SPRINGFIELD—Queasiness about the city’s marijuana process had seemed set to dominate Monday’s meeting of the City Council. However, ratification of the first four host community agreements (HCA) flew by with little trouble. Instead, the struggle to reform police oversight stormed back to the fore, exposing
SPRINGFIELD—Term limits are undemocratic. Aside from the awesome power invested in the US President—particularly after the atom split—they usurp the will of the people. However, a fair counterargument may be humanitarian. Last week, when Domenic Sarno formally kicked off his reelection at the Elks on
Injustice had no greater foe in the City of Springfield than Michaelann Bewsee. After co-founding what would become the city’s feistiest community organization, Arise for Social Justice, Bewsee contributed to innumerable battles for equality and fairness. She embraced the city’s cultural mosaic without losing sight
SPRINGFIELD—The City Council named the new City Clerk to succeed the outgoing Clerk, Anthony Wilson, who has served since 2016. Tasheena Davis, an associate city solicitor and the Council’s legislative attorney, was elected on an 8-4 vote. She will take office August 1. Because Wilson
SPRINGFIELD—The legislative sausage-making continued for another meeting of the City Council Monday. A veto override, regulations for vehicles of all shapes and sizes, and historic preservation were all on the menu. Virtually all went by without incident or political indigestion, even the much-awaited Election Notification
On Friday, Mayor Domenic Sarno likely killed efforts to find a compromise in the police oversight debate in Springfield. After introducing an ordinance that would effectively reverse the Council’s efforts to revive the Police Commission—and encountering resistance—the mayor indicated he would act to change the
SPRINGFIELD—It could be easy to overstate the stakes of the City Council’s impending decision on a new City Clerk. Aside from opening another front in the simmering battle over separation of power in city government, the decision’s consequences are hard to fully parse. But both
Springfield City Clerk Anthony Wilson will depart later this summer after the Cambridge City Council selected him to be that city’s next top record-keeping official. Cambridge councilors voted Monday to select Wilson. His departure was formally announced Thursday in a release from City Council President
SPRINGFIELD—For well over a decade, city councilors have grappled with how to structure the Police Department leadership. The Control Board’s abolition of the Police Commission in 2005 was among its most controversial moves. But it took several reform attempts and the Gregg Bigda imbroglio to
UPDATED 6/1/19 12:01AM: Since this posting went live, Yolanda Cancel has been certified for the mayoral ballot. Four days after pulling papers, Linda Matys O’Connell, a journalist, activist and former League of Women Voters official, has made the ballot. Her certification for Springfield’s autumn mayoral