All Articles -Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council

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1. State Allocates $50 Million in CARES Act Funding to Schools and Colleges
  
  Explore BusinessWest Aug 3 2020
  
  The Baker-Polito administration announced last week it will allocate more than $50 million in federal CARES Act funds to benefit education in elementary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities. The funding from the federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund will improve early literacy, expand remote learning opportunities, and cover costs associated with reopening certain schools and colleges, as well as boost financial aid for college students in greater need of financial assistance.
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2. Hampton Ponds Market, now open in Westfield, saw opportunity for a new supermarket
  
  Explore masslive.com Aug 3 2020
  
  Jorge Alvarado and his wife, Rosana, moved to Westfield five years ago after working for years in supermarkets in New York City. They were close to her family here. And they started working for a demolition company in Holyoke while living near East Mountain Road near Hampton Ponds. Problem was, Jorge Alvarado said, there wasn’t a food store he liked really close by. He was thinking of a neighborhood-type place where busy commuters could stop by on the way home from work.
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  Mentions: Big Y Foods Holyoke Westfield
3. ‘It’s the survival of the fittest:‘ Massachusetts breweries innovate to stay afloat by adding outdoor space, expanding reach
  
  Explore masslive.com Aug 1 2020
  
  Two weeks ago, a plumbing issue caused the taproom at Redemption Rock Brewing Co. to close early on a Saturday. Five months ago, that may have registered as a disaster. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, it amounted to a shoulder shrug.
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  Mentions: Springfield
4. As legislative session gets extended, Massachusetts lawmakers send $1.8 billion IT bond bill to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk
  
  Explore masslive.com Aug 1 2020 Information Technology
  
  The Legislature enacted a $1.8 billion information technology bond bill after lawmakers reached a deal on a finalized proposal late Friday. The bill now heads to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk. The IT bond bill offers cybersecurity and technology improvements to early child care, classrooms, law enforcement, the food industry and other areas — all in the midst of a global pandemic that has made internet access, teleconferencing platforms and secure, efficient websites crucial for remote work.
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  Mentions: Robert DeLeo
5. BusinessTalk with John Doleva
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 31 2020
  
  George Interviews John Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and Chairman of The Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau and they discuss how the pandemic has impacted the tourism industry and Springfield’s long-term strategic plan moving forward.
  
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6. New Valley Bank & Trust opening street-level office at One Monarch Place
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 31 2020 Financial Services
  
  New Valley Bank & Trust Co. will open its new, street-level office at One Monarch Place next door to Starbucks Monday, moving out of a ninth-floor offices. "We are looking to serve a lot of the small business and corporate offices in Springfield," said Kate Gallo Megraw, senior vice president, chief operating officer and chief information officer at New Valley.
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  Mentions: Springfield United Bank Bank of America
7. State Senate Passes Economic-recovery and Development Bill
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 31 2020
  
  On Wednesday, state Sen. Eric Lesser joined colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate in passing a sweeping economic-recovery and development bill providing much-needed support to businesses, investments in infrastructure, and creating new jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ENDURE Act, co-authored by Lesser, includes provisions for small-business competitive grant programs, housing production, local economic-development projects, capital funding for vocational schools and community colleges, and investments in infrastructure. It also provides support for the tourism and cultural sectors and restaurant industry. Further, to promote equity and protect borrowers and workers across the Commonwealth, the ENDURE Act establishes a ...
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8. Springfield Museums to Present ‘Heroes in Healthcare’ Exhibit
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 31 2020 Tourism
  
  The Springfield Museums will present “Heroes in Healthcare: Celebrating Springfield’s Medical Community” at the Wood Museum of Springfield History from Aug. 3 through Jan. 24, 2021. As a complementary exhibit to Hall of Heroes, located on the first floor of the Wood Museum of Springfield History, “Heroes in Healthcare” pinpoints the deep appreciation we all feel for those who put themselves in harm’s way in order to help others.
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  Mentions: Springfield
9. A. Duie Pyle completes expansion of Westfield freight warehouse and truck maintenance facility
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 31 2020
  
