Paul Tuthill

     Massachusetts  education officials Monday will release the latest statewide student achievement test results.    WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports.

   State officials will be looking for improvements in third grade reading scores in the latest round of MCAS testing.  Several of the state’s struggling urban school systems have stressed reading programs in the early grades. It’s a priority in Holyoke, where school committee member Michael Moriarity says just 25 percent of the third graders are proficient in reading.

  The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $1.1 million grant to the YWCA of Western Massachusetts for a program to help high school drop outs obtain academic and job skills.  WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports

   YWCA Executive director Mary Reardon Johnson said the federal funding , spread out over three years, will allow the program to double to about 60 the number of youth it can serve each year. The program is based on a national model, called YouthBuild, which recruits drop outs between the ages of 18 and 24 who may have been abused at home or been in trouble with the law.

     Hampshire College in Amherst has become the latest campus in the country to ban the sale of bottled water.   WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports

       Casino operators are promising thousands of jobs will be created when a resort casino project comes to western Massachusetts.  Labor leaders are working to guarantee construction jobs go only to union workers. A civil rights leader is seeking assurances that jobs will be plentiful for people of color. WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

         The Eastern States Exposition, one of the country’s oldest and largest fairs opens its 17 run Friday . WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports.

   The  “Big E”  is one of  western  Massachusetts’ biggest economic engines.  It attracts more than a million visitors each year  to the 175 acre  fairgrounds in West Springfield.  Big E  CEO  Gene Cassidy says it remains so popular after 95 years, by  getting big name entertainers like this year’s headliners, Alan Jackson and Jeff Dunham, but also staying true to its roots as an agricultural fair.

   Officials in Holyoke Massachusetts have produced a plan to eliminate blight and bring redevelopment to impoverished neighborhoods.   WAMC”s Paul Tuthill  reports.

   Holyoke’s Urban Renewal Plan calls for the  redevelopment authority to acquire dozens of commercial, residential and industrial properties in the center city, more than 90 percent are abandoned buildings or vacant lots.  Buildings with historic significance would be saved for renovation, the rest demolished.  Mayor Alex Morse said it is an ambitious plan.

A Massachusetts native was one of the four Americans killed in Lybia in an attack by suspected Islamic terrorists.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports.

       Hampshire County Massachusetts is marking the  350th anniversary of its founding this year. Later this week people will have an opportunity to view rare old documents that highlight some of the early history of the region.  There is a grand celebration planned for this Friday in Northampton. WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Todd Ford, the executive director of the Hampshire Council of Governments.

   The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is urging Springfield to put the brakes  on its casino competition. WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports

   The state’s gaming industry regulators and Springfield city officials clashed Tuesday over the city’s plans to evaluate casino development proposals and have a binding voter referendum this Spring. Commissioner James McHugh said the commission would not be ready to evaluate a license application by then.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission clashed with Springfield city officials Tuesday over the city’s proposed casino selection competition.  The state and local timetables that would lead to the launch of a resort casino development in western Massachusetts remain at odds.   WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.