In the News

As states and local governments grapple with a federal grant freeze, Springfield, Massachusetts, is still hoping to put recently-awarded grant money to work — paving the way for a new fleet of electric buses. Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal of the 1st district says a $9.9 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency will be “carried through” in the face of the Trump… Read more »

Caring Health Center has a 2,000-person waiting list. On Feb. 3, it will open a new facility on Boston Road to address that demand.   “Because there is a need,” said Tania M. Barber, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. “There are 2,000 people in the community on a waitlist to access care.”   Caring Health, now in its 30th year, focuses on removing barriers to health care by… Read more »

In the first hours of his presidency, Donald Trump granted sweeping pardons to January 6 defendants and, on Tuesday, we’re heard exclusively from a Massachusetts congressman who was in the U.S. Capitol that day Congressman Richard Neal said he was on a call with the Secretary of State for northern Ireland when the activity began at the Capitol.  He told Western Mass News that,… Read more »

Three Agawam High School students recently won a Congressional App Challenge for developing a journaling app that can serve as a safe space for students and a way to improve their level of writing. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) visited the school on Jan. 13 to present Matilda Larochelle, Aiden Jordan and Justin Barbaneagra with a first-place award for their app, Journal N’ Go.… Read more »

When President-elect Donald Trump officially takes office on Monday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal will be there.   “Members can make their own determination,” Neal said of other government officials decision whether to attend the 47th president's inauguration. “I’ve not missed one since I’ve been elected … That doesn’t mean we relinquish our points of view.”   Despite months of… Read more »

When U.S. Representative Seth Moulton of Salem attended President Donald Trump’s first inaugural address back in 2017, he thought Trump’s reference to building new railways signaled a possible point of bipartisan collaboration with the new administration. Fast forward eight years, and Moulton says he heard nothing comparably hopeful in Trump’s second inaugural address. Moulton contends… Read more »

Sublime Systems welcomed Mayor Joshua A. Garcia and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, Friday to the now-vacant 16-acre site the Somerville firm selected to scale up its first-of-a kind process for making low-carbon cement.   The site was once a string of paper mills at the foot of Lyman Street, stretched between the Second Level Power Canal and the Connecticut River.… Read more »

A workable agenda that can pass a closely-divided Congress — that’s what U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said he wants to hear from the president-elect at next week’s inauguration.   Neal said he will attend the inauguration on Jan. 20. The Democrat representing the state’s 1st Congressional District said he doesn’t want to hear chaos and vindictiveness from President-elect Donald Trump… Read more »

Ireland will play an “elevated role” in Europe in negotiating trade deals with Donald Trump, a leading US congressman has said.   The ancestral and economic connections between the two countries will be critical when it comes to having sway over the incoming administration, claims Richard Neal, the Democratic representative for Massachusetts.   Neal told The Sunday Times… Read more »

It's been 26 years since the concept of a Connecticut to Vermont bike trail was first proposed — and 130 since a proposal was put forward for a path between North Adams and Williamstown.   Those dreams took another step forward on Friday with the announcement of $17.3 million in federal funding for the "Adventure to Ashuwillticook Trail," a 9.3-mile section from the Mohican Path… Read more »