Girls Inc. of the Valley to Receive Grant from Baystate Health
Girls Inc. of the Valley will receive a community-benefits discretionary grant of $5,000 from Baystate Health to Girls Inc. of the Valley’s “Informed and In Charge” program, which is designed to teach healthy sexuality. Through “Informed and In Charge,” girls acquire the knowledge and skills for taking charge of and making informed decisions about their…
HCC President Christina Royal Pledges $10,000 to ‘Together HCC’ Campaign
Holyoke Community College (HCC) President Christina Royal has issued a personal $10,000 challenge gift toward a new HCC campaign that is as much about building moral support in a time of great uncertainty as it is about raising money for students experiencing financial distress. On Monday, the HCC Foundation launched “Together HCC — A Campaign…
Vann Group Creates Crisis Response Team to Help Businesses Impacted by Pandemic
Mike Vann says the phone started ringing only a few moments after the e-mail blast went out last Friday to clients and other companies across the region. It wasn’t a flood of calls, but there were several, and he expects there to be many more in the days and weeks to come. That because his…
The Mass. Manufacturing Community Responds to COVID-19 | MassTech
The leaders of the Baker-Polito Administration’s Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative including Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and Mike Tamasi, President and CEO of AccuRounds established the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (M-ERT) to assist in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This work is being done in coordination with the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Response Command Center,…
Coronavirus: US Rep. Richard Neal to host telephone town hall with Berkshire Health System doctor
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., plans a second telephone town hall to update folks on the coronavirus pandemic and the medical, as well as governmental, response. It’s set for 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, at phone number 866-383-2731. Neal’s guest will Dr. James Lederer of Berkshire Health System in Pittsfield which is the parent…
Big Y exec on COVID-19 challenges: ‘We will get through this together’
Born in the wake of the nation’s Great Depression of the 1930s, Big Y Foods survived its first decade amid challenges presented by World War II. One of its founders, Gerald E. “Gerry” D’Amour, went off to serve in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific, while his older brother, Paul H. D’Amour, confronted the…
COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley awards $700K in initial grants; Community Foundation has raised $2.48M
Focusing on the needs of the elderly, poor, sick, hungry and homeless, The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts awarded $700,000 in initial grants Friday to nonprofits from the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley. Read the source article at masslive.com
Coronavirus stimulus: US Rep. Richard Neal stresses need for stability in face of ‘economic contagion’
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., one of the authors of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed and signed into law Friday, doesn’t like thinking of it as a stimulus bill. Instead, the Springfield Democrat described it during an interview with reporters Saturday as a relief and stabilization bill — a confidence boost in the…
Coronavirus response means Copper Moon Distillery in Springfield is making sanitizer, not liquor
In normal times, Copper Moon Distillery owner Scott Santaniello uses his still and other gear in the Indian Orchard Mills complex to make specialty liquors: Apple Pie Moonshine, Sweet Lemon Moonshine, Bourbon, Straight Bourbon, Hickory Smoked Rye and a vodka. Read the source article at masslive.com
Baker-Polito Administration Temporarily Prohibits Utility Shutoffs to Protect Ratepayers
The Baker-Polito administration announced further action to support ratepayers during the COVID-19 outbreak, directing the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to issue an order prohibiting investor-owned utility companies from shutting off gas, electric, and water utility service to any customers for failure to pay a bill or a portion of a bill until the state…
Coronavirus brings ‘full stop economy’ to Massachusetts; 4% of workforce files for unemployment in 1st week of shutdown
Earlier this year, employees at Massachusetts job centers were working with schools on training programs and helping companies fill what had been an insatiable need for more workers. Now they’re helping the newly laid off file for unemployment insurance benefits. Read the source article at masslive.com
Coronavirus: Amtrak suspends Vermonter passenger train through Springfield; other north-south trains run on Saturday schedule
Amtrak has suspended service of the Vermonter long-distance train north of New Haven, Connecticut, the railroad announced this week. The train normally goes from Washington, D.C., up the eastern seaboard to New Haven and then on through Hartford and Springfield, ending in St. Albans, Vermont. The Vermonter will not run on Sundays until further notice.…