News
Guest Column: Mouthpieces for Big Business
After the blatantly manufactured “statewide” report on municipal health insurance entitled “The Utility of Trouble. Municipal Health Plans: Gilded Benefits from a Bygone Era,” released in April by the Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts...Eho Approves Outdoor Market
The City of Easthampton recently approved applications for what will be a large outdoor market in the parking lot of the former Fedor Pontiac car dealership at 228 Northampton St. (Rte. 10). The market, organized by Carla Racine of Northampton, is the first of its...
Springfield Armory: Swords into Ploughshares
In an era when the cries over the outsourcing of American manufacturing are only drowned out by the sound of Chinese factories running at full steam, it’s easy to forget that at one time, the United States was a leader in the business of making things. Though...A Case of Sour Grapes
Conservatives had two options in responding to news that Osama bin Laden had been killed: They could either celebrate along with the rest of America and concede that the Obama administration had done the right thing, or they could lose their minds completely and...Facebook Caught Smearing Google
“The American people must be made aware of the now immediate intrusions into their deeply personal lives Google is cataloging and broadcasting every minute of every day—without their permission.” The above bombast was part of a much longer email...Opinion: Deficit Reduction Requires Shared Sacrifice
At a time when this country faces a $14 trillion national debt and a huge deficit, Congress must aggressively move toward deficit reduction. However, as we do so, we must be mindful of what caused the deficit in the first place, and make certain that the solution to...ImperiumWatch: Too Little Water, Too Much
In a down economy, the news centers around money. Tax cuts, tax hikes. Outrageous bonuses for irresponsible Wall Street executives. The shortfalls in everyone’s retirement accounts. These are real problems, but they take our attention off even more ominous...Union Head Haynes Won't Run
The longtime president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Robert J. Haynes, announced last week that he will not seek re-election to the position he’s held since 1998, opening the door for what he said he hopes will be “younger” leadership. A former...
Springfield: A City in Ruins
The morning after the tornado touched down in Springfield, photographer Paul Shoul took to the streets. To view a gallery of photos from that day, click on the icons to the right, below the large photo. * An Ill Wind In a house in West Springfield, a woman throws her...Local Newscaster Bob Paquette Dies at 55
Bob Paquette, WFCR/WNNZ’s longtime producer, reporter and host of the station’s Morning Edition program, died of an apparent heart attack over the Memorial Day weekend, leaving for many a void in their day which will be difficult to fill. A familiar voice...
Proud in Springfield
Growing up in Springfield, Amaad Rivera says, he didn’t have any openly gay adult role models. When he came out at 18, he didn’t have anyone to talk to about what he was feeling and experiencing, and neither did his mother. “I grew up here, and...ImperiumWatch: After bin Laden
Bin Laden’s death may be the most momentous event of this year—or it may seem to be. After the clapping and the dancing, it’s time for our afterthoughts about what difference his death really makes. It’s too soon to be sure, but it may make...Between the Lines: The Age of Scofflaws
In the long-ago epoch when Bill Clinton made a credible-sounding populist run at the presidency, he hymned the American dream as a compact securing a better future for those who “worked hard and played by the rules.” Here at the shank end of the great...Letters: What Do You Think?
Bring On the Train In my opinion, it is truly awesome that we’re finally getting these architectural treasures back (“Your City’s Front Door,” May 26, 2011)—as functional improvements to our infrastructure! I can’t wait to take the...Farm Stand Season
There are certain unmistakable signs that summer is finally coming to the Valley: the exquisite local asparagus. That certain, shall we say, organic odor in Hadley. And, in recent years, the publication of the annual Locally Grown Farm Products Guide. If your...
Historic Northampton Campus for Sale
After 143 years, the Clarke School for Hearing and Speech is leaving its 11-plus-acre campus at the top of Round Hill in Northampton. It won’t be going far, though. The administration is consolidating operations to Bell Hall, a newer building on the edge of the...ImperiumWatch: Phantom Tollbooths
Summer is road trip time, but as we pack our cars for those long-awaited vacations, a sobering fact confronts us: the cost of travel will never be as low as it used to be. That’s not only because the era of cheap oil is over, but because American roads are...Letters: What Do You Think?
The Archaeology Beat Regarding James Heflin’s June 16 Art in Paradise column about the loss of ancient artifacts in Iraq (“Destroying the Past”): John Russell is a brilliant, kind and considerate expert in ancient Near East archaeology. I had the...Between the Lines: The Corruption Factory
I wasn’t surprised when a federal jury last week convicted former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi on seven of nine criminal charges. I didn’t spend a single moment in the courtroom, but I’ve been reading about DiMasi’s legal troubles...Vermonters Get Ready for Entergy v. Shumlin
Activists are asking the public to join them at a rally on June 23 and June 24 outside the federal court in Brattleboro, where the trial of Entergy v. Shumlin will be held both days from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Peter Shumlin is governor of Vermont. Entergy is the...Waste not
In 2002, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed an ambitious resolution to address the increasingly sticky problem of how to handle the city’s waste. The resolution called for the city to divert 75 percent of its solid waste from its landfill by 2010....ImperiumWatch: Foreign Radwaste Coming
The fear that poor towns, regions or countries could become dumping areas for toxic material, including nuclear waste, was what led to protests against so-called “environmental injustice”—practices that embody the worst effects of the intrusion of...