  Trucking company A. Duie Pyle announced the opening earlier this week of its expanded Westfield Integrated Distribution Center, with 44,300 square feet of additional space. The company built a 35,500-square-foot service center and an 8,800-square-foot fleet maintenance facility on a 67-acre campus at 66 Ampad Road and 211 Servistar Industrial Way in Westfield’s North End.
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  Mentions: Westfield
10. Massachusetts Gaming Commission OKs $200K public safety grant for West Springfield
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 30 2020
  
  The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has approved West Springfield’s request for $200,000 from the Community Mitigation Fund, enough to pay 19% of the cost of 16 public safety employees to deal with an influx of calls attributed to the MGM Springfield casino.
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  Mentions: West Springfield Springfield MGM
11. Massachusetts economy suffers worst quarter in history thanks to coronavirus, UMass study finds
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 30 2020
  
  The coronavirus pandemic, and the shutdown of most commerce in order to keep people home and save lives, knocked the Massachusetts economy for a loop, economists said Thursday. The state’s real gross domestic product (GDP) declined at an annualized rate of 43.8% in April, May and June, according to MassBenchmarks, a study of the state’s economy coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.
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  Mentions: University of Massachusetts Springfield Boston Fed
12. New EV Charging Stations Available in Downtown Northampton
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 30 2020 Energy
  
  Whalen Insurance, located at 71 King St. in Northampton, now has six new electric-vehicle (EV) chargers installed beneath and powered by its solar canopy. These charging stations are operational and available for public use, charge up to 7.2 kW of power at a cost of $2 per hour, and require no parking fees to access them. The EV chargers and 62.64 kW solar canopy were both installed by PV Squared, a local solar design and installation company based in Greenfield. The EV project was funded primarily by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, as a ...
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  Mentions: Northampton
13. MGM Resorts names Bill Hornbuckle CEO and president; executive had been acting leader since March
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 29 2020
  
  The MGM Resorts International board of directors announced Wednesday that it elected William J. Hornbuckle CEO and president. Hornbuckle has been serving the company as acting CEO and president since March, succeeding Jim Murren. The removal of “acting” from Hornbuckle’s title is immediate.
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  Mentions: Springfield MGM MGM Resorts International
14. Indian Orchard Mills arts and industry complex sold; will remain affordable space for artists and small companies
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 29 2020
  
  Brothers Raipher D. Pellegrino and Joseph A. Pellegrino Jr. purchased the Indian Orchard Mills arts and industry complex earlier this month from its longtime owner for $4 million. “So, we did our job. We created a lovely community here,” said now-former owner Charles N. Brush. “We have such lovely tenants. It’s time to move on.”
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  Mentions: Springfield Chicopee Greenfield
15. STCC Launches New Water-distribution Course
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 29 2020 Education
  
  Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) will offer an online course this fall to prepare students for careers in the drinking-water industry and to help those working in the field enhance their skills. The course, called “Concepts & Practices of Drinking Water Distribution,” is being offered through the Workforce Development Center at STCC in partnership with the Massachusetts Water Works Assoc. and the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission. The training, which runs from Sept. 14 to Dec. 4, is free for students enrolled in any community college in Massachusetts. Individuals not enrolled at a community college, as well as employees at water utilities ...
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  Mentions: Springfield Technical Community College Springfield
16. COVID-19 Response Fund Awards $725,000 to 26 Nonprofits in Latest Grant Round
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 29 2020
  
