PVTA proposes 25 percent bus fare hike and regular increases plus route cutbacks
The Springfield-area public transit agency also wants an automatic 5 percent per year fare increase implemented every three years. Level funding in the face of rising costs for buses, fuel, maintenance and payroll leaves the PVTA with a $3.1 million budget gap, the PVTA said Friday in a press release. The PVTA had an operating…
Massachusetts negotiating with Connecticut on passenger rail to Holyoke, Northampton, Greenfield
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is negotiating with Connecticut on plans to extend the CTrail commuter train service north from Springfield to Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield on the Knowledge Corridor rail line Massachusetts already owns. The plan is to run trains further north up the Pioneer Valley sometime this year, said Astrid Glynn, the MassDOT rail…
UMass-Amherst’s John Olver Design Building named U.S. Building of the Year by…
And the winner is: The John W. Olver Design Building at UMass. World-Architects, a membership-based network of selected contemporary architects and building professionals, named the $52 million project its U.S. Building of the Year after online polling. Read the source article at masslive.com
FOCUS Gov’t Matters
Below you’ll find the link to today’s “Government Matters” episode. http://youtu.be/Dwacf1EgWNU Stay Tuned to FOCUS Stephen N. Cary Station Manager/Executive Producer FOCUS Springfield Community Television 1200 Main St. Springfield MA 01103 413-241-7500 x-103 scary@focusspringfield.com
Union Station platform work delayed again; accessibility upgrades required
Bid specifications for handicapped accessibility modifications at Union Station’s Platform C are now due in March. But even that incremental progress on one major piece of unfinished work at the city’s newly renovated transit hub is months late. In the meantime, rail passengers are still using the older, unfurnished Platform D. “We’ve been anxious about that…
Northampton reaffirms support for goal of 100 percent renewable energy
The Northampton City Council reaffirmed its commitment to a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy reliance at its meeting Thursday night. Councilors voted unanimously Thursday to pass a resolution in its 2nd reading that champions the goal. The legislation was unanimously passed during its first reading on Jan. 18 as well. The document encourages the city to…
Westfield YMCA adds Baystate Health pediatric weight management program
The Greater Westfield YMCA is partnering with Baystate Health and Kohl’s Cares to bring the MIGHTY program to the city. MIGHTY is Baystate Health’s pediatric weight management program that stands for Moving, Improving and Gaining Health Together at the YMCA. It has operated in Springfield since 2007. YMCA of Greater Westfield Fitness Director Cindy Agan said…
DevelopSpringfield ‘very close’ to restarting Innovation Center project
DevelopSpringfield says it will soon be able to say when renovations will restart at the long-awaited Springfield Innovation Center at 270 and 276 Bridge St. downtown. “We have made a great deal of progress with regard to getting the project moving again,” wrote Nicholas Fyntrilakis, chairman of the DevelopSpringfield board of directors. Work on the $5.5 million, 24,000-square-foot…
Bay Path’s MS in Nonprofit Management Named to Top-10 List
Bay Path University’s master of science (MS) program in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy has been named to the top 10 in the nation, as ranked by thebestschools.org. The university’s program has been recognized among the top online graduate nonprofit-management programs annually since 2014. This year, Bay Path ranked 10th on the list as one of…
This Massachusetts team is in the Super Bowl every year: See how Holyoke’s Hazen Paper makes the Patriots-Eagles program cover
There is a team from New England that shines in the Super Bowl every year: Hazen Paper Co. of Holyoke. The 93-year-old family business once again produced holographic images for the official in-stadium Super Bowl program. It will be sold at Super Bowl LII between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank…
Peter Pan offers Springfield to Boston promo fares for $5
Peter Pan wants to take you from Springfield to Boston on the cheap. The Springfield-based bus company is offering $5 promotional fares from Springfield, Hartford, Philadelphia and Providence to Boston. It’s also offering $5 fares from Baltimore and Silver Spring, Maryland, Washington, Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island, to New York City. The promotions run now…
Hearing on Massachusetts rail plan scheduled for Springfield
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will hold a hearing on its rail plan in Western Massachusetts. The hearing will be held Friday, Feb. 2 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in Springfield. “It is critically important to provide the people of Western Massachusetts with an opportunity to be heard on the state-wide…