My own response, as well as those of others, to the events of September 11th taught me that major crises tend to entrench people more in their beliefs as opposed to altering them. The tragedy in Parkland, Florida does nothing to change my view that significant enough gun control to alter the culture of mass
Global warming. Climate change. The ice sheets on Greenland and the Antarctic melting leading to sea level rise, just one in a long list of potentially catastrophic outcomes; I’m sure you’ve heard of it by now. Only people blinded by politics, greed, or ignorance don’t “believe” it, right? Certainly insurance companies, technology companies, and corporations
Wednesday was an almost perfect snow day. Schools were cancelled because the half a foot of snow forecasted to fall was to be followed by copious amounts of freezing rain and it was to all be at its worst after noon, when school children would be returning home even if superintendents tried to squeeze in
There is no way for me to know if Mass Mutual ever seriously considered moving its headquarters out of Springfield. I’ve always viewed the second campus in Enfield, Connecticut (just a few miles away) as a sword of Damocles, reminding city and state officials on both sides of the border that relocation could be achieved
It’s easy to be negative about the media. For me anyway. That’s mostly because I’m a contrarian living a contrary lifestyle and writing a blog thereon. So when I read a news item that inverts all my negative expectations it raises my hopes tremendously. Here it is. Not only is east-west rail up for a
The Great Recession temporarily slowed the internal migration which has seen the population moving steadily south, west, and into suburbia. There were arguments about the overall shape, size, and significance of the shift but now that the dust has settled somewhat every source that I have seen indicates that once again native born Americans are
True story. As a kid I would always hear that, in Massachusetts pedestrians had the right of way. I never really knew if it was true, or why it was such a common topic for discussion among pre teens in the 1970’s. Was it some kind of remnant from the ancient past, like our use
My wife loves garlic. More than she loves me? It’s an open question. Nearly everything she cooks starts with a healthy amount of onions and head of garlic. Why not a clove of garlic? Might as well just sprinkle on a little garlic powder! As the garden (“the farm” as friends call it) began to
It’s late January and the usual “Homicides Are Up; run for your lives” or “Homicides Are Down: don’t be worried though, Springfield is still dangerous” article hasn’t yet appeared. The 5 year rolling average for murder is 15 and last year came in at 14 with the city being homicide free now for 3 months.
I remember, or think I remember, a “design-a-thon” on WWLP with William L. Putnam (“WLP”) and Kitty Broman; people phoning in their ideas for Riverfront Revitalization. After that all of the usual economic development publications related to downtown always contained a Riverfront addendum. At first this all meant re-engaging people with the water in some