  The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts announced new grants totaling $725,000 to 26 local nonprofits through the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley, targeting employment assistance, food insecurity, homelessness and foreclosure prevention, and other immediate needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Including this latest round, the Response Fund has awarded more than $5.5 million in grants to nonprofits in Western Mass. that are on the front lines of serving vulnerable populations affected by the crisis. The statewide Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund has provided $4.3 million in funding to support the Community Foundation’s response to the pandemic ...
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  Mentions: Springfield
17. Massachusetts House passes $459 million economic growth bill with sports betting, but legalization depends on Senate
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 29 2020
  
  The Massachusetts House passed a $459 million economic development bill Tuesday night that includes funding for nonprofits affected by the coronavirus pandemic, local projects and language legalizing sports betting. Lawmakers passed the economic development bill, 156-3, after two days of reviewing more than 500 amendments. The engrossed bill has a price tag that’s close to $100 million more than when it was first released by the House Ways and Means Committee last week.
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  Mentions: Robert DeLeo Springfield Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
18. BusinessTalk with Pia Kumar
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 29 2020
  
  Thom Fox interviews Pia Kumar, Co-Owner and Chief Strategy Officer of Universal Plastics on how empathy, employee engagement, and people-centric leadership are helping her essential-business meet the challenges, and demands, of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
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19. Springfield non-profits aiding in coronavirus pandemic receive $240,000 in grants
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 28 2020
  
  A total of 14 non-profit agencies which have been aiding residents and organizations struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic were awarded a collective $240,000 in local grants on Monday. The city’s Prime the Pump program began in March and initially assisted owners of restaurants and other small businesses forced to close or who lost a large amount of business due to the shutdown caused by the pandemic, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said.
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  Mentions: Domenic J. Sarno Springfield
20. Northampton restaurant building sold; plans unclear for former Sakura buffet
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 27 2020
  
  A purchaser from New Jersey paid $1.25 million for the former Hunan Gourmet building at 261 King St., according to a deed filed July 14 with the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds. The building most recently was Sakura Asian Seafood Buffet and is now closed.
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  Mentions: Northampton Easthampton
21. The Shops at Marketplace in Springfield’s downtown close; owners cite coronavirus pandemic
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 27 2020
  
  The two women who founded and ran The Shops at Marketplace in downtown Springfield will close their businesses at the end of this week, citing the coronavirus pandemic. The news comes just two years after the shops — Serendipity, a store described as “retail therapy,” and Alchemy Nail Bar — were named a microbusiness of the year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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  Mentions: Springfield Springfield Business Improvement District
22. Pioneer Valley tourism promotion gets $250K boost from state as industry emerges from coronavirus shutdowns, State Sen. Eric Lesser announces
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 27 2020 Tourism
  
  The Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau will step up its advertising — in states were folks can legally visit Massachusetts without first quarantining, and here at home — with $250,000 in funding announced Monday by state Sen. Eric P. Lesser. The money comes from the $1.1 billion supplemental budget signed into law last week by Gov. Charlie Baker.
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  Mentions: Six Flags New England Springfield Holyoke
23. Baker-Polito Administration Issues New Travel Order Effective Aug. 1
  
  Explore BusinessWest Jul 27 2020
  
  Gov. Charlie Baker announced that, effective Saturday, Aug. 1, all travelers entering the Commonwealth, including both out-of-state residents and Massachusetts residents returning home, will be required to comply with a new travel order. The full order and other information is available at www.mass.gov/matraveler. Starting Aug. 1, all visitors and Massachusetts residents returning home, including students returning to campuses for the fall semester, must fill out a Massachusetts Travel Form and quarantine for 14 days unless they are coming from a COVID-19 lower-risk state or they can produce a negative COVID-19 test result administered no more than 72 ...
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24. Springfield small businesses grants awarded to 13 owners in Indian Orchard
  
  Explore masslive.com Jul 26 2020
  
  Owners of a barbershop, a diner, an automotive shop and a video store are among 13 Indian Orchard entrepreneurs awarded small business grants to help them through the coronavirus shutdown. Each will receive $500 in the first round of grants selected by the Indian Orchard Citizens Council.
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  Mentions: Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame
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