Paul Tuthill

Figures released in Massachusetts Tuesday show the city of Springfield had the 5th highest unemployment rate last month of any city or town in the state.  WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports.

The Massachusetts economy,  which had been growing at a much faster rate than the nation’s as a whole is showing signs of slowing.  Experts believe the Baystate is being buffeted by forces beyond its borders.   WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

   A new report from the Massachusetts Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Tuesday, said seasonally unadjusted  unemployment rates  rose in a majority of the state’s 22  local labor markets in June, reflecting a statewide slow down in permanent hiring.

It was a record breaking year for the state lottery in Massachusetts, as we hear from WAMC’s Paul Tuthill

State Treasurer Steven Grossman said Tuesday that the lottery pulled in an estimated $981 million in net profit during the state fiscal year that ended June 30. That was the highest profit in the lottery's 40-year history, eclipsing by $30 million the previous record set in fiscal year 2006.

Education officials in Massachusetts are stressing the importance of early childhood literacy when it comes to closing the achievement gap.  A pioneering reading proficiency program in Springfield has been nationally recognized.  WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

Massachusetts gas prices continue to climb, rising nine cents per gallon in the last week. WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports.

AAA Southern New England reported Monday that the average price of a gallon of self-serve, regular was $3.56.

It's the second straight week of rising prices after an identical nine cent per gallon increase the week before.

Massachusetts prices are also nine cents above the national average. But they're 18 cents lower than the statewide average a year ago at this time.

Massachusetts Education Secretary Paul Reville will be touring the state to push the importance of literacy for children.    WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports.

Reville launched his tour Monday with a morning stop at the Ellis Memorial Pre-School Program in Boston. He will travel to Worcester, Sharon and Lowell in the next two weeks to promote child literacy and the state's goal of making every child in Massachusetts proficient in reading by the third grade.

Tina D’Agostino was named this week as the new president of the Springfield Performing Arts Development Corporation. It is a non-profit that manages two live entertainment venues in Springfield Massachusetts; Symphony Hall and City Stage.  D’Agostino was the organization’s marketing director for the last ten years.  She spoke with WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill

A crime bill that is intended to keep habitual criminals off the streets is heading to the desk of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.  WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports.

The unemployment rate in Massachusetts held steady in June, but the state’s economy lost jobs for the first time in seven months . WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports.

   Massachusetts lost an estimated 26 hundred jobs in June. The unemployment rate remained at 6%, according to the latest report from the state’s office of Labor and Workforce Development.  Robert Nakosteen, a professor of economics at UMass Amherst, says in the face of a stalling national recovery and global economic worries, businesses in Massachusetts are skittish when it comes to hiring people