James Paleologopoulos

2 weeks ago | wamc.org | James Paleologopoulos

A recent, federal effort to claw back millions in unspent COVID relief funds shocked education leaders ​across the country. It meant at least $106 million would be yanked from Massachusetts – with almost half of those dollars affecting Springfield Public Schools alone. But as the dust settles and officials figure out what to do next, the picture appears to not be as grim as it was a week ago.

2 weeks ago | wamc.org | James Paleologopoulos

Throughout western Massachusetts, communities are grappling with big potential cuts to school district staffing. It’s prompting lawmakers and students to call for the state to step up – and revisit one of its funding formulas. Conditions were murky and rain was in the forecast, but that didn’t stop more than 400 students at South Hadley High School from conducting a “walk-out, walk-in” protest in late March.

2 weeks ago | wamc.org | James Paleologopoulos

For six days in mid-March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says over 300 people were arrested across Massachusetts, following a series of raids targeting what they deemed “egregious criminal alien offenders.” Within days, the Trump administration noted some of that figure included “collateral” arrests. An immigration attorney and local advocates say several men in Springfield were among them.

3 weeks ago | wamc.org | James Paleologopoulos

School districts across Massachusetts are grappling with millions of federal dollars being “terminated.” That’s what Governor Maura Healey’s calling it after the Department of Education pulled over $100 million in not-yet-spent pandemic-related dollars. The move came as a shock, with the biggest school system in western Mass., suffering the biggest setback Almost a year ago, a dozen Springfield school and city leaders gathered at a nearly-finished Sumner Avenue Preschool.

3 weeks ago | wamc.org | James Paleologopoulos

Years in the making, a housing project in Holyoke, Massachusetts is going up – and it’s going up fast. Phase II of the South Holyoke Homes project is well underway – with duplexes popping up rapidly after at least a decade of planning. “I drove down here Monday morning, there was nothing, and by Monday afternoon, we had a house completely constructed,”Matthew Mainville, Executive Director of the Holyoke Housing Authority, told WAMC Tuesday morning.