CITIES

Massachusetts new state-of-the-art Veterans Home in Holyoke was unveiled Thursday, marking a major milestone in the transformation of veterans care in the state, officials say. Formerly known as the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, the facility was built on the site of a deadly 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, where at least 76 veterans died — a tragedy that helped the push to replace it.

Ten businesses in Holyoke have received funding through the state's Community One Stop for Growth initiative, to invest in economic development objectives for the city.

Schools in Springfield, Massachusetts, remain closed through the week, as the city continues an investigation into an apparent widespread cyberattack on the district's computer system that began sometime before Labor Day.

It's been almost a decade since federal health officials first issued a warning about the herbal product kratom, promoted as a safe alternative to opioids for pain. It remains readily available in stores. Massachusetts and Springfield officials are taking action.

With primary elections only a few days away, voters in the 11th Hampden District will get to decide who they want to best represent them on Beacon Hill.

There’s an exhibit of new photographs of the city of Holyoke – taken through the lens of a 100-year-old camera. “Pictorially Speaking’ is now on display at the Wistariahurst Museum.

Flyers advertising services, concerts and lost pets have long been part of urban culture. That's despite ordinances banning them. In Northampton, Massachusetts, a tension has been brewing in the last few months around its no-posting ordinance established in the 1970s. There's a movement to change it.

Officials announced a new governance structure in eight Springfield Public schools in western Mass. The district's Innovation School Zone is an evolution of the district's Empowerment Zone they said, established a decade ago to turn around failing schools.

The federal holiday of Juneteenth on Friday brought a small crowd to the steps of city hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, for an annual commemoration and flag raising.

Swan fought for civil rights in Springfield, championed desegregation in the school system and pushed for reform in the police department.