Scott Foster, Valley Venture Mentor co-founder and president, said a cooperative spirit is built into the program, and he believes business startups need all the encouragement they can get. Seven out of 10 new businesses are doomed to fail, he said. The idea is to create a “vibrant economic ecosystem” by identifying and nurturing startups with the potential to thrive. Although the focus is on western Massachusetts entrepreneurs, people from all over the region are welcome to participate. Some businesspeople come from as far away as Vermont. VVM recently received a grant of almost $150,000 from the Massachusetts Technology ...

Gov. Deval Patrick has voiced his support for the Inland Route project in the last few years. Just last week, the governor’s administration unveiled a five-year, $12.4 billion capital investment plan that calls for $249 million to improve freight systems along critical rail corridors. Included in this funding are the Inland Route and Knowledge Corridor projects. Additionally, when he unveiled a $1 billion transportation bond bill in the fall of 2012, Patrick called for $362.4 million over 10 years for the project.

Mayor David J. Narkewicz, who worked with state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, and state Rep. Peter V. Kocot, D-Northampton, over the last year to secure the funding called Gov. Deval Patrick’s decision to release the money as part of a transportation bond bill a “very big deal.”  “This is a significant breakthrough ... it solves a municipal problem which will help people and neighborhoods and has the added effect of helping with the redevelopment of the fairgrounds,” Narkewicz said.  Other area projects set to receive funding include an additional $10 million for the new “Last Mile” program to expand broadband ...

The mayors of Northampton, Greenfield and Holyoke are lobbying the state to increase the number of daily Amtrak shuttles planned for their communities when new high-speed passenger rail service begins next year.  The extension of the New Haven/Springfield Amtrak Shuttle north will provide a significant economic boon to both the region and to their respective communities, the three mayors said in a letter this week to Richard A. Davey, the state’s transportation secretary.

Its a constant battle in the arts: finding sources of funding, whether for staging a concert, putting on a play or producing a portfolio of paintings. But instead of writing grant proposals to foundations and other funding sources and hoping theyll come through, some local artists and supporters are turning to the do-it-yourself model.

Recipients of this year's A+ awards are the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Christopher Riddle, co-founder of Kuhn-Riddle Architects, Ray Shafie, former owner of Copy Cat Print Shop, and Youssef Fadel, owner of New England Promotional Marketing.

The academy is an organization of universities, research laboratories and businesses dedicated to coordinating wind energy research and education activities to advance the state of wind energy technology and develop the next generation of engineers, researchers and scientists.

The anticipated move of Spoleto from 50 Main St. to 1 Bridge St., the current location of Paradise City Tavern, will occur as soon as practical, said William Collins, chief operating officer of the Spoleto Restaurant Group. It operates both restaurants and owns the Bridge Street property.

Two prominent city buildings are in line for an energy makeover thanks to $98,000 in grant funds from the state’s Green Communities program. The money will be used to reduce energy use for heating and cooling at the Academy of Music and at Memorial Hall. Officials expect the work will reduce annual consumption of natural gas by 20 percent at the Academy and 13 percent at Memorial Hall.

The redevelopment of the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton will include an 80,000-square-foot exhibition hall and meeting space when it opens sometime within the next three to five years, said Bruce Shallcross, general manager of the fairgrounds. Unlike Parmar's facility, however, it will not offer overnight accommodations. Instead, it will focus on trade shows, much like the Big E in West Springfield, Shallcross said.

The new Business Improvement District is going to be key. Already the new BID executive director, Alex Krogh-Grabbe is working with stakeholders to create new events for downtown that will activate its street life.

NORTHAMPTON - A veterans organization in Leeds will receive federal money to provide its clients job training and other employment assistance, it was announced Monday.

Soldier On will receive $400,000 this year to continue work on two programs that, in the past year, have assisted 150 veterans at risk of becoming homeless in the four western Massachusetts counties.

"This is part of the continuing care for the veterans who we serve," said Michael Hagmaier, senior vice president for Soldier On.

Establishing a renewable source of energy in Sunderland is also one more check off the town's list in its application to be designated a Green Community by the state. Such a designation would make it eligible to receive state money for energy reduction projects.

It goes on to describe a goal of "mutual consistency" among the master plans of neighboring towns and to offer a system of review of local planning coupled with recommendations for adjustment and the tools and resources to accomplish them. (Amherst is already tapping into this support in the form of PVPC assistance in crafting a Transfer of Development Rights bylaw that would help protect undeveloped outlying areas by trading building permits to denser areas.) When member towns commit to this process, they naturally bring zoning and development into line with anti-sprawl objectives across town borders.

William Bither, who started and then sold a software development company in Easthampton called Atalasoft, is an adviser to Click Workspace. Bither is now a member of River Valley Investors of Springfield, a financial backer of local companies.

he closing of the Amherst store leaves a gap in downtown's north end, one that may be difficult to fill, said Tony Maroulis, executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. The building's space limitations make it an unlikely home for a national chain like Gap, he said, but it could house a "mom and pop" retail or service-oriented business.

rogh-Grabbe said he has a number of ideas for the area, including more decorative lighting and a shuttle bus that would connect the UMass, Amherst College and Hampshire College campuses. He also wants to encourage cooperation between the BID and the university and college admission offices in promoting the downtown.

The campus would operate on a "two plus two plus two" model and work in partnership with area community colleges. Students would earn a two-year degree at community college, transfer to the satellite school, where they could to finish a four-year degree and, if they chose, a master's program, Caret said in an interview.

During his trade mission, Patrick announced an agreement intended to forge closer links between agricultural researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, a two-hour drive west of Boston, and their Brazilian counterparts.

Two of four lots remain for sale on the south campus - the other two are occupied by Kollmorgen and VCA Inc., a high-end furniture maker - while a number of lots on the north campus are still up for grabs, including the former Coach House in the middle of campus.

 It's not just a change in seasons that is improving the mood at the bustling Franklin-Hampshire Career Center. "The picture for applicants is definitely improving," said Ann Deres, the business services supervisor at the center's Northampton office. "More businesses, especially local businesses, are actively looking for qualified people."

As many as 30 new jobs will relocate to the city later this year when a computer company moves into the former Cahillane Dodge car dealership on South Street.