News

Four congressional representatives are calling for a House committee and subcommittee to hold a hearing on rail safety. Their urging comes following the fatal Metro-North commuter train derailment in the Bronx December 1.

The mayor of Northampton is planning to petition the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for economic relief if a casino is built in Springfield

   Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz fears his city’s vibrant entertainment scene will suffer if a resort casino opens for business just 16 miles away.

    "I'm concerned about what the impacts are of this casino business model,which is obviously trying to get people to come to it, provide entertainment, restaurants ,retail etc with the blessing of the state creating a monopoly in western Massachusetts."

Berkshire County law enforcement officers are getting a bird’s-eye view of the holiday spirit.

With the sun hidden behind the clouds Friday morning, a torch was lit to signify the start of a unique fundraising event.

On Saturday, the Hudson Opera House plays host to the 17th annual Winter Walk, a signature event of the holiday season in the Catskills. It’s a night known for its quirky take on the holidays and for the diversity of entertainment provided.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s commission to study tax cuts appears likely to miss the Friday deadline to report its findings by December 6, after controversy over former Governor George Pataki’s desire to cut income taxes for all wage earners, including the wealthy. 

A Catholic church in Springfield, Massachusetts will hold a memorial mass for Nelson Mandela this weekend.

   The special service will be held at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church on Boston Road in Springfield Sunday evening at 5:30.   Father Bill Pomerleau, who oversees Catholic outreach to the African community in western Massachusetts, will celebrate the mass. He said Mandela is honored as a symbol of freedom and reconciliation.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A Buffalo-built American fighter that's one of the few remaining still-airworthy planes to survive the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is being donated to a Massachusetts-based organization that flies World War II aircraft at living history events across the nation.

Albany Law School Dean Penny Andrews grew up in apartheid South Africa. Years later, Nelson Mandela wrote the foreword to her book The Post-Apartheid Constitutions: Perspectives on South Africa's Basic Law. In 2005, Dean Andrews was a finalist for a vacancy on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the highest court on the country’s constitutional matters.

Meteorologist Garett Argianas delivers the evening weather forecast for Friday, December 6, 2013. 

A complex of municipal buildings in Springfield, Massachusetts is 100 years old.  Anniversary festivities are taking place this weekend

A holiday lighting ceremony, concerts, tours and displays of old photographs and memorabilia will mark the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the civic landmarks collectively known as the Municipal Group. It consists of two Greek Revival-style buildings made of limestone and marble that house Springfield City Hall and Symphony Hall.  Between the two is a 300-foot Italian Campanile clock tower.