New England News

The University of Vermont will freeze tuition next year for all students.

The summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is getting ready for its first full winter. This month, the first season of year-round programming at the sprawling concert venue Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts continues with a pair of events at the new Learning Institute. Director Sue Elliot spoke with WAMC. She says things get under way with Friday’s “TASTE: Spotlight on Argentina.”

With former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick now running for president, Berkshire County politicians are responding.

Vermont agencies are using aerial drones to study toxic chemical contamination underneath an airport.

A Vermont middle school will join a number of schools across the state that are flying a Black Lives Matter flag.

Alterra Mountain Company in Denver says it has entered an agreement to buy Sugarbush Resort in Vermont.

New Jersey psych-rock band Garcia Peoples describes its sound as somewhere between the Velvet Underground and the Grateful Dead. The band is coming to BSP Kingston Friday, promoting the new record “One Step Behind,” its third full-length album since 2018. Guitarist and vocalist Danny Arakaki explained to WAMC how the band came together, and how they created the gargantuan 32-minute title track on their new album.

A long debate about lowering rising tax rates in Pittsfield, Massachusetts ended in deadlock at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

On November 5th, voters in Pittsfield, Massachusetts stuck with incumbent Linda Tyer in a hotly contested mayoral election. Tyer served the city’s first four-year mayoral term after her election in 2015, but finished second in the September preliminary election. In the general, she took 52% at the polls against at-large city councilor Melissa Mazzeo’s 48%. Sitting down with WAMC at city hall, Tyer reflected on the campaign and her plans for the next term.

The Vermont state auditor says numerous questionable choices were made in the administration of the state's remote worker program aimed at attracting new residents by paying them to move to the Green Mountain state.

Vermont State Police investigators are asking for the public's help in identifying a silver pickup truck seen near the Rockingham location where a Boston delivery-truck driver was shot to death.

   A top law enforcement official and the largest health care provider in western Massachusetts have partnered in a campaign to prevent sudden unexpected infant deaths.

Two towns have announced plans to write New Hampshire transportation officials to request that the bridge connecting the two towns be repaired and reopened.

With the first snowstorm of the season arriving in the Northeast, Burlington, Vermont is implementing a parking ban beginning at 10 p.m. Monday.

      Advocates for creating a dog park in the largest city in western Massachusetts have secured money for a feasibility study. 

   The city of Springfield, Massachusetts cut its municipal energy use by 26 percent and now wants residents and businesses to follow the example.

Tate Coleman – the 15-year-old Chairman of the Great Barrington Public Transportation Advisory Committee – is pushing to make public transit more efficient and responsive to Southern Berkshire County residents. The Simons Rock student tells WAMC that a forum Tuesday at the South County Berkshire Community College Center will allow locals to share feedback on efforts to modernize regional bus service.

On Tuesday, the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls will hold a listening session in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts will present data on the lives of women and girls in the region, and allow locals to share their experiences. It’s scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at Greylock Federal Credit Union on Kellogg Street. Commission chair Meg Bossong spoke with WAMC about the event.

A land trust in Sheffield, Massachusetts is holding a trail and property cleanup day Saturday.

Lenox, Massachusetts voters approved a plan to regulate short-term rentals for services like Airbnb at a special town meeting Thursday.

The Pittsfield, Massachusetts Police Department has established a safe exchange zone at its headquarters.

A new electronic health records system is being implemented at the UVM Health Network, a consortium of hospitals in Vermont and northern New York. The goal is to improve communication and patient care throughout the hospital system.

After Tuesday’s elections in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, there is a new political landscape on the city council.

The Berkshire Country branch of the NAACP holds its annual Freedom Fund Awards Dinner Saturday.

North Adams, Massachusetts City Council President Keith Bona will enter his 10th term with his successful re-election bid Tuesday. He’ll return to the chambers alongside five other incumbents, two former councilors, and one newcomer in an election that saw only about a quarter of the city’s registered voters go to the polls. Bona spoke to WAMC about the council’s makeup heading in to 2020, its relationship with Mayor Tom Bernard as he enters his second term, and what big ticket items are on the horizon.

A group of state and local environmental groups are bringing a documentary about the 2018 Merrimack Valley Columbia Gas disaster to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. “Under Pressure” explores the natural gas industry and the impact of the chain of explosions that ripped through dozens of homes in Eastern Massachusetts. It was created by Greenfield’s Four Rivers Charter Public School class of 2019, and will be screened at Berkshire Community College tonight at 5:30 along with guest speakers. Rosemary Wessel, the program director for the Berkshire Environment Action Team’s No Fracked Gas In Mass program, spoke with WAMC about the film, ongoing legislative responses after the disaster, and what role fracking plays in the commonwealth.