News

By Kelly Wilkinson

Boston, MA – A new legislative session in Massachusetts gets underway in one month. WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief Kelly Wilkinson talked with a local representative and a political science expert about what to expect from the two-year session.

By Pat Bradley

Montpelier, VT – Vermont Democrats have officially nominated Gaye Symington as their candidate for speaker of the Vermont House. Symington is poised to become the second woman to hold the highest post in Vermont's House. WAMC's Pat Bradley reports.

By Eesha Williams

Holyoke, MA – The federal Environmental Protection Agency has threatened to fine the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts. The EPA wants the city to do a better job cleaning up its wastewater before pouring it into the Connecticut River. But the federal government has not offered to help pay the cost of fixing the problem. Holyoke's mayor has come up with a plan to privatize the city's sewage treatment system. But the plan has run into some opposition. WAMC's Eesha Williams reports.

By Allison Dunne

Kingston, NY – A discount prescription drug program offered from one Hudson Valley county doesn't have as many takers as officials had hoped. One county legislators says marketing is to blame. WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne has the story.

By Kelly Wilkinson

Great Barrington, MA – The Berkshire Visitors Bureau, concerned about their aging market, is looking to refocus some of their marketing. More from WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief Kelly Wilkinson.

By Pat Bradley

Plattsburgh, NY – The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce hosted a visit from the leader of Canada's opposition party today. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Allison Dunne

Kingston, NY – New York has released its list of schools that report the most acts of violence. Some Hudson Valley-based schools are on the list. The superintendent of one of these schools says his school is there undeservedly so. Others say it's unfair to make any comparisons from the list given varying definitions of so-called dangerous acts from district to district. State education officials agree. More from WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne.

By Eesha Williams

Greenfield, MA – A federal court in Boston this week sided against the state of Massachusetts, and in favor of a marijuana legalization group that wants to place ads on buses. The judges based their ruling on the First Amendment. WAMC's Eesha Williams reports.

By Pat Bradley

Albany, NY – Derby Line, Vermont and Champlain, New York are among the U-S Customs stations that are among the first to get new computerized equipment to track container shipments. The new technology is part of a pilot program that will upgrade border crossings throughout the region.
WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Kelly Wilkinson

Williamstown, MA – Voters in Williamstown, Massachusetts weighed in on a controversial water issue at special town meeting last night. The question was whether to extend the town's water line into an undeveloped part of town. Several local nonprofits would have picked up the tab, but as WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief Kelly Wilkinson reports, there were concerns about whether expanding public water would have changed the area's character.