News List

SPRINGFIELD — Fresh from a long night of managing debate and securing passage of the $2 trillion Build Back Better Act, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal explained Friday afternoon the impact of what he called once-in-a-lifetime legislation.   “It’s a really terrific piece of substantive work,” said Neal, D-Springfield.   He hosted a press conference at the federal… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM)--The House of Representatives passed president Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act. Congressman Richard Neal stopped by the Courthouse Atrium in Springfield Friday.   To praise the passage of the $1.9 trillion spending act. Something he said will benefit middle-class families right here in western Mass. "The child credit the pay family… Read more »

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – A Veterans Day wreath laying ceremony was held in Chicopee Thursday morning. Wreaths were laid at the six monuments in Veterans Memorial Plaza. Each monument pays tribute to the city’s veterans who served from the Civil War up to the War on Terror. This year’s ceremony included a special tribute. “We had a chimed bell that was rung 21 times, the significance… Read more »

After bitter internal disputes over President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, a top Democrat says the party will coalesce around his Build Back Better bill. Six Democrats voted against Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill after a protracted battle. With 13 Republican votes, the legislation passed late Friday. Democratic Congressman Richard Neal of Massachusetts’ 1st district… Read more »

LEE — It’s not exactly the culmination of a dream — not yet anyway — but it’s the beginning of the realization of a developer’s vision to rehabilitate an old downtown mill complex and turn it into a housing and retail center that everyone hopes will revitalize the town of Lee. Under a tent at the Eagle Mill complex this morning, developer Jeffrey N. Cohen welcomed about 100 people… Read more »

LEE — The $60 million Eagle Mill redevelopment could be a catalyst for affordable housing in the Lee area and throughout Berkshire County. But, that housing needs a huge infusion of taxpayer money to get built. That was the assessment of federal, state and local officials Wednesday, during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the revitalization of the dormant Eagle Mill paper-making… Read more »

PITTSFIELD — For much of the next two years, the Pittsfield branch of the Berkshire Family YMCA will be an active construction zone as the facility undergoes a $12.4 million renovation. Officials for the nonprofit say the final product will be worth the wait. On the other side of the project: an expanded child care center, modernized fitness center, and the county’s first public… Read more »

U.S. Representative Richard Neal of Springfield said Wednesday he's pushing Governor Charlie Baker to invest some new federal infrastructure funds in passenger rail expansion for western Massachusetts. The White House said Massachusetts could receive $12 billion under the legislation, which is awaiting the president's signature. That could help a proposal to expand service between… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Now that the major infrastructure bill passed through Congress last week, what does that mean for our transportation needs here in western Massachusetts? The more than $1 trillion bill passed Friday. Now, billions of dollars are coming to Massachusetts to help improve our aging infrastructure. The new law will add, on average, 2 million jobs a year over the… Read more »

LEE, Mass. (WWLP) – A historic Berkshire County paper mill will soon become mixed-use housing. For more than two centuries, the building has stood on the edge of the Housatonic Tiver and has been empty for decades. Now, the Eagle Mill will soon be transformed into affordable apartments and other community space. “We’ve been in the middle of a housing crisis for more than a generation in… Read more »