Tagged: massachusetts

The state is plans to cut back HIV testing and education spending in jails. Over $1 million dollars have been eliminated from programs in houses of correction.

Kevin Cranston, director of the state Bureau of Infectous Disease, says that due to the tight budget, the state is making cuts they believe will have the least amount of impat.

State prisons will be spared the cuts. Cranston also says that not all HIV programs in county jails will be eliminated.  

The warm March brought an early asparagus crop to farms that are known for it in western Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Now farmers are wondering if the cool spring will bring an early end to the season.

Sunderland farmer Michael Wisserman tells The Republican of Springfield he wasn't fooled when the temperature hit the 80s in March. He knew cool weather was coming.

So even though he was harvesting in April, a full month earlier than normal, now he wonders if the season can last its usual length, into late June.

Officials in Springfield Massachusetts have announced plans to hire a professional consultant to help negotiate with would-be casino developers.   WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

The mayor’s office announced Thursday that it will seek bids from firms experienced in representing municipalities with gaming industry projects.  Bids will be accepted for a month.

It’s another sign Springfield officials are anxious to see a resort casino built in the city to bring jobs and revenue. The Springfield City Council recently named a casino siting advisory committee. 

With the start of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season less than a month away, hundreds of people attended a hurricane preparedness conference Wednesday in central Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

The director of the National Hurricane Center, Bill Read urged hundreds of public safety officials not to be in denial when they see a forecast that has a hurricane tracking to New England.

Read said since 1990 hurricane tracking errors, 48 hours from landfall, have been cut in half. But forecasting a storm’s intensity remains tricky…

The federal “Secure Communities” program requires that fingerprints be taken from arrested individuals and compared to immigration and FBI databases. Proponents are saying the program is the most effective tool for detecting illegal immigrants. Opponents argue the system leads to racial profiling, or targets low-level offenders.

About 200 people are expected to lose their jobs when TD Bank closes a customer call center in Springfield at the end of the year.

The workers learned at a meeting Tuesday night that the 24/7 customer support center will close in December as part of a decision to consolidate call centers to locations in Maine, New Jersey and South Carolina.

The branch at the location will remain open.

Bank spokesman Jimmy Hernandez tells WWLP-TV it was a difficult decision and did not reflect job performance.

Plans to bring a $1 billion resort-style casino proposed by Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn to the New England Patriots' hometown have been suspended.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Tuesday's announcement from The Kraft Group and Wynn Resorts came after Foxborough voters elected two selectmen who opposed negotiations with Wynn.

He had planned to build the resort on land leased from Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Under a Massachusetts law legalizing casino gambling, casino developers must negotiate an agreement with the city or town where they hope to build.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has notified state officials that they plan to launch the federal Secure Communities program in Massachusetts over the objections of Governor Deval Patrick and immigration activists.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Massachusetts Public Safety Secretary Mary Beth Heffernan described Secure Communities as an information sharing program between federal agencies that can only be implemented by the federal government.

Massachusetts is launching a new online system for employers to check criminal backgrounds of prospective workers, but their searches are only being allowed to go back 10 years.

Supporters of the new Criminal Offender Record Information system — known as CORI — say it will help former convicts who have paid their debt to society and stayed out of trouble for a decade get jobs and reintegrate into society.

Opponents say companies have a right to known the complete criminal history of hirees.