Several months after accepting the pro bono representation from two Valley attorneys, the Springfield City Council appears ready to sue. Nearly four years after it passed an ordinance to revive the Police Commission—followed swiftly by Mayor Domenic Sarno’s promise to ignore a duly passed law—councilors
SPRINGFIELD—City Councilors voted Tuesday to accept legal counsel from a pair of Northampton-based lawyers in the ongoing dispute with the mayor over the Police Commission. Some 42 months after the body revived the Commission over Mayor Domenic Sarno’s veto, it remains in limbo. Sarno has
UPDATED 4:32PM: To include reaction from AG Healey’s office. SPRINGFIELD—In an abrupt reversal, Mayor Domenic Sarno apologized for the reinstatement of five cops charged with lying to investigators looking into the 2015 fracas outside Nathan Bill’s Bar & Restaurant. In a late morning press conference
After years of stalemate, movement on the Springfield Police Commission could be imminent. Fifteen years ago, the Finance Control Board discarded the body and concentrated its powers a sole police commissioner. Amid community distrust about internal oversight and a string of scandals at Pearl Street
SPRINGFIELD—Amid the ever-growing national demonstrations following the death of George Floyd at police hands in Minneapolis, residents here again took to the streets to demand redress for systemic racism in law enforcement. Unlike this past Wednesday’s protest, however, this past Saturday protesters focused on issues
SPRINGFIELD—If sparks were flying at the first City Council meeting of the year, they had manners. Equipped with three new members after last year’s elections, the Council moved ahead on a now-moratorium on facial recognition software. The body also formally requested the help of the
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
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—A proposed effort to bolster voter turnout here, if not cure its anemic state, cleared the City Council Monday night. The victory was short-lived. Mayor Domenic Sarno quickly vetoed the measure, offering a garbled explanation. However, it would not be his nonsensical valley this week.
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