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 [...]

Fourth Candidate Enters Deeds Race NORTHAMPTON – City Treasurer George Zimmerman has thrown his hat into the ring for Hampshire County Register of Deeds, becming the third announced candidate for the $90,000-a-year post vacated Sept. 30 by longtime Register Marianne Donohue. The six-year position will appear on the November 2012 ballot, and Patricia Plaza – [...]

Races for mayor and for at-large city councilor, as well as a referendum question to repeal the Community Preservation Act, headline today’s election ballot. When and where do you go to vote? NORTHAMPTON – Municipal elections are today. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The election ballot features races for mayor, City [...]

  Acting Mayor Dave Narkewicz Raised Almost Twice as Much Money as his Opponent, Former Councilor Mike Bardsley; Former Councilor Bill Dwight Raised $18,800, More than the Other Three Candidates Combined in At-Large Council Race. NORTHAMPTON – Acting Mayor David Narkewicz showed his fundraising muscle this year by raising more than $48,000 in contributions, almost [...]