Kari Njiiri
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NEPM
When SNAP funding was cut for residents in early November Hameed Bello and his wife Ayo, co-owners of Farm Store 99 in Springfield, continued to serve customers, even when they couldn't pay.
![Attorney General Andrea Campbell [right] with members of her office listening to organizer Katie Talbot [left] and activists speak about significant housing violations at Springfield Garden.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5345898/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x2246+0+389/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F21%2Fd9%2Fa31fb1144911a88742d2d8c7c079%2Fimg-9669.jpg)
![Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey [left] speaking with employees from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Chicopee on Monday, following the state's disbursement of SNAP benefits to recipients.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/416b321/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x2246+0+389/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F23%2Fba%2F15c26da24444be18772574ad8dd9%2Fimg-9638.jpg)
Courtesy
We speak with author Chuck Collins about the elite class and his book, "Burner by Billionaires," preview the Northampton Book Fair this weekend and McGovern with Rep. Jim McGovern.
Ayu Suryawan
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NEPM
We discuss the divisions as rent control makes its way on the 2026 ballot, how decreased rail use in western Mass. could impact the east-west rail project and historical debates on the route of Henry Knox's artillery march.
More Regional News
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- The Trump administration is softening its tone on FEMA
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- Homeless shelters are adapting to meet the growing number of seniors among them
- In DR Congo, exhibit reveals nostalgia for former dictator Mobutu
- This civics competition lets high school students have their day in court
- Here's why concerns about an AI bubble are bigger than ever
Can't-Miss Stories
- A fleeting art show along the trails of Mt. Holyoke, inspired by a 19th century landscape
- Invasive bug continues to spread across Massachusetts, finds home in Hampden County
- Western Massachusetts tenants organize against high rents, out-of-state landlords
- Colleges compete for students with offers of free tuition
- "A Something Overtakes the Mind": Exhibit at Emily Dickinson Museum combines poet's words, objects
Investigative Reporting
