In the News

A coalition of the Bay State’s lawmakers on Capitol Hill have called on bankrupt Steward Health Care to look after some 1,200 workers set to lose their jobs at month’s end. “Steward must finally act responsibly toward its workers and pay them the severance and accumulated paid time off they are owed,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Steward CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre and… Read more »

The city will see more than 1,500 new trees planted, the Mason Square Library will soon have a more reliable, environmentally friendly air-conditioning system for its cooling center, and thousands of homes will be improved with new roofs, new windows, and mold and lead abatement over the next three years. On Wednesday, eight local agencies and a half-dozen city departments joined… Read more »

The new North Adams Regional Hospital won’t have to worry about money like the old one.   Berkshire Health Systems announced Thursday that NARH has been deemed a critical access hospital. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved the designation on July 31, which applies retroactively to July 12.   Since opening in March, NARH has provided outpatient services… Read more »

Funding for a superstructure solution to a longtime traffic headache in Hampden County, Massachusetts has been announced. It could also have implications for the state's ongoing west-east rail project. It's one thing for drivers to brake and wait at a railway crossing as a locomotive heads through. But for drivers heading between West Springfield and Agawam at Front and Bridge streets -… Read more »

A plan to protect the New England Teamsters Pension Plan, the third largest Teamster pension fund in the nation, has been approved.   The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced the union’s acceptance by the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program, protecting the pensions of workers, retirees, and beneficiaries.   Congressman Richard E. Neal met with union… Read more »

NASA astronaut Stephanie D. Wilson and her crewmates completed this week 18 months of training ahead of the planned August launch to the International Space Station.   For Wilson, the pathway to orbit really began in Pittsfield. As a student at what was then Crosby Junior High School, she interviewed a Williams College astronomer for her career day project.   “I was really… Read more »

A small parcel of land off Liberty Street that was once targeted to be a gas station or small commercial plaza will instead be protected as a place for wetlands to remain undisturbed, trees to grow and animals to take refuge.   The city officially announced last week the purchase of nine contiguous lots, which total 5.8 acres, from O’Connell Oil Associates Inc. While it will… Read more »

Three Massachusetts lawmakers are pressing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to ground the V-22 Osprey aircraft again until the military can fix the root causes of multiple recent accidents, including a deadly crash in Japan. In a letter sent to Austin on Thursday, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Richard Neal called the decision to return Ospreys… Read more »

The state Department of Transportation has approved a new five-year capital investment plan which includes another huge sum of money to advance the vision of West-East Rail. The $123 million will be used to make track improvements between Springfield and Worcester, plan and design a future station in Palmer, and add capacity to track in Pittsfield. It will also fund preliminary… Read more »

It’s never too late to celebrate a big federal grant for an important historic preservation project.   At a Town Hall gathering on Tuesday with town officials and news reporters, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, touted a $750,000 payback from the 2023 U.S. budget to the town for critical restoration of the Town Hall cupola in May 2022.   The cupola's deterioration… Read more »