SPRINGFIELD—Echoing demands from North End community leaders, the City Council made a dramatic call for upgrades to the German Gerena tunnel that many consider a public health risk to the vulnerable population that attends the school. The Council implored Gov. Charlie Baker to issue $3 million
Nearly a week after Gov. Charlie Baker signed the budget, the Massachusetts House of Representatives has begun undoing some of the millions of dollars in cuts Bakers made last Friday. The Senate shall follow. The governor vetoed some $412 million in spending and proposed alternative
On June 20, the Springfield City Council unanimously authorized a $1 million transfer into a reserve account for the city’s beleaguered pension system. The Council’s approval was hardly a surprise. Yet, the mere fact that it happened at all was a welcome development as the
SPRINGFIELD—Amid the City Council’s adoption of Mayor Domenic Sarno’s $616.6 million budget was a short, typical, but potentially significant regular meeting earlier Monday night. Financial measures awaiting approval for weeks passed as did legal changes that could impact direct democracy in the city. The Council
The Massachusetts Senate unanimously adopted an amendment offered by Longmeadow Senator Eric Lesser Thursday that would order the Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to study regular rail service between Boston and Springfield. While the Senate’s approval was unsurprising, it inches the commonwealth toward better connecting its
Less than twelve hours before it was scheduled to take up Mayor Domenic Sarno fiscal year 2017, the Springfield City Council cancelled its budget meeting scheduled for Tuesday night. The cancellation, while last-minute, was not unexpected. Several councilors had expressed concerns about where resources had
SPRINGFIELD—In a somewhat wonky meeting on a dreary May Monday, the City Council considered a host of financial measures from grants to appropriations to bonding. While most sailed through the body, there were speed bumps, which may presage a rockier path for Mayor Domenic Sarno’s
UPDATED: 1/16/16 1:29PM: To reflect a correction. Councilor Edwards led the Maintenance Development Committee in 2015, not Walsh, the 2016 chair. SPRINGFIELD—Opening its first meeting featuring new members with the election of a new City Clerk, the City Council began what some hope will be a
UPDATED: 10:30AM: To include details about Baker’s Western Mass office. SPRINGFIELD—The doors to the former courtroom on the state office building’s third floor flung open. Charlie Baker stepped out into the corridor, an expression of mild bemusement on his face, and excitedly, if awkwardly, gesticulated
SPRINGFIELD—Determining the tax rate for commercial and residential properties is within the ambit of the City Council, but this year it became a rare display of municipal harmony. In a unanimous vote Monday night, the Council adopted rates recommended by the mayor, a special Council