Greenfield Center School gets $7.9M bond from MassDevelopment to finance new building
The Greenfield Center School plans to relocate to a brand new building next year with help from a $7.94 million tax-exempt bond announced Friday by MassDevelopment. The independent day school serving students in preschool through eighth grade plans to buy 30 acres of land at 741-743 Bernardston Road (Routes 5 and 10), not far from…
East-West rail receives $50 million boost with passage of state’s Transportation Bond Bill
The Massachusetts Senate approved nearly $17 billion in borrowing to fund the state’s transportation system, including nearly $50 million in spending earmarked for the east-west rail project. The sweeping legislative package — a modified version of Gov. Charlie Baker’s bond bill proposed last year — would authorize billions of dollars in transportation investments over the…
New Bay Path President Says School Will Be a Leader in Time of Crisis
Sandra Doran says her family has long been attracted to careers in education and the law. One great-grandfather traveled from New York to Colorado and set up the first one-room schoolhouse in that state, she noted, while her grandfather was superintendent of a school district in New York City, and her mother was a music…
Springfield awards $500,000 to businesses reopening from coronavirus shutdowns through Prime the Pump program
The city has awarded 84 new grants totaling more than $500,000 in the third round of its Prime the Pump program. Prime the Pump helps business struggling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Read the source article at masslive.com
Westfield Leaders Take Optimistic View
While communities nationwide continue to grapple with what he calls the “grumpy cloud” of COVID-19, Westfield Mayor Donald Humason is looking to project a little sunshine. “A lot of it has to do with the attitude in Westfield,” the mayor said. “We’re optimistic, and we want people to come to our community because it’s a…
ESE Searches for Revenue Streams After 2020 Big E Is Canceled
As he talked with BusinessWest about the cancellation of this year’s Big E and how the Eastern States Exposition (ESE) will respond to that huge loss of revenue, Gene Cassidy stopped and pointed to a picture at the opposite end of the company’s large conference room. “That’s J. Loring Brooks, son of Joshua L. Brooks,…
Loophole Brewing plans brewery, tap room, beer garden for Ludlow Mills complex
Loophole Brewing Services plans to build a 21,000 square-foot brewery, tap room, and beer garden in a former jute processing building at the Ludlow Mills complex. Loophole announced this week plans to buy the building and 2.5-acres of land at 90 First Ave. from Ludlow Mills owner from WestMass Development Corp, a not-for-profit, real estate…
After Four Challenging Months, Museums Reopen to a Different World
Kay Simpson says the top priority before reopening Springfield Museums was making sure both visitors and staff would be safe. “Kissing Through a Curtain” is an exhibit of 10 contemporary artists, dealing with communicating and translating across borders, how people interact, and the meaning behind words. It was hung at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary…
Gov. Charlie Baker announces $19.6 million for homelessness prevention, food assistance, as he weighs eviction moratorium deadline – masslive.com
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced the state will disburse $19.6 million that he says will help fund homelessness prevention, food assistance and job training in communities across Massachusetts during the coronavirus pandemic. The state Department of Housing and Community Development received the funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act. The…
Holyoke company to oversee $40M renovation at Westfield State University
Daniel O’Connell’s Sons Inc. of Holyoke has been selected to serve as construction manager on Westfield State University’s $40 million renovation of Parenzo Hall. The announcement was made Thursday by the university and Massachusetts Division of Capital Assets Management and Maintenance. “We are pleased to select Daniel O’Connell’s Sons through a competitive procurement process to…
Westfield’s Fresh Cycle offers outdoor spin classes amid coronavirus
Every morning Jennifer Amy hauls 14 spin bikes from inside her studio, Fresh Cycle, to an outdoor loading dock for classes that fill regularly with those who have been waiting for the facility to reopen. Massachusetts is now in Phase 3 of its reopening plan after Gov. Charlie Baker closed “nonessential” businesses at the height…
Massachusetts casino patrons complying with mask requirements say state regulators reviewing MGM Springfield, Plainridge, Encore
While face masks have been the subject of consternation — and angry arguments — elsewhere, gamblers at Massachusetts casinos are apparently complying without complaint, state regulators said Thursday. At MGM Springfield, it’s not just security but all employees reminding patrons to wear a mask and to have it cover both their mouth and their nose,…