WAMC Northeast Report on WAMC

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick headed a list of hundreds of government, academic and business leaders who gathered in Holyoke Friday to mark the completion of an energy efficient high performance computing center.   WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

 Governor Patrick said the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center holds great scientific and economic promise, and he praised the partnership of government, academia and business that built the $165 million dollar center.

As the holiday season approaches and cold weather sets in, food pantries in the region will be seeing more visitors. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports that in Western Massachusetts, demand for services is up, while  food supply is low.

Education and business officials came together today in Saratoga County with the high tech future in mind.  GlobalFoundries and the Center for Economic Growth organized the meeting at the Saratoga Technology and Energy Park to develop a regional 13 county laboratory to promote the future of an educational system that must meet the needs of a growing technology sector. Michael Tucker is the CEO and executive director of the Center for Economic Growth. He spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.

On election night, we spent part of the evening with friends who, like us, had served in the U.S. Peace Corps. The group had invited Diane Reiner to speak about her experience in Uganda. She brought Ronald Sseruyange (pronounced Sse as in send, ru as in rue the day, yang as in fang, and ending with the ge pronounced gay) from Kampala. Diane described going to Kampala originally on a photographic expedition. While there, she wanted to see the conditions of the poor and was introduced to Ronnie. Ronnie had lived in the street for ten years beginning when his mother died when he was six.

Neighborhoods in one Orange County city have embraced activism as a tool for social change. Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

.Citizens in Newburgh are known for being vocal: community activists affiliated with "Community Voices Heard" recently rallied over affordable housing  - concerned about high rents and buildings they say are in poor condition. Beatrice Pulliam is a 23 year old mother with severe health issues - worried about the neighborhood she lives in.

The Massachusetts Office of Labor and Workforce Development is holding a series of events and activities in November to help veterans find work.   WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

As we look at the 2012 election in the rear view mirror, the nation’s attention now turns to the impact of the re-election of President Obama and the partisan leadership in the Congress.  Last week, Americans kept in place a Democratic majority in the Senate as well as a Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Essentially, the same partisan national leadership structure that existed prior to the election.

What will the election mean to our health care?  It creates both certainty and uncertainty.

In North Adams a public forum was held to address the growing problem of prescription drug and heroin addiction in the Berkshires. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard attended the meeting and filed a report.

At the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition’s open forum this morning, members of the local community including officials from the City of North Adams, business owners, area residents, social services, and law enforcement, came together to discuss the dangerous issue of prescription drug and heroin addiction.