joined protesters across the 413 and the United States for the “No Kings” protests aimed at Donald Trump. Hours before Trump’s sputtering military parade in Washington, Americans rallied to oppose his increasingly monarchical tendencies.
Demonstrators gathered at the Federal Courthouse on State Street, filling the plaza at State and Elliot Streets and lining State nearly a block in each direction.