CHICOPEE — After hosting three separate budget hearing sessions with each department in the city, the City Council approved the mayor’s fiscal year 2026 budget on June 26 for $276.2 million, an increase of 6.4% from FY25.
AGAWAM — Just days before the start of their summer break, Agawam teachers and education support paraprofessionals overwhelmingly approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement.
WESTFIELD — The final vote by the City Council to approve the fiscal year 2026 budget took only a few minutes out of the special meeting hosted in the Westfield Senior Center on June 30.
SPRINGFIELD — The fight for clean air continues as Springfield is one of many listed in a lawsuit against the Trump administration for the president’s recent termination of Environmental Protection Agency grants.
NORTHAMPTON — A $50,000 grant has been awarded to The Sphere Northampton to launch the Sphere Westfield Mindshift Business Accelerator, an intensive business development program designed to support low-to moderate-income entrepreneurs in the Westfield community.
CHICOPEE — The City Council approved adopting the provision to the HERO Act that will increase the property tax exemption available to qualified disabled veterans to as much as $2,000.