G. Mike Dobbs
About Mike
G. Michael Dobbs has worked for Reminder Publishing for 22 years of his nearly 50-year-career in the Western Mass. media scene, and previously served as the executive editor. He has spent his time with the publisher covering local politics, interesting people and events
Have Constitutional freedoms actually been ‘lost?’
I really get tired of people claiming they have lost their “freedoms” during liberal administrations such as Biden/Harris.
Summer brings back memories of drive-ins and ice cream trucks
It’s interesting — and frustrating — how memory works. I forget why I walked into the kitchen to get something and once I get there I have no idea what my mission was about. Inevitably I have to walk out of the room and walk back into it to dislodge the thought from some closed part of my brain. And yet a whole flood of memories about events from years ago bubble up to the surface.
Memes are no way to pick a candidate to support
To be clear, I have never been in favor of violence being a change agent in politics. I did not post anything gleeful about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, because I was not happy that once again someone has decided to affect a political race with a bullet.
I’m not running for office but I have a wish list for Western Mass.
As I write this column the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival is just a few days away. It will draw thousands of people to downtown Springfield — as long as the weather holds — making a sizable economic development impact on the region through restaurant and hotel use.
Displaying Ten Commandments in schools won’t change a thing
When I first lived in Springfield from 1957 to 1962, I attended kindergarten, first and second grades. I remember the school days starting for the first and second grades with the Pledge of Allegiance, singing a patriotic song and then a prayer, often accompanied with a reading from the Bible.
The biggest summer controversy? Ketchup on your hot dog
Ah, summer in Western Massachusetts and some traditional summer topics are emerging from the back of my brain.
This geezer is trying to bridge the information gap
So, recently I was at the one and only Smokey Joe’s Cigar Lounge — in beautiful downtown Springfield — enjoying a good cigar, an adult beverage and lively conversation. (Truth be told, I am twice a week on a very regularly basis.)
On her trip to Rome, Healey takes detour toward irony
My wife and I do as much as we can to lower our use of plastic and decrease our carbon imprint. Granted we do not drive electric cars and we don’t have solar panels installed — if I hit Powerball we will be doing both.
For MGM, the attention is not about Springfield
In April, MGM Resorts International President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle met with Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno to discuss the future of the casino as Bloomberg had reported earlier in the year that MGM was considering selling the Springfield casino. After the...
Don’t discount this report about our economic future
Sometimes the universe has an unusual sense of timing. For instance, the following report from MassINC about the development potential of the Pioneer Valley has been recently released in the midst of two disturbing stories about two large economic development...