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
NEWTON—Along a hilly street, one of many here, a crowd of all ages scarfed down ice cream and waited. It was a warm spring day, but a canopy of tree shaded much of the block party below. Perched on the undulating landscape was a podium
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
WEST SPRINGFIELD—Although the campaign war chest of Governor Charlie Baker bursts with cash, the Republican is not the first major party candidate to declare his candidate for 2018. That title goes to Jay Gonzalez, a former Deval Patrick cabinet secretary who launched his campaign in
It is arguably the most competitive election in the Pioneer Valley, but it has not been like the national election. Apocalyptic, dark ads are not carpet-bombing television. Debates are not soaked in tension and wrath and indeed, are a bit dry. The 1st Hampden &
EAST LONGMEADOW—With Election Day nearing, former Governor Michael Dukakis and his wife Kitty were here to rally volunteers on behalf of Senator Eric Lesser and return him to Beacon Hill for another term. With a mix of nostalgia and prospective-minded praise for Lesser, Dukakis emphasized
This week Masslive reported bus line magnate Peter Picknelly had emailed Governor Charlie Baker shortly before the governor effectively vetoed a study on developing and implementing reliable rail service between Boston and Springfield. The study’s fate, a priority of Longmeadow Senator Eric Lesser, remains in
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
CHICOPEE—The image, especially in the social media era, is familiar: a politician reading to a classroom of children. Indeed, Senator Eric Lesser had actually read to students at Fairview Elementary School before. Taken in isolation such visits may seem somewhat unremarkable. Yet visits like this
January is bill-filing time at the Massachusetts legislature and area lawmakers, including the newest ones were busy. It is too soon to declare any bill a success—they must pass first—but one piece of legislation Senator Eric Lesser filed has potential beyond the meaning of its