The economic recovery, which has shown up in some statistical measures, just has not fully taken hold yet, said Robert A. Nakosteen, a professor of economics and statistics at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The honorees included Arnold Cox, Frances Morales, Art Jasper, Kamau Crawford and Sidney Weiner, of Springfield, Bernie Gardner, of Southwick, Evelyn Gore and Grant Martin, of Northampton, John O’Leary, of Southampton, and Jared Smith, of East Longmeadow.

City officials said low bids are favorable both for the city, state and region and that the $2 million saved could mean additional funding for projects here or throughout the region through the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission’s Metropolitan Planning Organization. That agency approved the go-ahead for Westfield’s project last fall.

Patrick administration officials said at the task force’s last meeting on Feb. 18 that a preferred site along the canals has been chosen for the computing center, but they were unwilling to identify the exact location.

Google's experimental fiber-optic networks would deliver data at 1 gigabit per second to homes and businesses. That would be roughly 50 to 300 times faster than the DSL, cable and fiber-optic networks that connect most U.S. homes to the Internet today. Google has not said how many cities it intends to serve, or how much it is willing to spend to do it.

Local health insurers said the cost of care, not a lack of competition among insurers or a thirst for profits, is driving up the cost of health care coverage. “It’s higher than last year because medical costs have gone up since last year,” said Peter F. Straley, president and CEO of Springfield-based Health New England.

Manny’s has four locations: Wilbraham, West Springfield, Hadley and Greenfield. The chain has 65 to 70 employees including 24 sales people. Many of them have been with the Rovithis for years.

The Rx comes in the form of patient care technicians. Hospitals need them, so Baystate Health, the Sisters of Providence Health System and the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County have teamed up to train people for the jobs that pay from $14 to $16.50 an hour.

Springfield was one of only 20 communities nationwide to receive funds to increase energy efficiency in schools and municipal buildings.

"The riverfront is one of the keys to move this city forward," John Judge said. And Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the city is looking to have any development "enhance the National Basketball Hall of Fame" on the banks of the Connecticut River.

The problem should be fixed, because the Business Improvement District has created more than $225,000 in goodwill for the city during that time.

As the birthplace of the game, Springfield is doing a good job keeping its eye on the basketball.

Today Titeflex employs only 100 at its Hendee Street plant in East Springfield, but every one of those jobs is important to the local economy. And while state and local officials recognize the need to create new jobs, they also understand that saving jobs – especially manufacturing jobs – is just as important. That’s why we’re pleased that Springfield has come up with some incentives of its own to prevent Titeflex from heeding the siren call from the South.

The city has approved a special tax incentive agreement for Titeflex Corp. that will keep the manufacturing company and its 100 employees in East Springfield rather than accepting enticements to move to South Carolina.

Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that for every dollar spent on tourism promotion and advertising, $40 comes back to the state in taxes. The state and communities collect about $250 million a year in taxes from motel rooms.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said he is a “big fan” of the Business Improvement District, and is working to resolve the issue and to continue the city’s partnership.

In less than three weeks an NCAA national championship will be contested in the city of Springfield and members of the Local Organizing Committee held a press conference Thursday at the MassMutual Center to get the ball rolling.

“It’s in the business community’s interest that we have people who are well prepared to take the jobs that we all have in our communities,” said John H. Davis. “It’s an ever-changing world and the skill levels of people coming into the work force has to be ever improving.” Davis and Nicholas A. Fyntrilakis, assistant vice president for community responsibility at MassMutual Financial Group, are co-founders of Springfield Business Leaders for Education. The 35-member group also includes executives from business mainstays such as United Bank, Big Y Foods Inc. and Baystate Health.

Many Western Massachusetts high schools saw a decline in the number of students who quit school last year, delighting educators who said efforts to keep teens in school are finally working.

MassMutual Financial Group had a good 2009, according to financial figures released this past week. The Springfield-based company's net gain from operations before dividends and taxes, MassMutual's primary earnings measure as a mutual company, rose 37 percent, from $1.3 billion in 2008 to $1.8 billion in 2009.

Gov. Deval Patrick is asking for additional federal help for Massachusetts hospitals, such as Holyoke Medical Center that treat a disproportionate share of those covered by the state-sponsored health plans Commonwealth Care and MassHealth.

The top high school basketball teams and players will once again be coming to Springfield in mid-January

University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson today announced that he will conclude his presidency when his current term ends on June 30, 2011.

When it comes to graduating students in four years economically, Harvard University may have to start billing itself the Westfield State College of the east. Westfield State bested 23 other Massachusetts public and private institutions in a recent MassInc. study that – among other measures of college cost-effectiveness – ranked colleges by graduation rate per what an average student pays for tuition, costs, room, board, books and supplies.