Springfield, MA
News
COVID-19: Two Hampden County Towns Come Off 'Red' List - Town-By-Town Rates And Trends COVID-19: Two Hampden County Towns Come Off 'Red' List - Town-By-Town Rates And Trends
Covid-19: Two Hampden County Towns Come Off 'Red' List - Town-By-Town Rates And Trends Only one new Hampden County town has been added to the state’s COVID-19 red list and two have come off of it, according to data released Thursday, Dec. 3. The communities that lowered their COVID-19 infection rate to the point that they were removed from a list of the state’s riskiest places are Belchertown and East Longmeadow. The town that was added to the red list is Palmer. There are now 36 Western and Central Massachusetts communities on the red list, including 9 cities and towns in Hampden County. Massachusetts's color-coded risk system has four levels. They are, from most to le…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
COVID-19: 'Red' Communities More Than Double In Central, Western Mass - Local Rates And Trends COVID-19: 'Red' Communities More Than Double In Central, Western Mass - Local Rates And Trends
Covid-19: 'Red' Communities More Than Double In Central, Western Mass - Local Rates And Trends The number of COVID-19 “red” communities has more than doubled in Central and Western Massachusetts since last week, according to the most recent state data, Thursday, Nov. 19. Last week there were 9 Central and Western Massachusetts communities in the red. Now there are 21: Blackstone, Chicopee, Clinton, Douglas, Fitchburg Hampden, Holyoke, Lancaster, Leominster, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Milford, Northbridge, Southbridge, Southwick, Springfield, Sterling, Templeton, Uxbridge, West Springfield, Winchendon. To see local rates and trends, scroll to the end of the article. Among the red communitie…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Worcester, MA
News
COVID-19: Number Of Red Communities Triples In Central, Western Massachusetts COVID-19: Number Of Red Communities Triples In Central, Western Massachusetts
Covid-19: Number Of Red Communities Triples In Central, Western Massachusetts The number of COVID-19 “red” communities has tripled in Central and Western Massachusetts since last week, according to the most recent state data, Thursday, Nov. 12. Last week, Nov. 6, there were 3 - Fitchburg, Ludlow, and Springfield. Now there are 9 - Chicopee, Clinton, Fitchburg, Holyoke, Leominster, Milford, Springfield, Uxbridge, and West Springfield. In a bit of good news, the COVID-19 rate in Ludlow dropped low enough to get the city removed from the red list. However, the rates in Fitchburg and Springfield went up. Massachusetts has changed the system for local COVID-19 rates…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
COVID-19: Only 3 'Red' Communities In Western/Central MA Under New System COVID-19: Only 3 'Red' Communities In Western/Central MA Under New System
Covid-19: Only 3 'Red' Communities In Western/Central MA Under New System Massachusetts has changed the system for local COVID-19 rates and infections in a move Gov. Charlie Baker will provide cities and towns with a more accurate picture of the risk. Last week (Oct. 30) there were around 30 red cities and towns in central and western Massachusetts.  In this reporting period (Nov. 6), there are 3: Fitchburg, Ludlow, and Springfield. Baker cited the influence the state’s reporting has on whether a community’s schools offer in-person, a hybrid, or distance learning. The governor has said that too many schools have been making the switch to distance learning e…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
State Goes To Biden, But Here Are The Massachusetts Towns Where Trump Won State Goes To Biden, But Here Are The Massachusetts Towns Where Trump Won
State Goes To Biden, But Here Are The Massachusetts Towns Where Trump Won As many elections, including for president, are still being counted, Massachusetts has finished voting for president. As was anticipated, challenger Democrat Joe Biden won the majority vote for president. Biden won 66% of the vote with more than 2 million ballots cast in his favor.  Incumbent Republican Donald Trump won 34% of the vote with more than 1 million people supporting him at the polls. The following is a list of communities that went against the grain in Massachusetts and the majority of residents there voted for Trump - Central and Western Massachusetts are in bold, v…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
Police & Fire
Bargain Ambulance Rides For $40 Via Unique Subscription Bargain Ambulance Rides For $40 Via Unique Subscription
Bargain Ambulance Rides For $40 Via Unique Subscription Ludlow is offering a unique deal on future emergency ambulance rides. For a $40 per year subscription, a household can be assured that they won’t have to pay anything out-of-pocket for using the town's emergency ambulance services. Ludlow’s offer stands out amid an uncertain emergency services landscape where a person cannot be assured ahead of time whether their health insurance - if they have any - will be accepted by an ambulance provider. Surprise emergency medical bills have become a problem for many Americans.  In almost 80 percent of scenarios, an emergency ambulance ride lead…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
