WORCESTER—For much of the past few years, progress on a host of rail projects in Massachusetts has ground to a crawl. Last week Gov. Charlie Baker’s Department of Transportation, in laying out its rail plan for the coming decade on January 26, seemed to lift
For Springfield, 2017 seemed a year that confirmed some of the assumptions about the city. Despite a rare double-retirement at-large, voters did not turn out. But the changeover was consequential. Like the rest of the world, Donald Trump left an impact on Springfield, too. In
Courting 36 Court Street is a series of quick interviews with Springfield’s at-large candidates. **All interviews are edited and condensed for length.** Should she be reelected, Kateri Walsh will become the dean of the Council. Over the years, Walsh has been adept at lining up
On the one hand, Tuesday’s hearing on Beacon Hill for Senator Eric Lesser’s rail study bill is a familiar ritual for the Longmeadow Democrat. The legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee has favorably reported it before. The Massachusetts Senate has included it in the budget more than
UPDATED 8/17/17 8:25PM: For a Correction. The top photo originally misidentified 1211 Avenue of the Americas. Not much links MGM Springfield’s construction site with 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York. The former is feted as evidence of “momentum” in Springfield, like many a
The budget for the commonwealth emerged from its conference committee cocoon early Friday morning missing the fiscal year’s start last week. While the spending plan did preserve many key programs in the face of declining revenues, more than $400 million was sliced from the House
SPRINGFIELD—Ahead of its summer slowdown, the City Council ripped through a potpourri agenda featuring new ordinances, support for added rail service and derailment of a labor contract. Earlier in the evening, the City Council had unanimously passed Mayor Domenic Sarno’s budget without any cuts. Similar
UPDATED 9:04PM: The Massachusetts Senate adopted Sen. Lesser’s amendment. The rail study will go to the House-Senate conference committee. State Senator Eric Lesser’s East-West rail study appeared ready to leave the station last year. It survived House-Senate negotiations and passed both chambers. But then, in
SPRINGFIELD—During her visit here Monday, US Senator Elizabeth Warren received a warm introduction from State Senator Eric Lesser. It was hardly their first interaction. Warren campaigned for Lesser in each of his runs for the 1st Hampden & Hampshire district. But the event also offered
SPRINGFIELD—United States Senator Elizabeth Warren and her annual office hours returned Monday. For the first such event in the Trump era, organizers moved the event from the lobby of her Springfield office to City Stage next door. But the amphitheater setting complemented the town hall-style