It was graduation night for Valley Venture Mentors in Springfield Wednesday night. Valley Venture Mentors is dedicated to helping business start-ups launch. It’s described as a personal social network that puts business people together with venture capital. Sort of like a speed-dating for entrepreneurs. According to Paul Silva, a lead coach at the Valley Venture Mentors, “Right, we didn’t all go to Harvard. We all don’t have that alumni network to tap into. So this gives them access to an amazing network of great people. If they do a good job, then they’ll walk away with ...

The Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce started a training seminar to help ambitious people start and manage their own business. Carlos Gonzalez, President of the Mass. Latino Chamber of Commerce, told 22News, “With the unemployment crisis that continues to exist in our inner cities and communities of color, entrepreneurship is a good option.”

January is National Mentoring month and Thursday morning, several community leaders gathered to discuss furthering mentorship programs in the Springfield community. Representatives from the Mass Mentoring Partnership told 22News that the need for mentors in western Massachusetts is great. In Springfield alone, there are nearly 600 young people currently on a waiting list. First -time Mentor Bob Brown of South Hadley, a branch manager for First Niagara Bank, told 22News that once you’re able to break the ice, the rewards of the relationship are great. “A lot of it is just trying to get them to open up and ...

SPARK will be run through the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Foundation in partnership with several key partners, including the City, Public Library, Food & Fitness Policy Council, the MGHPCC, Holyoke Community College, CareerPoint and the JUNTOS Collaborative. Monetary and in-kind matches were also provided by the Chamber Foundation, Regional Employment Board, Holyoke Library, Housing Authority and Holyoke Gas & Electric.

A new restaurant has finally opened at the former site of the Springfield Visitor's Center.

The upgraded HealthSouth Rehabilitation hospital of Western Massachusetts is about to open its new building in Ludlow. The physical rehabilitation hospital will open in mid-December.

Greenfield Community College is one of the most recent schools to add the program. GCC president Bob Pura told 22News the school decided to add the program because he understands the difficulties older adults face when trying to find a job. "A lot of times people don't want to hire folks of that age because they don't want to invest in them. So building on the expertise of somebody who's 55 or older and all that life experience in other careers, jobs that they've had and honing that specifically to healthcare where there's a need ...

For each fiscal year Westover Air Reserve Base studies their economic impact on the local economy.  For 2013, about 3,800 civilian reservists and federal employees spent about $225 million within a 50-mile radius of the base here in Chicopee.

The 22News I-Team traveled to Boston and asked Chairman Stephen Crosby to clear up the cloudy new western Massachusetts casino picture.

It was all business Wednesday at the Mass Mutual Center in downtown Springfield.The Western Massachusetts Business Expo attracted dozens of businesses and thousands of visitors Interested in what those schools and companies offered.

State Representative Joseph F. Wagner announced Thursday that the state has released a $1.7 million MassWorks infrastructure grant to Chicopee.The funding will support the construction of a new senior center and promote the redevelopment of nearby properties.

There's a new place for visitors to stay in Chicopee. A Marriott Residence Inn opened its doors earlier this month, but Thursday was the grand opening.

Gail Sherman announced that she will be retiring from the Chamber, after serving as its president for nearly 17 years. The Chamber’s Board of Directors is now searching for a new leader. In the meantime though, Sherman will continue her work, including going through the accreditation process with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (the Greater Chicopee Chamber is the only chamber in the area with such an accreditation).

For the past six years the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce has sponsored a Latino Expo in Springfield.

Elms College is getting ready to open their new Center for Natural and Health Sciences. The 22,000 square foot building has a research laboratory, multiple lecture halls and several other labs for biology, chemistry and nursing students.

School officials told 22News the new facility will better prepare their students for careers in nursing, science and computer information technology.

Exit 6 to Exit 5: $0.25 cents (one-way), $0.50 cents (round trip)

• Exit 6 to Exit 4: $0.25 cents (one-way), $0.50 cents (round trip)
• Exit 6 to Exit 3: $0.45 cents (one-way), $0.90 cents (round trip)
• Exit 6 to Exit 2: $1.35 (one-way), $2.70 (round trip)
• Exit 6 to Exit 1: $1.75 (one-way), $3.50 (round trip)

The internet and digital technology has made so much of our lives easier, but it's also put our personal information more at risk than ever.

Senator Gale Candaras toured a local manufacturing facility Wednesday.Candaras visited Meredith-Springfield, which is a Massachusetts based plastics manufacturer. Candaaras said she is impressed by the way the company has grown by its business ethics and hopes to replicate their business model throughout western Massachusetts.

Interstate Towing invited the public to see their new secure facilities facilities and expanded dispatch center at Westover Road in Chicopee Thursday night.
Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette helped Interstate President Jeremy Procon cut the ribbon on the new secure facility at 1660 Westover Road.

Elms College is set to open a new School of Nursing just in time for the 2013-14 academic year.The college announced Thursday that the new school, the first dedicated school at the Chicopee college, will offer bachelors and masters degrees in nursing, and will be housed inside the Center for Natural and Health Sciences.

A new report has found that there are a record number of job seekers here in Massachusetts. Career centers across the state are reporting a 16% increase in traffic over last year.  Kevin Lynn with Futureworks Career Center in Springfield told 22News between them and Careerpoint in Holyoke, they're serving 30 thousand people.

Knapik will take on the role as the school's new Executive Director of University Advancement. In this position he'll assist WSU President Evan S. Dobelle and the Westfield State Foundation, Inc. board in advancing the university in its' mission. He'll also be working closely with friends, community leaders, employees, donors, and students from various and diverse backgrounds.

A western Massachusetts lawmaker is hosting a group of Chinese government and business leaders on Beacon Hill.  Wilbraham Senator Gale Candaras hosted an influential group of Chinese businessmen who are on a " buying trip" to purchase goods and forge long term business relationships in Massachusetts.

Kevin Dillon met with a variety of local business leaders Tuesday afternoon at Mestek in Westfield. The focus of the meeting was on the needs of the local businesses in terms of moving cargo and people.