First up in our news roundup this week: The Massachusetts Senate early Friday morning passed sweeping criminal justice legislation. The bill's sponsor says it will reduce the rates of incarceration, while giving judges more leeway to set bail amounts and sentence offenders.
Then we look to Franklin County, where residents of Leverett are hosting visitors from Letcher County, Kentucky, for a cross-cultural exchange. Organizers promise they won't just be talking about politics.
And there are five contested mayoral elections in western Massachusetts in November, plus a bunch of city council races. As is always the case for off-year elections, officials expect voter turnout to be relatively small.
We wrap up with a look at fall colors, and that perennial trade-off for New Englanders between checking out the foliage themselves, and dealing with leaf-peeping tourists.
GUESTS:
- Chris Collins, Columnist, Greenfield Recorder
- Mike Dobbs, Managing Editor, Reminder Publications
