All 33 Big Y Pharmacy and Wellness Centers are preparing to administer the COVID-19 vaccines once they are approved and available for distribution, Big Y Foods Inc. announced Wednesday. The stores are doing so in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a news release from the company.
Big Y has more than 1,000 job openings in all areas of the company in response to its expansion and growth, the Springfield-based, family-run chain said Wednesday. There are openings at all Big Y supermarkets, as well as its Fresh Acres Specialty Market, Table & Vine Fine Wines and Spirits, Big Y Express gas and convenience stores, Fresh & Local Distribution Center and Store Support Center.
AAA Pioneer Valley has bought the assets of Tierney Insurance Agency Inc. Pioneer Valley Auto Club Insurance Agency Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Automobile Club of Pioneer Valley Inc., also known as AAA Pioneer Valley, announced the deal Wednesday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Problems experienced Wednesday by 40-year-old Orange Line trains are completely unrelated to the new Springfield-built cars meant to replace them, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager Steve Poftak will give an update Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at Downtown Crossing Station.
The Hartford Line commuter rail service attracted record ridership during Thanksgiving weekend, the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced Tuesday. CTDOT said it ran extra CTrail Hartford Line trains on Nov. 26, Nov. 27 and Dec. 1. The commuter rail line serves communities between New Haven and Springfield including Hartford.
Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker who tells America about its past, came to his alma mater Tuesday to talk about what he sees as a bright future for Hampshire College. “Even though I am a historian, I am a futurist in this role,” said Burns, who graduated in 1975 and whose thesis was a documentary about Old Sturbridge Village. “I’m optimistic.”
Union Station, the Springfield Public Schools and iHeartMedia are working together to make sure the main concourse at the transportation hub is filled with the sounds of the season. The five-day music series begins in front of the Christmas tree on Monday, Dec. 16, at noon with a performance by the students from The Warner School and concludes Friday, Dec. 20, with a two-hour evening concert courtesy of West Mass Brass .
Restaurateur Peter Rosskothen and his team closed the Delaney’s Market location at 1365 Main St. in November, but vow to bring back the quality-meals-to-go concept once the downtown’s residential population has grown. “We were a little ahead of the curve with downtown,” staffers wrote on a poster in a window at the storefront. “There are amazing things happening in Springfield, therefore we wish we had waited a year or two as the residential population further develops. ... We are committed to trying again in a year or two. We know the concept works in suburban areas so downtown is ...
Holyoke Medical Center and its primary care physician group, Holyoke Medical Group, have expanded services at offices on Southampton Road to include walk-in care, lab blood work and CORE physical therapy.
Polish National Credit Union plans to close its Exchange Street location. An announcement has been posted on the credit union’s website. The decision follows the recent elimination of Thursday, Friday and Saturday hours at Exchange Street location last week. There is no date given for the expected closure.
Demolition began this week of the old clubhouse building at Southwick Country Club as the high-end housing development now being built on the old course enters the next phase of construction. Construction for The Greens of Southwick on the west side of Routes 10 and 202 began in spring 2019 and more than 50% of those lots have been sold, according to a statement Tuesday from the developers and from Rovithis Realty.
Northampton has a reputation as a Bohemian town, soon it’ll have a taste of not only Bohemia, but of Bavaria and Fort Street in Springfield. Restaurant partners led by Andy Yee and Peter Picknelly closed the McLadden’s location at 27 Pleasant St. on Monday and are renovating it into the Wurst Haus, a casual German-themed bar restaurant based around the venerable Student Prince Cafe and The Fort Dining Room in downtown Springfield.
Wilson’s, the region’s last remaining downtown department store, is closing with the retirement of company president Kevin J. O’Neil. The liquidation sale begins on Black Friday, Nov. 29, at 9 a.m. “After more than 38 years at Wilson’s, I have decided to retire. The time has come to enter a new phase of my life to enjoy more time with my wife and family,” O’Neil wrote. “As a result of my decision there will be a store closing sale and liquidation of all merchandise.”
Berkshire Wind has reached commercial operation with its two newest turbines, each rated at 2.3 megawatts each, according to Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., which is one of the owners. Construction on the second phase of the project, located in the towns of Hancock and Lanesborough, began in January. The project was financed with a private placement of $11.78 million.
Granny’s Baking Table in downtown Springfield has fresh biscuits, beignets, pies and coffee. What the bakery/restaurant, which opened Monday, Nov. 18, in a former dress shop at 309 Bridge St., doesn’t have is public WiFi and little tables for one or two people. Instead, co-owner Sonya Yelder points to the one long table surrounded by chairs that takes up much of the dining room.
Springfield’s property tax rates would go down under a proposal made Thursday by Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. Citing a rise in property values, Sarno proposed a residential tax rate of $19.52 per $1,000 of assessed value and $39.26 for commercial, industrial, and personal property. The current rates are $19.68 and $39.30, respectively.
With ValleyBike Share’s second season drawing to a close, organizers say the short-term rental program had a busy year, with the number of trips increasing over 40%. Riders rolled up 196,000 miles this year, compared to 84,00 miles in the abbreviated first year of operation in 2018, said Wayne Feiden, Northampton’s director of planning and sustainability and one of the officials behind ValleyBike Share.
Connecticut-based People’s United Bank plans to close three Springfield-area branches in April as part of its takeover of the former United Bank. The branches, closing because they are near other locations, are:
The city’s tax levy — the total amount of real estate and personal property taxes it expects to bill in the current fiscal year — will be $216.3 million. That’s up from $205.3 million last year, said Springfield Assessor Richard J. Allen. The 5.4% increase is driven by a $5.9 million jump in the total value of all the real estate and taxable personal property in Springfield, including business and industrial equipment and tools, Allen said.
Breakthrough Worship Center plans to show off its new location at the former Melha Shrine Center on 133 Longhill St. with a ribbon cutting ceremony Sunday, Nov. 24, at 10:30 a.m. "The BWC community is excited about the grand opening of this building as it will allow us to expand our ministry to the Lord and add more activities that will serve the community we live in, said Pastor Dmitriy Mozolevskiy in a news release.
Springfield officials are deciding how much of the city’s property tax levy — the total amount in taxes it will bill for the fiscal year — will be paid by owners of residential property and how much will be paid by businesses. The city relies on money from taxes on residential property and from businesses in taxes on commercial property, industrial property and what’s called “personal property” owned by businesses, such as tools and equipment.
Three downtown office buildings — including a copper-towered landmark at the corner of State and Main streets — failed to attract minimum bids at a foreclosure auction Friday afternoon. Instead, the office buildings passed into the hands of mortgage lender Freedom Credit Union.
Legion Paper announced this week that it has opened a new distribution center for its fine art paper business at the former Canson paper converting plant at 21 Industrial Drive. Canson Inc., a maker of fine papers for art and photo printing, closed its plant and laid off 67 people earlier this year as operations were consolidated in Wisconsin. Canson’s owners — Italian conglomerate Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini S.p.A., or FILA — purchased Pacon Corp. of Wisconsin in 2018.
Jobs making golf balls at Callaway Golf Ball Operations Inc. in Chicopee come with all the usual benefits plus one unique perk: Company-paid visits to Annie’s Driving Range. If you are going to make golf balls, you must know about golf. “It’s all part of our on-boarding,” said Vincent J. Simonds, senior director, global golf ball operations for Callaway. “I want people to think about the quality and consistency of each ball they make. Is this a ball they would want to put into play on a golf course with a tournament on the line?”
