Lucas Willard

Several groups in Massachusetts are advocating for a bill that would provide funds to repair or replace dams in the state. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

Senate Bill 1985 – legislation that would provide funds to repair dams across the states – passed the Senate last year. Now, several groups are advocating for its passage in the House before the end of the session.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association is one of them. Executive Director Geoff Beckwith…

This week, the Transgender Rights Equality Act takes effect in Massachusetts. Transgender citizens in Massachusetts are receiving protections against housing, education, and employment discrimination. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

The Federal Health Care Law has people divided across the country, but how will it affect access to care in Massachusetts -a state with its own insurance mandate in place since 2006? WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

Chip Joffee-Halpern, executive director of Ecu Healthcare – a private organization in North Adams that connects citizens with health care options – says that the Affordable Care Act will help fill in some of the gaps in coverage for those who may be ineligible for Massachusetts’ Commonwealth Care – but can’t afford their own coverage.

Environmentalists in Massachusetts are concerned over a controversial bill they say could effectively eliminate endangered species protections in the State. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard Reports…

Sponsor of Senate Bill 1854, Gale Candaras says that the rumors and ideas circulating about her proposal to enforce landowner protections by amending the state’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species laws are misleading.

WINDHAM, Vt. (AP) — A major wind power company is interested in setting up a commercial wind turbine development in Vermont's Windham County. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports..

The Brattleboro Reformer reports Iberdrola Renewables has issued a notice of pending application to place two meteorological-testing towers in Windham and in Grafton.

The towers will allow the company to determine whether to buy construction of a wind farm on 5,000 acres owned by New Hampshire-based Meadowsend Timberlands Limited.

The Massachusetts House has approved a measure calling on school districts to implement a new teacher evaluation system and place performance ahead of seniority in deciding future layoffs.  WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

The legislation, which has already been approved by the Senate, resulted from a compromise struck between the Massachusetts Teachers Association and an advocacy group called Stand for Children that had proposed a statewide ballot question.

The organization has said it would be willing to drop the ballot initiative if the bill becomes law.

Over the past 5 years, Pittsfield has had several economic investments in the arts. As WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports, a new study details the financial impact on the city…

 The study was conducted by American’s for the Arts – a national non-profit that advocates for advancing arts and cultural programs.  The Arts & Economic Prosperity IV economic study looked at 182 different communities across the country over a five-year period, Pittsfield was the only in Massachusetts to participate.

A company seeking to open a heroin addiction treatment clinic in downtown Pittsfield has been halted once again. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard has the story…

The proposed methadone clinic owned by Worcester-based Spectrum Health Services Inc. will need to find a new location in Pittsfield after the owners of the property under consideration declined to rent use of the facility located in a residential neighborhood in downtown Pittsfield.

Pittsfield Mayor Dan Bianchi spoke Tuesday night at a City Council meeting about the new development.

New England's unemployment rate ticked down one-tenth of a percentage point in May and is near its lowest level since January 2009.  WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

The New England office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday the jobless rate in the region was 6.8 percent last month, down from 6.9 percent in April. Officials say it has fallen 1.1 by percent in the last year.

The national rate is 8.2 percent.

Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate in the region, at 11 percent, and the second highest in the United States. Nevada's is 11.6 percent.

U.S. Senator Scott Brown and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick are weighing in on a Supreme Court decision throwing out provisions of Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

The court also upheld the law's "show me your papers" requirement that police to check the status of people stopped for various reasons who might appear to be in the U.S. illegally.

Brown called the ruling another reminder that the federal government needs to deal with the nation's broken immigration system and that the first step is securing the border.