While the COVID-19 pandemic dominated headlines around the globe this year, in western Massachusetts, one of the biggest related stories was the deadly outbreak at the state-run Holyoke Soldiers' Home.
At least 76 veterans testing positive for the virus died, leading to investigations and criminal charges against administrators over how they handled the situation.
As details emerged, there was also outrage, including from then-state Representative (now a state senator) John Velis of Westfield.
"This is something that I take personal," Velis said. "I want to know what the hell happened to them up there."
Panelist Natalia Muñoz said the state is indeed working to improve the situation at the Soldiers' Home.
"They've learned off the deaths of many people how to make it better. But that's not enough," Muñoz said. "They used two fall guys — the chief medical director and the former superintendent of the Soldiers' Home — as the fall guys for this tragic, catastrophic management of COVID-19. There are other people who need to be held accountable. And it goes right up to the governor's office as well. And that's part of the picture to make things better."
Panelist Mike Dobbs said that looking ahead to 2021 with a COVID-19 vaccine, he's hoping the region can rebound economically.
"So much of our local economy is in the collegiate sectors and the education sector," Dobbs said. "I'm hoping that once people are vaccinated, we can get back to normal, in terms of that whole economic sector. Also, I'm hoping that our tourism sector, which is very, very big and important for the Pioneer Valley and western New England, is also going to be able to rebound. Neither of these will be able to rebound unless we've got a widespread use of the vaccines that are being introduced now."
While the pandemic was going on this spring and summer, there were dozens of protests across the area, sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
One protest in June took place outside a Springfield bar, where four black men were beaten by off-duty police officers in 2015. The fight led to the officers involved being charged, as well as those who allegedly tried to cover it up. Springfield City Council President Justin Hurst addressed the protest outside of the bar, Nathan Bill's.
"What happened to Mr. Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis came dangerously close to happening right here in this parking lot," Hurst said.
Muñoz said police reform is well overdue.
"How many wake-up calls does this country need? It's as if the alarm clock goes off and people put it on snooze over and over again," she said. "How many people have to be injured and die before police chiefs across the county — including in Springfield — take seriously that this is a crisis that must be addressed immediately?"
Dobbs said western Massachusetts clearly has a lot of work to do.
"I really do think that anyone who feels that, somehow, because we're not the South or we're not the Midwest or some place like that, that everything is fine when it comes to systemic racism, they're wrong. And we need to work on it," he said.
As we continued to look back on 2020, we talked about other stories out there that didn't get as much attention because of COVID-19. And finally, we asked our panelists to look ahead to 2021.
Guests:
- Natalia Muñoz, host, Vaya Con Muñoz on WHMP
- Mike Dobbs, managing editor, The Reminder
