UPDATED: 1/1/2020 3:53PM: To note the passing of the mayor’s father. Cities around the Pioneer Valley inaugurated their governments elected in last November’s election. For many communities, it heralded a new start. On Monday, Chicopee and Westfield both took on new mayors with varying degrees
At the beginning, 2019 felt like it had all the fixings of a great year for the City of Homes. The Council was resurgent. The East-West rail study was (finally) moving. The region’s congressman ascended to one of Congress’s top posts. MGM was entering its
November brought a familiar election to Springfield. Once again, there was little resolution about the schism between the mayor and the City Council. Mayor Domenic Sarno won reelection and a Council still capable of overriding his vetoes was elected. This came despite three seats opening
UPDATED 9:53AM 12/20/19: To note Sarno’s veto of the order on the X intersection. UPDATED 8:39PM 12/18/19: To clarify Councilor Ryan’s comments about the X project and to include comment from MassDOT. SPRINGFIELD—In the final meeting of the year, City Councilors saw off their retiring
E. Henry Twiggs, Springfield City Councilor and local civil rights icon, has died following a recent illness. The five-term Ward 4 Councilor had marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, fought to restore ward-based seats in city government and lived to see the election of the
UPDATED 11/7/19 11:45AM: To reflect a correction. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Alex Morse was on the ballot this year. He was not and is in the middle of a four-year term. SPRINGFIELD—A collective whoosh swept through the Pioneer Valley as candidates
UPDATED 2:15PM: To include comments from Councilor Whitfield. SPRINGFIELD—With the sun setting and not quite 48 hours to go until the polls closed, Kelli Moriarty-Finn gathered supporters at a stately Atwater Park home to rally the troops. A fixture in the area neighborhood association, she
A fog hangs over Springfield this election cycle. Contrary to the sunny assessment of and accolades for the incumbent, Domenic Sarno’s mayoralty has not been wine and roses for all. Yolanda Cancel is running a spirited bid, but Sarno has refused to engage with the
UPDATED 4:41PM: To include comment from Mayor Sarno, reference to Pohner’s comments to The Republican, and clarification about “bathroom bills.” SPRINGFIELD—In 2016, after decades of trying, momentum was building to enforce the city’s residency ordinance. Most of the city’s bargaining units had accepted compliance. Applying
SPRINGFIELD—Once again, the City Council logged some mileage to get through the agenda. This past Monday, it was worth it. More than a dozen items were approvals of recommendations from the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), the panel that develops spending plans under the state Community