Tagged: massachusetts

Officials in Springfield Massachusetts have announced plans to hire a professional consultant to help negotiate with would-be casino developers.   WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

The mayor’s office announced Thursday that it will seek bids from firms experienced in representing municipalities with gaming industry projects.  Bids will be accepted for a month.

It’s another sign Springfield officials are anxious to see a resort casino built in the city to bring jobs and revenue. The Springfield City Council recently named a casino siting advisory committee. 

With the start of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season less than a month away, hundreds of people attended a hurricane preparedness conference Wednesday in central Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

The director of the National Hurricane Center, Bill Read urged hundreds of public safety officials not to be in denial when they see a forecast that has a hurricane tracking to New England.

Read said since 1990 hurricane tracking errors, 48 hours from landfall, have been cut in half. But forecasting a storm’s intensity remains tricky…

The federal “Secure Communities” program requires that fingerprints be taken from arrested individuals and compared to immigration and FBI databases. Proponents are saying the program is the most effective tool for detecting illegal immigrants. Opponents argue the system leads to racial profiling, or targets low-level offenders.

About 200 people are expected to lose their jobs when TD Bank closes a customer call center in Springfield at the end of the year.

The workers learned at a meeting Tuesday night that the 24/7 customer support center will close in December as part of a decision to consolidate call centers to locations in Maine, New Jersey and South Carolina.

The branch at the location will remain open.

Bank spokesman Jimmy Hernandez tells WWLP-TV it was a difficult decision and did not reflect job performance.

Plans to bring a $1 billion resort-style casino proposed by Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn to the New England Patriots' hometown have been suspended.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Tuesday's announcement from The Kraft Group and Wynn Resorts came after Foxborough voters elected two selectmen who opposed negotiations with Wynn.

He had planned to build the resort on land leased from Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Under a Massachusetts law legalizing casino gambling, casino developers must negotiate an agreement with the city or town where they hope to build.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has notified state officials that they plan to launch the federal Secure Communities program in Massachusetts over the objections of Governor Deval Patrick and immigration activists.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Massachusetts Public Safety Secretary Mary Beth Heffernan described Secure Communities as an information sharing program between federal agencies that can only be implemented by the federal government.

Massachusetts is launching a new online system for employers to check criminal backgrounds of prospective workers, but their searches are only being allowed to go back 10 years.

Supporters of the new Criminal Offender Record Information system — known as CORI — say it will help former convicts who have paid their debt to society and stayed out of trouble for a decade get jobs and reintegrate into society.

Opponents say companies have a right to known the complete criminal history of hirees.

A casino advisory committee is being created in Springfield Massachusetts as city officials pursue a resort casino development.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

Springfield City Council President James Ferrera said the committee will advise the council on casino sitting issues.  The council could conceivably have to issue a special permit, change zoning, or take property by eminent domain to accommodate a casino development.

The Patrick administration has released an additional $520,000 in tornado relief funds for Western Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

Most of the money is for home repairs in the nine communities hit hardest by the June 1st natural disaster, according to the announcement from the Department of Housing and Community Development.

The panel overseeing the Massachusetts’ new gambling law is weighing a plan to pre-qualify potential casino developers in the state. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

Under the proposal discussed by the Gaming Commission on Tuesday, a would-be developer would have to demonstrate that it has sufficient financial backing and a track record in the gaming industry before it can begin negotiations with a host community.

A spokeswoman for the five-member commission said the panel would study the idea further before deciding whether to adopt it.