Blandford, MA Industry

WESTFIELD – On June 15, Mike Albert of The Pioneer Valley Trading Co. and Terry Reynolds of T. Reynolds Engineering appeared for a second time before the Planning Board to obtain site plan approval for a marijuana retail, cultivation and processing building and greenhouse operation on Medeiros Way. This time approval was granted with one opposed.

Award Recipients Receive Scholarships to Attend PPC’s Bi-Annual Folding Carton Boot Camps. Springfield, Mass. – The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) recently announced the launch of its inaugural J.Edward Woods Scholar Award. The award will be given annually to passionate and enthusiastic rising stars who work in the folding carton industry.

The Local Farmer Awards program, funded since 2015 by community philanthropic leaders and businesses, recently distributed checks of up to $2,500 to 81 farmers in Western Massachusetts and Eastern New York, and several of them are here in Berkshire County. You can see the full list including a Google Map...

LONGMEADOW – Michelle Marantz, chair of the Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group, informed the Longmeadow Select Board of movement in the gas pipeline issue. “Eversource recently told me that they will move forward with the old Columbia Gas plan to build a high-pressure pipeline starting at a proposed metering station on [Longmeadow Country Club (LCC)] property and ending in Springfield.” She said that Eversource plans to announce the pipeline route and get feedback from the town beginning in July.

Last week energy transport pipelines got a whole lot more attention than they usually do. After more than a decade of intense resistance, the plans for the massive Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline were finally cancelled after President Biden rescinded its construction permit in a step to stop climate change.

As summer approaches, several nonprofits are cleaning out their vans, mapping out routes, and coordinating with farmers for the start of their mobile markets. It is exactly what you’d imagine — a small farmers market packed up in a van and driven around to communities. Caitlin Marquis, of the nonprofit...

For hundreds of years the Indigenous history of the Northeast has been systematically erased. It is time to speak up to make sure that the federal government and power companies do not continue that bitter legacy. Five hydroelectric facilities on the Connecticut River are renewing their operating licenses under the...

CHICOPEE – Southern New England Spice Company is a leading supplier of high quality and premium seasoning and spice blends that sells to restaurants, colleges, food manufacturers and breweries. The company has been around for over 20 years and moved their retail location from Hadley to Chicopee about two years...

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A locally owned convenience store and gas station chain is going up for sale. The owner of Pride, Robert Bolduc, tells Western Mass News it's time to put his business on the market. He tells us he's too young to retire, but it's time for a...

The Great Barrington Fire District is currently working on upgrading the water mains in Quarry Street, Park Street, East Street, and Cottage Street. Water Service will be interrupted on Wednesday, June 16, beginning at 8 a.m. This temporary interruption in service will be as brief as possible. Please take the appropriate steps to store water for your anticipated needs during this time. After the water service is restored, you may experience some discoloration of your water. It is recommended that you let the water run to clear any air that may be in the line. Do this before flushing toilets or operating washing machines and dishwashers. The Great Barrington Fire District is committed to providing the best possible service to its customers. Please call 413-528-0133 with any questions, and thank you for your patience.

Darby Dyar is the deputy principal investigator for VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy). She will study why Venus and Earth evolved from similar characteristics but developed so differently.

Like many homeowners, I have been deluged by offers from solar companies. They offer, in one way or another, to put solar panels on your rooftop with little or no front-end cost but plenty of deferred costs, which they gloss over. At the same time, entrepreneurs are trying to persuade towns to let them put up solar fields. There’s something not quite right about this situation, but it can be corrected.

There are, on average, about 300,000 shad migrating on the Connecticut River each spring, according to counts monitored at Holyoke and reported by the Connecticut River Conservancy. But there once were, and could one day be, tens of millions of shad in the river, said Andrew Fisk, Executive Director of...

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Marijuana cultivator Berkshire Kind is "moving along" with its development in the William Stanley Business Park but has an extended timeline and budget. In the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority's first meeting since fall 2020, interim Director Michael Coakley reported that the cultivators' goal is to start site work and foundation work this fall.

A handful of Franklin County towns are voicing their opposition to state subsidies and incentives for biomass plants with resolutions that seek to protect the health of the environment and residents. Most recently, Montague voters approved “A Resolution in Opposition to State Subsidies and Incentives for Biomass Plants” at their...

An April column covered municipal best practices in the areas of zero-energy ready buildings, electricity powered by renewable energy, and battery storage and microgrids. This column will look at towns leading on fossil fuel powered vehicles, green technology and education, zero waste and environmental justice. Many municipalities, like Amherst, have...

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — There are, on average, about 300,000 shad migrating on the Connecticut River each spring, according to counts monitored at Holyoke and reported by the Connecticut River Conservancy. But there once were, and could one day be, tens of millions of shad in the river, said Andrew Fisk,...