Jim Kinney

4 days ago | masslive.com | Jim Kinney

CHICOPEE — Mayor John L. Vieau’s proposed budget for fiscal 2026 is up 6% from last year’s plan, he announced Monday. Vieau also announced plans to use $3 million from the city’s fee cash account — money raised in taxes from the previous year but not spent — to defray taxes in the next year. The budget now goes to the County Council. Cities set tax rates in the fall. The cost of health insurance drove a $3.4 million increase in the human resources budget, Vieau said.

4 days ago | yahoo.com | Jim Kinney

CHICOPEE — Mayor John L. Vieau’s proposed budget for fiscal 2026 is up 6% from last year’s plan, he announced Monday. Vieau also announced plans to use $3 million from the city’s fee cash account — money raised in taxes from the previous year but not spent — to defray taxes in the next year. The budget now goes to the County Council. Cities set tax rates in the fall. The cost of health insurance drove a $3.4 million increase in the human resources budget, Vieau said.

1 week ago | masslive.com | Jim Kinney

AMHERST — Federal agents, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, took two people into custody Wednesday in two separate incidents here, the town said in a statement. The ICE enforcement happened despite, or possibly because, Amherst is a sanctuary community. That means town officials have asked the police not to assist federal agencies with immigration arrests. The two incidents occurred between 7 and 8 a.m., the town administrator’s office said.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Jim Kinney

AMHERST — Federal agents, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, took two people into custody Wednesday in two separate incidents here, the town said in a statement. The ICE enforcement happened despite, or possibly because, Amherst is a sanctuary community. That means town officials have asked the police not to assist federal agencies with immigration arrests. The two incidents occurred between 7 and 8 a.m., the town administrator’s office said.

1 week ago | masslive.com | Jim Kinney

SPRINGFIELD – Plaintiffs growing, selling and delivering legal marijuana in Massachusetts now have two court decisions against them, but aren’t giving up. They seek to overturn a federal law they say strangles their business. They were turned back last week by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. But plaintiffs say their fight against the Richard Nixon-era Controlled Substances Act of 1970 is not over.