In the News

HOLYOKE — Standing outside of Holyoke Medical Center on Saturday morning, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal announced $8.7 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to the hospital that officials say will help secure valuable resources to continue fighting the pandemic. “That $8.7 million will bring back people that we still have out furloughed, it will buy us additional PPE (and)… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- All eyes are on Senate Republicans, who are expected to release a new stimulus package proposal as early as Monday. Congressman Richard Neal told Western Mass News he hopes the Senate and the House will agree on a package in the next few days. "We wanted them to have money for the day-to-day needs of life," Neal explained. With the extra $600 weekly… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- The next COVID-19 aid package could be coming soon. President Trump met with Republican congressional leaders on Monday to iron out the details on what could be in the next relief package. Congressman Richard Neal told us Monday that it’s time for Congress to act before the extra unemployment benefits run out at the end of the month. As Americans… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern will never forget the time he was arrested alongside civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis while they protested the Darfur genocide outside of the Sudanese embassy in Washington in April 2009. Nor will he forget the time when the two were part of a sit-in on the House floor protesting inaction on gun violence in June 2016. These stories shared by McGovern,… Read more »

PITTSFIELD — When Dennis Powell met U.S. Rep. John Lewis, he instantly experienced the humility of the civil rights icon. The moment came in 2017, at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' graduation. After someone introduced Powell to Lewis as the president of the NAACP's Berkshires chapter, the congressman from Georgia thanked Powell for his service. Powell chuckled. "Are… Read more »

A member of Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s inner circle during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and one of the longest-serving representatives in the House of Representatives, John Lewis died Friday after battling pancreatic cancer. While Lewis served as the U.S. Rep. for the Fifth District of Georgia since 1987, he also had an outsized impact in Springfield as well. U.S. Rep.… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD — As numbers of coronavirus patients at Baystate Medical Center continue to drop, health administrators and political leaders are crediting the dedicated essential workers who have helped care for patients who have contracted the virus. Mark A. Keroack, president and CEO, of Baystate Health, said the hospital has experienced losses, but also many success cases… Read more »

BOSTON — Trustees of the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke have endorsed multiple recommendations made in a highly critical state investigation into dozens of coronavirus-related deaths at the facility for aging veterans. The board of trustees met by teleconference Tuesday for the first time since the report was released on June 24, Masslive.com reported. Members passed 13… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – On Thursday, U.S. Representative Richard Neal visited Baystate Medical Center to thank frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a news conference in front of the hospital, Rep. Neal discussed the last stimulus package and how crucial it was for hospitals during the pandemic, securing necessary testing sites and providing personal protective… Read more »

LUDLOW — Inmates in the York Street Industries vocational training program at the Hampden County Correctional Center have made 67,000 face masks as well as hundreds of protective face shields and gowns for the fight against the coronavirus. And on Wednesday they got a visit from U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal congratulating them on their efforts and handing out award… Read more »