Food insecurity is an ongoing problem across the country, and Western Massachusetts is no different. According to an annual report from the Greater Boston Food Bank, 2023 saw 48% of people in Hampden County facing food insecurity. The same was true for 37% of Hampshire County residents.
LONGMEADOW — Five years ago, Lyn Simmons took the helm as the town manager in Longmeadow. Since then, the town has navigated the coronavirus pandemic, opened several new facilities and worked to balance the needs of the town against the state’s tax ceiling.
LONGMEADOW — Voters at the Longmeadow Town Meeting on Nov. 12 voted overwhelmingly in favor of continuing plans for a combined middle school project on the site of the existing Williams Middle School.
SPRINGFIELD — A fire at the shuttered Vibra Hospital building at 1400-1414 State St. on Oct. 28 was the most recent development in the city’s ongoing struggle regarding the property.
The morning after the Nov. 5 election, while control of the U.S. House of Representatives was still in the air, the outcome in Massachusetts’ First Congressional District was clear. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) won a 19th term, his sixth representing the westernmost district in the state.