HAMPDEN — In a reminder that one vote can make a difference, an article at Hampden’s Nov. 3 Special Town Meeting on whether to add a local 6% excise tax on short-term rentals and lodging passed with a vote of 35-34.
LONGMEADOW — About two dozen people attended an information session on possible changes to the intersections along Bliss Road and Williams Street between Redfern Drive and Bliss Court.
EAST LONGMEADOW — The East Longmeadow Town Council voted on Oct. 28 to appropriate $1.34 million from the town’s free cash account to pay off debt for modular buildings at Mountain View Elementary, saving more than $500,000 along the way.
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Voters in West Springfield chose to stay the course on Nov. 4, with 71% casting their ballots to reelect Mayor Will Reichelt as the town’s leader. Town Councilor Daniel O’Brien ran a campaign to unseat Reichelt, who has been mayor for 10 years.
SPRINGFIELD — With a halt in federal funding for the supplemental nutritional assistance program leaving food insecure people scrambling to feed their themselves and their children, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, Bishop Talbert Swan of the NAACP and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts have formed a coalition to keep the community fed.