Police allege that Northampton High School graduate Thadius Romanowski held up the Florence Savings Bank here on Friday. His name has appeared in police reports since 2003 for receiving stolen property, forging a check and possession of a hypodermic needle. By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – Acting on tips about an unmasked bank robber who held up [...]

State Police detectives assigned to the DA’s office are investigating the bomb threat, which could being the perpetrator up to 20 years in state prison and a $50,000 fine. By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – A letter delivered to the Northampton District Court claimed a bomb was in the building, and it forced an evacuation of the [...]

With some city revenues falling short and free cash at an histsorically low level, the mayor tells department heads to tighten their belts. Until further notice,there will be  no spending over $250 and no new hiring without an OK from Room One. By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – Mayor David Narkewicz today sent a “spending advisory” memo [...]

Lawyer Alan Seewald’s request to withdraw from a lawsuit against the city and the BID has been delayed by a judge until at least Feb. 15. Now, after expressing displeasure with what he sees as Seewald’s backroom negotiations with the mayor over a job offer, one of his clients has asked the Board of Bar [...]

Before the package (measuring 20 inches by 14 inches by 10 inches) was delivered to Smith, Trooper Andrews sought a search warrant from a Northampton District Court Clerk-Magistrate. In that search warrant application, Andrews made his case, documenting that Smith did indeed live at that address, and describing how the package of pot was found. [...]

Although the city’s computer chief says neither she nor her computer consultants have ID’ed the exact cause of the problem, the corrupted files are deleted and massive amounts of data have been transferred to a secure server. Several departments, meanwhile, are still trying to figure out what data they lost over three days last week.   [...]

Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup says there’s no reason to stop lawyer Alan Seewald from dropping the BID lawsuit against the city to take the city solicitor’s job. But the judge said Seewald can’t make the move yet, describing the timing of his emergency motion as “unfortunate and problematic.” Below, Northampton Media provides you with [...]

Alan Seewald wants to be the new mayor’s top lawyer, but first he needs to drop a group of high-profile clients who are locked in a legal battle with the city. Alan Scheinman and Eric Suher don’t trust Seewald to keep their secrets, and are trying to block his going to work for their arch [...]

Debates on Saturday night and Sunday morning will highlight the disparate views of the top six Republican Party candidates for president. Below, we provide links to several on-line sources of information to examine the candidates and their sources of money, and to view some of their TV ads. By DAVID REID NEW HAMPSHIRE—The 2012 presidential primary [...]

In his first address as mayor, Narkewicz said he’ll hold town hall meetings on the city budget, appoint an economic advisory committee, and seek feedback from rank-and-file city workers to help him steer the ship of state through turbulent economic times. By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – David J. Narkewicz, sworn in Tuesday as the city’s 44th [...]

The inauguration of elected officials, a public reception at Look Park and an organizational City Council meeting will be held today. JAN. 3, 2012, NORTHAMPTON – Inauguration ceremonies for the newly elected mayor, members of the City Council and School Committee and other officials, will begin at 10 a.m. today at the Northampton High School. City [...]

City assessors are sending the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese new property tax bills of more than $42,000 for shuttered churches here. By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – City assessors have begun taxing two more Catholic churches here – St. John’s Cantius on Hawley Street and St. Mary’s on Elm St. – since neither has been actively used [...]

The council’s newest member and highest vote-getter appears to have the council presidency sewn up two weeks before the formal vote on inauguration day.   By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – William “Bill” Dwight, who was elected Nov. 8 to an at-large seat on the City Council, will become that body’s junior member shortly after he [...]

The city’s 1883 charter is broken and antiquated, and needs rewriting to manage 21st century operations. The committee charged with writing a new document wants citizen input, starting with a public forum tonight. By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – Should the mayor’s term of office be doubled from two to four years? Should the mayor continue [...]

The New Owners Averted Disaster when a Freak October Snowstorm Knocked Out Power, Almost Ruining their $5,000 Opening Week Food Order By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – The long-awaited opening of Jake’s, the iconic downtown no-frills restaurant, got off to a stumble two weeks ago because of the massive October 29-30 snowstorm that knocked out power [...]