One week from deadline, the mayor and his finance director are crunching numbers, identifying savings, and meeting with department heads in an effort to present a balanced budget to the City Council next Thursday.   NORTHAMPTON — It’s not going to be easy, but Mayor David Narkewicz says he’s confident he can find enough savings [...]

It wasn’t your typical anti-nuke protest — nobody got arrested at the crowded, family-friendly event. And top elected officials, instead of ducking controversy, proudly briefed Vermonters on their battle to send the Entergy Corporation packing.   BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Governor Peter Shumlin, Attorney General William Sorrell, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders rallied a crowd of [...]

NORTHAMPTON — A proposal by Mayor David Narkewicz to change the way the city’s ambulance service is funded got a green light from the City Council’s Public Safety Committee last Monday night, and is now headed to the full City Council, despite concerns expressed by Fire Department management and labor. The committee voted 3-1 to [...]

As residents mobilize to rescue a sugar maple on their street, questions arise about the city and the utility’s compliance with a state law that seems to requires public notification before a mature street tree is cut down.   By MARY SERREZE NORTHAMPTON — A group of Harrison Avenue residents are fighting to save an [...]

A Northampton District Court Judge Again Denies Bail For Suspect Ryan Daniel Welch, While Prosecutor Says Welch Made an Earlier Knife Threat on Jessica Ann Pripstein’s Life, Telling Her that Police Would Never Take Him Alive. By DAVID REID NORTHAMPTON – Accused murderer Ryan Daniel Welch of Easthampton was again ordered held without bail today [...]

The state’s highest court heard oral arguments last Nov. 9, and their ruling on admissibility of the 9-hour police interrogation could make or break the high-profile arson and murder case against suspect Anthony Baye. The defense says the cops went too far, lied about the law and made false promises of leniency to force a [...]

The ambulance “receipts reserved” account finished the last fiscal year with more than $860,000 in the bank, but on the 7th of July the City Council transferred $745,000 of that to various Emergency Medical Services accounts, including $450,000 for employee stipends. The EMS division is now self-sufficient and has outgrown its need for a dedicated [...]

A police search of the alleged killer’s apartment yielded bottles of prescription drugs for anxiety and depression, one of which – Gabapentin – the FDA warned would increase the risk of suicide or violent deaths. Suboxone, used to treat narcotics addiction, was also found. By DAVID REID EASTHAMPTON – Five returned search warrants in the murder case [...]

The new mayor, working hand-in-glove with his finance chief, held the parking director’s feet to the fire over the course of two months — until the heat became a bit too much to bear, newly-revealed records show. By MARY SERREZE NORTHAMPTON — In a series of three recent formal memos to now-deposed “Parking Czar” William [...]

The Jan. 10 audit and management letter by Scanlon & Associates LLC singled out the Parking Division for poor record-keeping and lax internal controls; a little more than a month later “Parking Czar” Bill Letendre was out the door. What happened?   By MARY SERREZE NORTHAMPTON — The city’s annual outside audit, normally a dry [...]

The evidence — gathered from a bloody Easthampton apartment, a witness statement and a chilling E-911 telephone call — led the police and the DA’s office to charge Jessica Ann Pripstein’s boyfriend with her murder. Ryan Welch, who police allege slashed his own throat after the homicide, was arraigned today at Baystate Medical Center. Welch says he didn’t do [...]

The former owner of TJ’s Sports Bar agrees to pay $42,000 in cash as part of a guilty plea that brings probation, avoids jail time and lets him keep his Bridge Street home. By DAVID REID   NORTHAMPTON – John Smith, arrested last October for having 30 pounds of marijuana in his home here, has [...]

By MARY SERREZE NORTHAMPTON — It’s official. Mayor David Narkewicz now has his city solicitor of choice on tap, following a brief swearing-in ceremony at City Hall Friday morning. “I feel great,” said lawyer Alan Seewald immediately after City Clerk Wendy Mazza administered the oath of office to him. “I’m honored to be able to [...]

Financial woes at some area golf courses result from a weak economy, last year’s late-summer rains and a late-October blizzard. By DAVID REID HOLYOKE – Music mogul and businessman Eric Suher, of Holyoke, bought the Holyoke Country Club on Thursday, paying $850,000 for the 112-acre parcel at 2 Country Club Road, according to records of [...]

With help from touring Occupy Wall Street activists, local protestors disrupted a City Council meeting with chants and demands for “conversation” — then seemed confused when Council President Bill Dwight asked them to set a date to meet. By MARY SERREZE NORTHAMPTON — The Occupy Wall Street Northeast Road Trip rolled into town Wednesday on [...]