New England News

Great Barrington and Richmond are two of the latest cities and towns in Massachusetts to be designated Green Communities by Governor Deval Patrick’s administration. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard attended the designation event and filed a report…

The Green Communities program recognizes cities and towns that promote renewable energy and have cut their energy use by 20% over five years. In this latest round of designations, 17 new cities and towns are eligible for 2.75 million in competitive state grants to fund local green energy projects.

The  Massachusetts Gaming Commission  is holding a forum in western Massachusetts Wednesday on some of the issues pertaining to casino development..WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports.    

Opponents continued their protests at the Lowell Mountain wind project Tuesday, a day after six people were arrested as they stopped construction at the site for half a day.

No surprise for Northeast residents sweating out the summer after a winter barely touching their snow shovels: this is the hottest year on record in the region so far.

The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University reported Tuesday that the average temperature in the 12-state region was 49.9 degrees from January through July. That's the warmest seven-month period since 1895, the year systematic record keeping began.
   
The second-warmest comparable period was 1921, when the seven-month average was 49.2 degrees.

The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled against a county sheriff who sued the city of St. Albans over providing police services to the town of the same name.

Last year, the town of St. Albans decided to replace its law enforcement coverage from sheriff's deputies with police patrols from the adjoining city.

Town officials wanted 24-hour coverage. They felt Franklin County Sheriff Bob Norris was asking for more money than the city was. Norris sued the city, saying the bidding process was so unfair that it killed any competition.