James Paleologopoulos

Last week, the United States Congress left Washington for the year - after both the House and Senate came short of passing key subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans. Without tax credits, households relying on the ACA marketplace plans are likely to see their premiums skyrocket - affecting at least 22 million people. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos spoke with Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal of the 1st district about the situation

All year, Northampton, Massachusetts, saw plenty of intense school funding and city budget debates. But as the City Council held its last regular meeting Thursday, it became clear another hurdle was on the horizon — a lawsuit filed by an outgoing councilor.

Considered one of the first planned industrial cities in the country, Holyoke, Mass. has its fair share of historic buildings and structures.Several make up the North High Street Historic District: a spot found on the National Register and also where a developer’s revitalizing 150-year-old structures, adding housing as the state confronts its housing shortage.

A stretch of Springfield, Mass., that was once home to a dead mall and acres of empty parking lots is back to hosting customers.

While an official selection won’t happen until January, the city council in Springfield, Mass. appears ready to be led by a Black woman for the first time in its history.

One of the biggest employers in western Massachusetts says unless Congress acts, expiring health insurance subsidies will mean higher costs for practically everyone, whether or not their plan is through the Affordable Care Act.

This week, Springfield, Mass., nearly became the biggest city in the state to ban the sale of various kratom products. The City Council’s already passed similar restrictions on synthetic cannabinoids or 'gas station weed,' but on the brink of banning synthetic kratom, a majority of councilors balked and tabled the matter amid issues raised in the council chambers.

Cannabis regulators in Massachusetts have given their final approvals on special "social consumption" license types - licenses that could pave the way for new kinds of marijuana-related businesses and offerings.It took some time to finalize and it could a while before the first licensees emerge, but officials tell WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos they're optimistic.

The city council in Northampton, Massachusetts, has greenlit several green-minded efforts for the city’s school district – all building toward the city’s carbon neutrality goals. Through a special fund and borrowing, the projects will cost about $12 million – with most of it going toward a geothermal heating system for Northampton High School.The projects received unanimous approval from the city’s school committee – but the council needed a special meeting to get them across the finish line.WAMC’s Samantha Simmons spoke with Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos about the development.

After a year of seeing need for their services only rise, a nonprofit in western Massachusetts is nearly done collecting toys for its annual gift giveaway. Serving rural western Mass. and beyond, “It Takes a Village” is still taking gift donations this week – all part of an effort to connect families in need with gifts for young ones.