News

By Eesha Williams

Holyoke, MA – Best Buddies is a non-profit group that matches people with- and with-out intellectual disabilities for one-to-one friendships. The group has more than 1,000 chapters. Its newest chapter is in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Eesha Williams reports.

Great Barrington, MA – The town meeting form of government is unique to states in New England, giving all registered voters a chance to weigh-in -- and decide on town issues. But, with several recent sparsely attended meetings and a controversial re-vote in one town -- some are wondering if town meeting should become a thing of the past.

By Allison Dunne

Albany, NY – New York is aiming to cut down on the motor vehicle emissions that contribute to global warming. New York's governor says his state would be second to California in adopting such regulations. WAMC's Allison Dunne has more.

By Allison Dunne

Kingston, NY – The majority of school budgets were passed in the Hudson Valley region, with several propositions okayed to purchase new school buses and vans. However, in one school district where voters said no, a controversial tax policy that has one town's residents up in arms, was the driving force for the defeat. WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne has more.

By John Krol

North Adams, MA – The Massachusetts Senate has proposed a some 41 million dollar increase in funding for the state's colleges in universities after significant cuts over the past few years. WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief John Krol has the story.

By Eesha Williams

Northampton, MA –
This week is National Bike-to-Work Week. Free breakfasts, races, and other Bike-to-Work Day events are scheduled to take place throughout our region on Friday. Some groups are using the occasion to lobby for increased funding for construction of bike paths. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Eesha Williams reports.

By Pat Bradley

Vernon, VT – A Vermont House committee is completing its work on a bill that would allow Entergy Nuclear to build a dry-cask radioactive waste site next to the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. The proposed bill includes a charge of nearly four million dollars a year to allow such storage. Entergy/Vermont Yankee is opposed to the idea. But anti-nuclear groups are also expressing reservations about the legislature's suggested fee.
WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

Pittsfield, MA – Today is the one-year anniversary of gay marriage in Massachusetts -- an event that was followed by a back-lash in many other parts of the nation, and in Massachusetts to overturn the high court's decision legalizing same-sex unions.

By Pat Bradley

Burlington, VT – The Vermont Public Interest Research Group - VPIRG - released a new report Tuesday that says Vermonters paid an extra $13 million at the pump in 2005 as a result of the Bush administration's energy policy. The group used the release of the report to initiate a state-level campaign to address fuel consumption and global warming.
WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Eesha Williams

Springfield, MA –
In Springfield, Massachusetts the city council last night came to the defense of Paula Meara, the embattled police chief. A state-funded report recently called Meara's 500 employee department dysfunctional. Then a top city official called on her to resign. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Eesha Williams reports.