Tornado Recovery
Springfield has held the unhappy distinction of being the foreclosure capital of Massachusetts; last year, 595 properties were foreclosed on in the City of Homes, more than in any other municipality in the state, including Boston. Foreclosure rates have been slowing...
Just One Floor Up from Hell
Easthampton’s Cellar Bar began as a subterranean extension of its glamorous upstairs sister, Venus—as a chic but casual complementary space. Venus, which opened in the summer of 2009, offered high-end, Latin- and French-inspired dinner menus created by...Letters: What Do You Think?
For Whom the Tolls Rise Toll roads must produce revenue to defray costs of borrowed money they use for road work, regular maintenance, costs of toll collections, and the 10 percent or more profits to the (foreign-based) shareholders (see “Phantom...Hospitality Workers Rally for Tornado Relief
Rudi R. Scherff, the proprietor of the the Student Prince Cafe and The Fort Restaurant in Springfield, says he always wondered what a tornado would be like. Now that he knows, he says, he hopes it’s his only such experience. “Once was enough,”...Between the Lines: Will the Printed Word Survive?
Borders Books and Music, which once employed 30,000 workers at more than 600 stores, is bankrupt. Those numbers have been halved. And even after these massive cuts, analysts say, Borders is probably doomed. The next time you walk past the empty ghost store where your...ImperiumWatch: Mass Extinction in the Sea?
During the past 600 million years, scientists say, there have been five “global extinction events” in the ocean. Now we’re headed for another one unless we shrink our carbon footprint and quit overfishing now, not later, according to a group of...Saving History in the City of Homes
Last week, City Hall signaled that Springfield was moving into a post-tornado “rebuilding phase.” Almost four weeks to the day after the June 1 storm that ripped through the city, Mayor Domenic Sarno officially kicked off a new “public/private”...Rivera Opts to Run At-Large
Amaad Rivera, Ward 6 representative to the Springfield City Council, says he’s proud of what he’s accomplished during his short time on the Council, and he intends to do even more—just from a different seat. After initially taking out nomination...
Sports Go Green
Originally painted green in 1947 to cover a slew of advertising images, Fenway Park’s left-field wall has been affectionately known as the Green Monster ever since. Yet until recently, there has been little that was sustainably green about ye olde ballpark save...Between the Lines: When College Pays
Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun may not be the highest-paid university administrator in Massachusetts, but at more than $900,000 a year as of 2009, I think it’s fair to say he’s doing pretty well. When I called Aoun’s office last week,...Pride and Prejudice
On June 9, members of Springfield’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community and their allies gathered on the steps of City Hall with city officials. They were there for a flag-raising ceremony marking the return of Pride Week in the city. Almost a...Between the Lines: Homeopathic Inflation
There’s a game of chicken going on this summer, and it doesn’t involve cars, train-hopping or holding lit cigarettes between forearms. The federal government may go into default on the national debt as of Aug. 2. Congress is trying to hash out the details...ImperiumWatch: Wealth, Taxes, Jobs and Lies
Sometimes the truth is the gorilla in the room that people don’t see. In the Congressional debate over the debt ceiling, as Republicans refuse to raise taxes on the upper 2 percent, the gorilla looms very large. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost...
Does Your Boss Steal Your Pay?
In the worst economy many Americans can remember, it’s easy to imagine the country divided into two groups: the unhappy jobless and the happy employed. But it’s far from being that simple. Certainly the jobless are unhappy, but the employed are under...
Budget Battles Rage On
Springfield’s municipal budget for fiscal 2012—a $542.2 million affair—has long since been finalized and sent off to the state bean counters. But the political aftershocks of the budget process? Well, they’re still reverberating around City...Beacon Hill's Sick-Day Bill
Last month, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to legally guarantee workers paid sick days. This week, the Massachusetts Legislature will take up a similar bill, at a July 14 hearing of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. The...Letters: What Do You Think?
The Challenge of Our Era: Consuming Less Although there have been many challenges mankind has faced in the past, such as disease and world war, we have managed to get them under control for the most part. I think it’s very clear that the era we are now entering...Letters: What Do You Think?
