Karen Brown

A Massachusetts man imprisoned for four decades on murder charges is free, now that a judge granted him a new trial and the district attorney dropped all charges. 

The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department said it may pause its practice of lending out inmates for community labor if COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Two community groups in Springfield, Massachusetts, are renewing calls for the mayor to fire the city police commissioner, following a scathing federal report last summer. 

A Massachusetts man who spent 34 years in prison for murder has been sent home while his lawyers fight for his exoneration.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has proposed a $171 million plan to help people stay in their homes after the state’s eviction ban expires on Saturday.

With Amherst, Massachusetts, in the state’s COVID-19 red zone, the town manager says the numbers don’t reflect nuances in the population. 

UMass Amherst will likely do considerably more COVID-19 testing of students and staff than originally announced — at a considerable cost.

A new study finds that Black girls in Massachusetts public schools are disciplined at a much higher rate than white girls — about four times as often.

The Hampshire County jail hasn’t reported any covid-19 cases since May, but the sheriff said he’s concerned about possible new cases when normal court activity resumes.

The Hampshire County Sheriff's Office in Northampton, Massachusetts, will furlough 77 staff members to comply with state budget cuts.

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, had planned to bring a reduced number of students back to campus for the fall semester, and give faculty the choice of teaching online or in person. In a reversal, the college now says it will offer only distance learning.

Summer travel has increased the demand for COVID-19 testing in Massachusetts, which means less capacity and longer waits for results.

Some staff at a Holyoke, Massachusetts, school for special needs students are alarmed that they’ve been called back into the building for in-person instruction; they don’t believe it’s safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, or beneficial to students.

The town manager for Amherst warns that the influx of UMass students in the fall could spread COVID-19 in a town that, up until now, has had relatively few cases. He's asking the university to change its reopening plan to avoid making things worse.

Springfield, Massachusetts, city and police officials have responded to a scathing government report that charges the narcotics bureau with a pattern of excessive force with no accountability.

Some residents of Turners Falls, Massachusetts, want to change the name of their village to one they consider more respectful.

Turners Falls was named after Captain William Turner, thought to have led a 17th century battle that killed more than 100 members of the Nipmuc Nation tribe.

A Native American tribe is calling out opponents to a traffic roundabout in western Massachusetts for being "misleading."

Providence Hospital in Holyoke, Massachusetts — owned by Mercy Medical Center — is planning to close all its inpatient psychiatric beds on Tuesday despite concerns from the state and criticism from staff.