LONGMEADOW — Addressing the fallout from a 2024 change to the way water and sewer usage is billed, the Longmeadow Select Board voted on April 7 to use a combination of retained earnings, a reduction to the water operating budget and an increase in water meter rate to cover a combined $530,000 shortfall.
WEST SPRINGFIELD — West Springfield teen Thu Zar Win has shown that she knows what it takes to be a leader and a mentor and, as a result, has been named the West Springfield Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year.
CHICOPEE — Recently the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts received notice of its first federal funding cut this year which was that the United States Department of Agriculture canceled some food deliveries to the Food Bank through August, amounting to approximately $440,000 worth of food.
BOSTON — Mental health care professionals throughout the state and Westfield’s state senator and representative are trying to push back against a proposal in Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2026 budget that would strip over $80 million from essential mental health programs and could mean the closing of the only facility in the state that provides specialized care to children.
AGAWAM — Whether residents like it or not, battery energy storage systems are coming to a community near you, and unless local regulations are put in place, developers can usually put the battery banks wherever they want.