Hannoush Jewelers will open store at MGM Springfield casino
Hannoush Jewelers will have a store at the MGM Springfield casino, the Springfield-based chain and MGM announced today. “We are going to build, or we are in the process of building, a beautiful new store,” Camile Hannoush said. “A new prototype, a whole new look. Springfield is our home.” The Hannoush brothers — Elias, Joseph,…
Gov. Charlie Baker expected at groundbreaking for North Amherst housing project
Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to be on hand Thursday to celebrate Beacon Communities’ 130-unit housing project in North Amherst’s Mill District. According to his deputy press secretary, the governor is planning to attend the 2 p.m. groundbreaking ceremony. State, local and project officials are also expected to speak. Work on the project began earlier…
Northampton mayor sees busy train station getting busier with planned north-south Knowledge Corridor service expansion
Northampton Mayor David J. Narkewicz knows that an old technology — the passenger train — is a big part of his city’s future. “You can see it when you drive past the station,” Narkewicz said Tuesday of his city’s open-air Amtrak station on Pleasant Street at the edge of downtown. “There are people lined up in the parking…
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker cites MassMutual expansion, job creation in Springfield economic development speech
Gov. Charlie Baker spoke before a large audience of business executives and property developers Tuesday at the MassMutual Center, but at times he was talking to just two men. State Sen. Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow, and State Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, each chair the committees reviewing the Baker administration’s $610 million economic development bill.…
Expanded north-south rail service from Springfield to begin in June 2019
The commonwealth of Massachusetts has an agreement with Connecticut authorities and Amtrak to provide on a pilot basis two extended daily CTrail trains from Springfield with stops in Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield. One train will run in the morning and one later in the day — both north and south — on the Knowledge Corridor…
Ludlow’s Mill Project Is Right on Schedule
Eric Nelson said he recently had cause to look over the occupancy permit issued to Westmass Area Development Corp. for the property now known as Ludlow Mills. The date on the document — April 2012 — gave him both pause and more evidence that time does, indeed, fly. Yes, it’s been more than six years…
Kathy Anderson leaving as Holyoke Chamber president for job at Holyoke Medical Center
Kathleen G. Anderson will leave after six years as president of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce July 31 for a job at Holyoke Medical Center, she said Monday. “The chamber has been probably the most rewarding job of my life. It has been so good to watch businesses grow,” said Anderson, 60. At the…
Businessman Naresh Patel to buy Whiskerz Pub in Easthampton
Local businessman Naresh K. Patel is buying a popular downtown bar from a popular downtown bar owner. Patel on June 4 told the Easthampton Licensing Board that he plans to purchase Whiskerz Pub, including the business and building at 71-77 Cottage St., from Eugene “Joe” Bernier Jr. The building includes the first floor commercial space…
MassDOT announces $21.5M project to rebuild Morgan-Sullivan Bridge linking Agawam to West Springfield near Big E
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors announced Monday that the $21.5 million Morgan-Sullivan Bridge reconstruction project is slated to get underway this summer. The aging bridge carries traffic on Memorial Avenue (Route 147) over the Westfield River between Agawam and West Springfield near The Big E fairgrounds. State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver says MassDOT appreciates the input it received…
Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies urging state to continue funding technical assistance programs that help municipalities
A critical funding source that allows the state’s 13 regional planning agencies to provide free technical assistance to municipal planning departments was not included in the state Senate budget and now depends on the Legislature’s conference committee to preserve it. Timothy W. Brennan, the executive director of both the Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies and the…
Sunderland celebrates 300 years of community: Viewpoint
It was that soil which no doubt drew early settlers more than three centuries ago to what is the southernmost community in Franklin County and which has proven to be the lifeblood of the town once known as Swampfield. Drive Route 47 along North and South Main streets through the heart of Sunderland and you’ll…
400 students participate in 1st academy signing day as Holyoke redesigns high school…
About 400 students who will be sophomores during the 2018-2019 school year participated in the first academy signing day of the redesigned high school experience. “This is a major milestone for Holyoke High School, our students and their families,” Stephen P. Zrike, state-appointed receiver in charge of the Holyoke public schools, said in a press…