Police & Fire
CT Man Dives Into River To Avoid Arrest, But Leaves ID At Scene Of Crime CT Man Dives Into River To Avoid Arrest, But Leaves ID At Scene Of Crime
CT Man Dives Into River To Avoid Arrest, But Leaves ID At Scene Of Crime A Connecticut man accused of a pedestrian-involved hit-and-run almost escaped police capture by diving into the Chicopee River - but all the identifying information he allegedly left at the scene of the crime quickly led to his arrest. Andrew Milne, 39, of Stafford Springs, Connecticut, allegedly tore through Ludlow leaving damage and injuries in his wake on Sunday, Sept. 20. Police ran into Milne after they received a report of a hit-and-run accident involving a pedestrian at the intersection of Cady and West streets, police said. The pedestrian was transported to the hospital and is expe…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
Start-Stop-Start: At These Schools, COVID-19 Infections Have Temporarily Halted Class Start-Stop-Start: At These Schools, COVID-19 Infections Have Temporarily Halted Class
Start-Stop-Start: At These Schools, Covid-19 Infections Have Temporarily Halted Class Another school has been temporarily closed for deep cleaning following the discovery of staff infected with COVID-19. This time Ludlow’s East Street Elementary school closed the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 9, when a staff member was found to have caught the virus. As children started to go back to school in Massachusetts and Connecticut this month, a handful of schools have had to temporarily halt learning and disinfect the buildings to rid the places of any possible COVID-19 viruses. Each district seems to have a different approach to the discovery of COVID-19 among the faculty, staff…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County (Aug.) COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County (Aug.)
Covid-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County (Aug.) Hampden County’s largest cities continue to steadily reduce the number of positive COVID-19 tests among its residents, according to the most recent information from the Baker Administration. Springfield’s 14-day positive COVID-19 test rate was 2.3 percent - down from a high of 3.4 percent on July 17. West Springfield’s positive test rate dropped to 0.9 percent - it was at 1.7 percent just last week. Westfield also saw a decrease with the positive test rate ow at 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, Holyoke is holding steady at 2.4 percent positive. Palmer has increased to a 2.3 percent positive test…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates, Trends - Hampden County, Aug. COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates, Trends - Hampden County, Aug.
Covid-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates, Trends - Hampden County, Aug. Chicopee’s positive COVID-19 test rate continued to climb this week as most Hampden County communities see declines or are holding steady, according to the most recent information from the Baker Administration. In Springfield, the 14-day COVID-19 positive test rate is down significantly from a high of 3.4 percent in the city in mid-June. The most recent test rate was 2.7 percent. In Massachusetts, the goal is that by December the state will have less than 5 percent of COVID-19 tests come back positive. On Friday, Aug. 5, Gov. Charlie Baker reported the state’s 7-day positive test rate was a…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County
Covid-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County Positive tests for COVID-19 continue to stay under 2 percent in Massachusetts. Massachusetts' seven-day positive test rate for COVID-19 has been below 2 percent since the beginning of July. On Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker said the positive rate for the past seven days is 1.7 percent. Meanwhile, in Hampden County Russell has the highest rate of positive COVID-19 tests countywide over the past 14 days, followed by Agawam, Monson, and West Springfield. The state economy is now in Phase 3 of a four-phase reopening plan. The fourth phase - which would see the reopening of business such as …

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Newark, NJ
Police & Fire
ATM Skimming Mastermind Who Victimized 4,350 NJ, NY Bank Customers Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen ATM Skimming Mastermind Who Victimized 4,350 NJ, NY Bank Customers Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen
ATM Skimming Mastermind Who Victimized 4,350 NJ, NY Bank Customers Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen The mastermind of an ATM skimming ring that targeted customers at banks in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts was sentenced Tuesday to five years in federal prison. Bogdan Rusu, 39, a Romanian national living in Howard Beach, Queens will serve the sentence handed down in U.S. District Court in Newark concurrently with a 65-month sentence given to him last June by a federal judge in Massachusetts. Rusu struck plea deals with the government in exchange for leniency in both cases. He'll have to serve the entire terms because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Rusu admitted in…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco