New England News

The Vermont House is postponing a vote on whether to override Republican Governor Phil Scott's veto of a bill that would increase the minimum wage.

Last week, Pittsfield, Massachusetts named former city engineer Ricardo Morales its new commissioner of Public Services and Utilities. Morales was hired by the city in 2018 after a career in the private sector working in construction and an education in civil engineering. Mayor Linda Tyer says overseeing the multimillion dollar upgrade of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and carrying out the redesign of Tyler Street would be among Morales’ top priorities. Morales sat down with WAMC to talk about his vision for the department, as well as the status of projects like the wastewater treatment plant.

     What does the largest city in western Massachusetts do with the millions of dollars it gets every year from its single-largest taxpayer?     It was a question City Councilors in Springfield asked at a joint committee meeting Tuesday.

The Burlington City Council had a number of items on its agenda Tuesday evening that kept it working into the early morning hours.  But a resolution that will not be considered for another two weeks brought protesters to the council chambers and led to more than an hour of public comment.

Officials in the largest school district in western Massachusetts say newly released data shows years of efforts to get kids to stay in school and eventually get a diploma are paying off. 

     A program to help families in the hilltowns of western Massachusetts with the high costs of childcare is now under new management.

         Elected officials want to know how the money from the largest taxpayer in the largest city in western Massachusetts is being spent.  

The University of Vermont Health Network — made up of six affiliate hospitals in Vermont and New York — says it's taking steps to address financial troubles after a more than $10 million loss last quarter.

A member of the Vermont House has resigned due to the responsibilities of his job outside of the Legislature.

The Massachusetts Education Department has released 2019 graduation and drop data and officials in Springfield say initiatives to encourage kids to stay in school and get a diploma are paying off.

Great Barrington, Massachusetts is holding a joint meeting between its finance committee and select board next week on next year’s town budget.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts has appointed a new commissioner of Public Services and Utilities.

    Elected officials in the largest city in western Massachusetts are trying to build a closer working relationship with organized labor unions.

Alex Morse is the mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts. He’s also challenging Congressman Richard Neal in this year’s Democratic primary in the 1st Congressional district. This week, Morse sat down with WAMC while campaigning in Pittsfield. He discussed taking on a senior member of his own party, his fundraising, and how he plans to win a district easily carried by Neal in 2018.

The Vermont Senate has overridden Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that would increase the state's minimum wage and forwarded the final decision to the House.

The Pittsfield, Massachusetts city council has voted to ban the sale of animals from breeding mills.

   Massachusetts casino regulators appear ready to formally endorse MGM’s role in an urban renewal project in downtown Springfield.

Major League Baseball is proposing eliminating 42 minor league teams when their contracts expire at the end of 2020. That has caused an uproar and concern among host communities including Burlington, Vermont — home of the minor league Lake Monsters.

After decades of waiting, construction is underway on a new affordable housing project in downtown Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Independent auditors presented their review of Burlington, Vermont’s finances to the City Council this week.  A key weakness is delays in reporting from the city’s clerk-treasurer’s office.

A complex and expensive urban renewal project that has confounded developers for decades in the largest city in western Massachusetts may be close to becoming reality.

The Berkshire County District Attorney’s office has closed its investigation into the March 2019 quadruple murder-suicide in Sheffield, Massachusetts that sent shockwaves through the community. Now, newly released documents are shedding some light on the family at the center of the tragedy. A warning – the details of this story are upsetting, and may not be appropriate for all listeners.

On Monday, U.S. Senator Ed Markey was in Berkshire County for an Environmental Protection Agency press conference on a new cleanup plan for the Housatonic River. The Democrat spoke with WAMC about the plan and the activists who oppose it. Markey also discussed what it was like to see President Donald Trump acquitted on charges of abuse of power in the Senate impeachment trial last week.

VTDigger has begun a series of meetings over the next year to discuss significant issues affecting Vermont.  The first of the Fast Forward forums, held recently on the UVM campus, was motivated by the outlet’s investigations into corrections facilities and a Seven Days article that exposed allegations of staff misconduct at Vermont’s only women’s prison.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has awarded $1 million per year over the next three years for an ongoing investigation into the impact of bringing casino gambling to the state.