More Springfield Arts Coverage, Please I read your paper weekly, and in my opinion, your writings do this Valley a tremendous service—the arts, political advocacy and minority communities in particular. It’s great to have such a great news source here! I...Another Conviction From Armitage Transit Venture
Michael Armitage, whose company EV Worldwide had proposed to develop an energy-saving battery to power electric buses, last October pleaded guilty in federal court to 10 criminal counts of fraud and tax evasion related to the battery venture. Now a partner of...ImperiumWatch: Corporate's Foreign Service
A U.S. diplomatic cable from December 14, 2007, released by Wikileaks, opens a window on the way our State Department personnel abroad quarterback for corporate interests, in this case biotech companies. The classified cable was sent to U.S. Trade Representative Susan...Between the Lines: Out on a Limb
Less than two months ago, Democrats scored a dramatic special-election victory in a solidly Republican congressional district in New York. The defining issue? Medicare, and how Republicans were dead set on destroying it. There are nearly 100 Republican-held House...School Building Project Gets Mixed Reviews
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno announced last week that the city has found a developer to take over the former School Department headquarters at 195 State Street. College Street Management, or CSM North, the New Haven-based company selected as the preferred developer...
Mapped Out
Last December, just a few days before Christmas, federal officials confirmed the news that had been expected for months: starting with the 2012 election, the commonwealth of Massachusetts will lose one of its 10 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives....
Mayor Mike for Probate?
Is Michael J. Albano, the disgraced ex-mayor of Springfield, getting ready to make a comeback? On July 12, Albano, who left office amid a federal corruption probe that sent dozens of his staffers and political allies to jail, filed a newly organized political...Between the Lines: The Marriage Equality Dividend
The slow but steady progress of marriage equality laws around the country—six states and the District of Columbia now invest in officiants the power to pronounce couples husband and husband, and wife and wife—is an encouraging sign of evolving notions of...Fighting Foreclosure in the City of Homes
The Springfield City Council moved last week to establish stringent anti-foreclosure laws in the city. At its July 18 meeting, the Council voted unanimously in favor of two ordinances that would make it tougher for lenders to rush to foreclose on residences, and force...No Injunction for Nuclear Plant
A federal court has dealt a setback to Entergy, the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant near Brattleboro, in its bid to keep the plant open while it sues the state of Vermont. Entergy is suing to keep the reactor operating for 20 years after its scheduled...Letters: What Do You Think?
Making Life With Cancer “A Little Bit Easier” We would like to give a special thanks to the Valley Advocate, Chief Soundworks and Maximum Capacity for sponsoring the Sy’s Fund First Annual Music Benefit this past June. We would also like to thank the...
A New Pulpit
The NAACP has a venerable history: founded 102 years ago by a multiracial group that included legendary figures like W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells, the organization has led the charge against voter discrimination, segregation and lynching, and for civil rights and...Imperium Watch: Rising Margins, Falling Wages
Eye on the Market, an investor newsletter from J.P. Morgan, reported in mid-July that profit margins for Standard and Poor 500 companies rose about 1.3 percent between 2000 and 2007. Those margins, said the publication, had reached levels “not seen in...Letters: What Do You Think?
Corporate Welfare Cheats It is about time someone discussed the issue of corporate welfare and the oligarchs who crowd out the interests of the common man in the lobbies of Congress. Stephanie Kraft (“Rising Margins, Falling Wages,” July 28, 2011) mentions...Between the Lines: Watch Wisconsin, Not D.C.
While all eyes are on the massive hosts arrayed in the U.S. Capitol, hope for any retaking of power on behalf of the typically powerless may still lie with the voters of Madison, Wisconsin. It’s going on nine months since the war in Wisconsin began—since...Beer With the Candidates
In some ways, politicians are a lot like beer. In days of yore, when beer was brewed in small batches for drinkers the brewer knew, each brew had a distinct flavor. These days, though, with most beer made by a handful of corporations with global reach, the products...Imperium Watch: How Reforms Bog Down
If you want to understand a world of things that are under the radar of most of us, but that contribute to many of the worrisome outcomes we’re seeing today, you can hardly do better than read Cornell professor Suzanne Mettler’s paper Reconstituting the...
The Adventures of Black Vulture and Little Bear
Previously: The Medicine Hunter and his team of hardy international adventurers went in search of a fabled medicinal root, Tongkat Ali, which could enhance virility and libido in both men and women. He’d first heard of this rare root from a foreigner outside a...Babies' Lunch Date
Don’t be alarmed if you hear a giant sucking sound on Aug. 6—it’s just the sound of contented babies taking part in the national Big Latch On. The Big Latch On is the culmination of the 20th annual World Breastfeeding Week, Aug. 1-6, an international...Groups Help Those Behind the Walls
Are there political prisoners in the United States? Officially, the answer is no. But look very closely and it’s not that simple, according to Vermont Action for Political Prisoners and kindred groups across the country. There are people in prison for offending...E-Edition
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