WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

Valley Medical Group says it’s entering a partnership with a Cambridge-based company to negotiate better insurance contracts and eventually offer better care. They hope to avoid becoming part of a large hospital system, as many primary care practices have done.

As people with SNAP food benefits brace for stricter rules and eligibility, retired teacher Mary Cowhey of Northampton, Mass., can attest to the longterm consequences of not having enough to eat.

The first day of inter was Sunday December 21, the time of year in the Northern hemisphere when the Earth's axis is tilts most strongly away from the sun.

We learn about the Holiday Pops concert at Tanglewood, hear live music with local band Bunnies and have an end-of-year recap with Rep. Jim McGovern.

Today on The Rundown, we discuss a projected yearly loss for Baystate Health following a Trump administration policy bill, how Pittsfield is supporting residents with housing, recommendations to tear down the Route 2 overpass in North Adams, and much more!

The traveling program, created by Naomi Westwater, aims to give credit to the role of musicians of color in the folk music genre while supporting today's non-white folk artists.

The first-ever Italian Christmas Market was held in Springfield's South End neighborhood recently.

Evelyn Harris, a prominent Pioneer Valley musician and one-time member of the internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble "Sweet Honey in the Rock" has died suddenly.

We hear the East African sounds of sounds of Zikina for Live Music Wednesday, review the runners-up for Merriam-Webster's word-of-the-year, and mourn the loss of beloved singer Evelyn Harris.

We take a trip to Ellison Farm Beef in Ludlow, talk with Ricky McKinnie of the Blind Boys of Alabama before their show at the Hope Center for the Arts, and learn how introverts can survive the holidays with Janice Chaka.