New England News

Ameristar Casinos has signed an agreement to use union construction workers on the resort casino it hopes to build in Springfield Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports.

The owner of a Massachusetts magic store has been sentenced to two years in prison for making more than $560,000 disappear from a longtime customer's credit card account. WAMC’s Lucas Willard has more…

Harry Levy of Lexington was also sentenced in federal court in Boston on Thursday to two years of probation and was ordered to pay full restitution.

Prosecutors say the 61-year-old Levy tried to cover up the fraud by lying to federal investigators and submitting false records to the grand jury.

Union officials who gathered in western Massachusetts Friday for a Labor Day observance said they were energized by President Obama’s  Thursday night speech at the Democratic National Convention.  The task for the labor leaders now is to convince union households not to desert the  Democratic party as the economy continues to struggle.  WAMC”S Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

A bridge replacement project linking Vermont and New Hampshire is a step closer to approval.

An environmental assessment has been completed and sent to federal authorities on a proposed Route 119 replacement bridge that would span the Connecticut River and connect Hinsdale and Brattleboro along the New Hampshire-Vermont border.

The Brattleboro Reformer reports the assessment looked at how water quality, wetlands, and historical resources would be affected by the project. Officials are examining its location near a gas company tank farm.