In Latest Floyd Protest, Springfield Leans toward the Local…
SPRINGFIELD—Amid the ever-growing national demonstrations following the death of George Floyd at police hands in Minneapolis, residents here again took to the streets to demand redress for systemic...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please? No, on the Police Commission, Take Our Counsel…
SPRINGFIELD—City Councilors voted Tuesday to accept legal counsel from a pair of Northampton-based lawyers in the ongoing dispute with the mayor over the Police Commission. Some 42 months after the...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: A Horse Is a Horse, of Course of Course…
SPRINGFIELD—Horses are in the streets. Fireworks are flying through the air—and more than a few houses. Mayoral chicanery is afoot on the Police Commission and Council unanimity reigns on steps to...
View ArticleProtest Becomes Accord and Possibly Redemption at Nathan Bill’s…
SPRINGFIELD—An accord to end the tensions between area social justice organizers and a local watering hole had already come together. But, as the sun beat down Saturday afternoon, it did feel as though...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: After the Primaries of Summer Have Gone…
SPRINGFIELD—The City Council virtually returned from August’s semi-recess Monday to find a massive pile of fresh items on the floor requiring attention. The vast majority were financial, but several...
View ArticleBriefings: A Mayor Called Sue(d), Springfield Council Votes to Litigate…
The Springfield City Council overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to authorize litigation against Mayor Domenic Sarno to compel implementation of the city’s Police Commission ordinance. The law passed over the...
View ArticleBriefings: An Executive-Legislative Square Dance Replenishes Sarno’s Staff…
Following the dismissal of constituent services director Darryl Moss, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno has rearranged his staff and appointed a new aide to fill out his office. Lavar Click, a clerk in...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: In Pursuit of Current & Historic Truths…
SPRINGFIELD—For only the third time since the city adopted the Community Preservation Act (CPA), the City Council here thumbed through and approved the recommendations. Councilors love the program as...
View ArticleFor Gomez, Brightwood to Beacon Hill is History & a Springfield Story…
Springfield politicos are no strangers to the Rumbleseat, a Chicopee pub just across the city line. Some have even held fundraisers here. Earlier this month, Ward 1 Councilor Adam Gomez sat at an...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: Laws & Ballot Order…
SPRINGFIELD—The City Council here rejected a Police supervisors labor pact Monday, primarily due to a provision that limits when officers can face discipline. The offending clause is not new. However,...
View ArticlePeering into the Crystal Ball to Reveal Springfield Politics in 2021…
UPDATED 12/7/2020 8:07PM: A previous version of this post incorrectly identified Williams as vice-president this year. He was vice-president in 2019. The conclusion of the 7th Hampden House race means...
View ArticleThe Sound & the Parliamentary, Signifying…a Council Presidency…
SPRINGFIELD—For the first time in many years, the result of the year-end vote to nominate the next Council President was not a foregone conclusion. No contender had previously declared sufficient votes...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: Rules Were Made to Be Amended…
SPRINGFIELD—The City Council here Zoomed into its first regular meeting of 2021 armed with a light agenda. However, the body also had to approve its rules for the term’s new session. That matter had...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: Want to Hold Your Hearing…
SPRINGFIELD—During the pandemic, the City Council has been remote including its laborious special permit hearings. The slower virtual events lead some permits to receive final vote, usually quickly, at...
View ArticleSpringfield Council Explores Strange New Duty, Boldly Chooses a Gomez for...
SPRINGFIELD—Facing a once-in-a-lifetime decision thanks to a quirk in the city charter, the City Council selected a new councilor to replace Adam Gomez who resigned last month. Monday evening,...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Program…
SPRINGFIELD—Beyond selecting a new colleague, the City Council’s Monday night remained within the normal. Still, there were a few standout items. The Council approved the first components of the city’s...
View ArticleWishing Springfield a Not-Quite-Happy Coronaversary…
SPRINGFIELD—Ranking at or near the bottom by various wealth metrics, the City of Homes looked like a sitting duck as the pandemic crashed upon the United States. In the weeks after the City Council’s...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: Consider the Wards of the City…
SPRINGFIELD—The wards were the highlight of Monday’s City Council virtual meeting. Early on, the Council considered a crush of utility petitions that received an unusual amount of scrutiny. Oddly most...
View ArticleCouncil Lifts Oyola from Election Chiefdom to Springfield City Clerk-dom…
SPRINGFIELD—Gladys Oyola, the head of the Springfield Election Commission, will be the next City Clerk after the City Council unanimously selected her. Last week, a search committee had slimmed down a...
View ArticleTake My Council, Please: Mayor’s Post-COVID Budget Passes Unscathed…
SPRINGFIELD—Despite roughly two hours of often passionate debate, the City Council here unanimously approved Mayor Domenico Sarno’s budget for fiscal year 2022 without cuts. With some help from the...
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