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| Articles about Springfield |
| | Springfield XD-45 Tactical - Love at 1st Blast | | 2008-07-17 15:09:06 | | I have been a serious hand-gunner since I was about 15 years old, that’s nearly 40 years ago. I have owned many different handguns over the years and a .45ACP has always been my favorite.
I have had Colt 1911 Govt Models, Colt Mark IV Series-70’s and a Jim Clark Custom, built by Jim, not Jimmy, [...] | | By: TexasFred's | | |
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| Another homeless man dies in Springfield, MA | | 2008-07-02 07:03:49 | | Two days ago, a man was found dead near the riverfront-- almost surely a person without a home, I knew at once. This morning, I called the Springfield police and found out that his name was Wayne Martin. He was, I believe, in his late 40's or early 50's. The detective told me that his death was not being treated as a criminal matter; that he appeared to have died of natural causes.By describing Mr. Martin's death as not a criminal matter, of course the detective meant that no other person murdered him. In every other way, though, the fact that a man can die in a nearly public place because he has nowhere to go is criminal in every other sense of the word.I admit I barely remember Wayne Martin; others knew him better. I know he stayed at Sanctuary City for quite a while. He stayed at the Warming Place (when it was open) a few times at most, and probably never stayed at Worthington St. Shelter. Some people just can't hack shelters. Either they don't like rules, hate crowds, fe | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Springfield, MO Sucks Ass | | 2008-07-01 11:05:05 | | Trying to live with a room mate in Springfield, MO was somewhat of a bad idea. Hence, living in Springfield, I couldn’t find a job (nobody is hiring — yes, I have great skills) and couldn’t move out into my own apartment (which sucks, by the way). Nonetheless, I had no internet so I couldn’t [...] | | By: Robs NSFW Blog | | |
| | According to Springfield police, you might be a gang member if... | | 2008-06-02 10:14:03 | | According to the Springfield Police, you might be a gang member if you're a kid, ride a bike, and carry a backpack.Here's what happened: Jeff, a friend of the family, 20 year old Puerto Rican kid, has been stopped twice by a Springfield MA police officer while riding his bike-- once late afternoon and once late evening; once by Allen and Plumtree, once in the North End. Both times the officer asked for identification and "asked" to look in his bag. Both times my friend complied. One officer was polite and one was verbally abusive.My friend wanted to know if he had the right to refuse to open his backpack. I said that in general, he did have that right (at least one exception would be if the officer felt a weapon was present in the bag and he might be in danger) but that I couldn't guarantee him the outcome if he did.Just for the hell of it, I called the squad room at the police department and asked for the duty officer. I gave him my name (which he did not) and described the sit | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
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| Do you care about Springfield's environment? We have an opening... | | 2008-05-26 12:12:07 | | So Springfield's Finance Control Board is hiring MassInc. and Dartmouth's Urban Issues Initiative to do a $125,000 study to develop an economic growth strategy for Springfield MA.This is the perfect time to integrate green jobs and sustainable environmental systems into our economic development plan.I just left MassInc's website and I must say the site is filled with the kind of generalities that leave you asking just what it is they actually do. But I won't hold that against them at this point. Of more concern is that I saw no references to the environment in any of their listed publications, research papers, programs, projects or upcoming events.According to Peter Goonan at the Republican, John Schneider, the Executive VP of MassInc, told the Control Board that after the study is completed, a second phase of the study would involve engaging stake-holders in the community in drafting and completing the long-range economic growth strategy plan,No, thanks, Been there, done that. (Or | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Seven actions Mayor Sarno could take RIGHT NOW to improve Springfield's environment | | 2008-05-18 10:30:10 | | I know a number of Springfield, MA citizens are tracking the commitments Mayor Domenic Sarno made at his Inaugural Address on January 7. He named his five priorities as increasing public safety, improving our schools, creating jobs and expanding our tax base, maintaining and expanding basic services to Springfield residents, and environmental stewardship.Specifically regarding the environment, Sarno stated:We will designate a municipal official to coordinate and manage our "green" initiatives. We will consider the environmental impact in procuring goods and services. We will critically evaluate our use of energy of all types and institute measures to reduce energy consumption. We will develop and implement smart growth policies that encourage "green" design and sustainable development. And we will look at ways to reduce the city's carbon footprint and to remediate existing environmental issues.More than four months into Sarno's term-- more than one-sixth of the period in which h | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Where are Springfield's falcons? | | 2008-05-10 12:41:25 | | The Republican reported this morning that the nesting pair of peregrine falcons, a familiar site in Springfield for the last 19 years, don't seem to be around this spring. Usually, they next on on a specially-build platform on the 21st floor on Monach Place, although they moved to the Memorial Bridge twice.Peregrines had become endangered because of the use of the pesticide DDT-- the same pesticide responsible for the decline of the bald eagle-- but after it was banned on the last day of 1972, the population rebounded. You can find peregrines on every major land mass in the world except New Zealand.Come home, falcons!Atom
| | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | | Springfield loses major law firm | | 2008-04-26 12:27:23 | | After twenty years at their 1145 Main St., Springfield address, the law firm of of Sasson, Turnbull and Hoose is moving its main practice to Amherst. They say they plan to maintain a satellite office at their old address, but it won't be the same.Although the firm is "full service," they are probably best known for their work in civil rights and criminal law, taking many cases with unpopular criminal defendants. Somebody has to do it, right? (Some of you would say no.)David Hoose represented me after Arise was raided and Tory Field and I were charged with possession of hypodermic needles. He will always have my gratitude.The firm's move is yet another loss for Springfield.Nonprofit agrees to DA's termsSaturday, October 02, 2004By MARLA A. GOLDBERGStaff writerSPRINGFIELD - An application for a criminal complaint against Arise for Social Justice was withdrawn yesterday, as the nonprofit group agreed not to run an unlicensed needle-exchange program in the future. A search at the group' | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Springfield's Open Pantry needs help now | | 2008-04-25 08:52:38 | | To be blunt: Open Pantry Community Services is in trouble and may not be able to avoid deep cuts in essential services. It's not hopeless but it's pretty bad, and what's bad for the Open Pantry is bad for the poor and homeless people in this city.Last year the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen prepared over a hundred thousand meals for people in need of food and friendship, lunch and supper, seven days a week. When staff and guests were discussing which of the two meals should be cut if it came to that, the answer was the lunch meal-- because a lot of children eat supper there with their parents.Last year the Open Pantry provided groceries for more than 27,000 people, half of them children. Now the pantry may have to cut back days they're open from four to two.Last year 1,200 homeless people went to caseworkers at the Open Door with help ranging from getting I.D. and applying for veteran's benefits to looking for an apartment.Last year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts cut more than 4 | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Rice rationing in Springfield? | | 2008-04-23 18:36:28 | | This morning I was going to write about the sudden surge in rice prices as speculators take advantage of food insecurity (sort of like war profiteering, as far as I'm concerned) but I ran out of time. I'd also saved an article about the potential for rice rationing in the U.S. which I hadn't had time to read thoroughly.On my way home from work I stopped at the Food Zone on Belmont Ave. for milk and dog food and sure enough! The twenty pound bags of rice were labeled "Limit 2 bags."A Costco in California is limiting customers' purchases of rice to one bag each. Flour and cooking oil are also being rationed in some parts of the U.S.Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that food shortages in the U.S. are imminent (although I could be wrong!) but we have certainly all felt the pinch of increasing prices. We're unlikely to be eating mud next month, as they are in Haiti right now. But what I am saying is that while we look for the larger solutions, we'd better be damn careful on a person | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Springfield: does the right hand know what the left hand is doing? | | 2008-04-07 11:00:47 | | Last week two events of some significance were held in Springfield, MA, a "Developers' Conference" and a seminar on green space development and preservation.The developers' conference took 110 developers on a tour of Springfield to look at potential sites such as the old York St. Jail site on Columbus Ave and the Smith and Wesson Industrial Park. Given the economic times, Mayor Sarno's plan to proactively recruit developers is a good effort.The Green Space conference (which cost $35) was a follow-up on Springfield's ranking among the best green cities in the U.S. last year by Country Home magazine. This ranking, by the way, does not mean the city has a top-ranked environmental policy-- only that we are blessed with much green space and waterways and we have managed to preserve them to a high degree-- no small potatoes in this day and age.That said, no developer was told that their project would receive priority if it included elements of green design.What makes a building green? Ca | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Springfield starts planning how to implement ward representation | | 2008-03-12 21:29:36 | | Should city and school committee councilors from wards be paid the same as at-large councilors? How much more will it cost to print eight ballots, one for each ward, instead of just one for the whole city? How much more support staff will be needed in various city departments? And how will thirteen councilors fit into a space designed for nine?Tonight the City Council's Civil Rights and Race Relations Committee started laying out these and other questions that have to be answered before the city's new, mixed ward and at-large system, can be put into place for the November, 2009 elections. It won't be easy but it won't be difficult, and in any case, the voters mandated it in the 2007 elections.As City Attorney Ed Pakula said, "It's not many issues that win 75% of the vote."A few community people were at the meeting to see what the city had in mind for moving ahead., including five of us from Arise and OutNow! It was an odd feeling to hear ward representation talked about as a real | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Springfield housing tops in Midwest | | 2008-03-10 03:54:00 | | "The key here is that housing is affordable," he said. "We are seeing people from Florida and Arizona who found those areas to be too crowded and expensive, and they are moving back to Springfield."A sizable house next to Lake Springfield sells for a median price of $345,000, he said, "and that's about the price of a townhouse in Naperville or Schaumburg.""The healthiest housing markets today generally are moderately priced and are experiencing job growth and often population growth," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors group.
| | By: Chicago real estate news | | |
| | | Poet Martin Espada to read in Springfield; writing workshop coming up | | 2008-03-01 09:17:00 | | Western Mass. is home to many excellent writers and poets and some, like Magdalena Gomez, even live in Springfield. Starting this Monday, March 3, she will lead writing workshops for women called "Writing From the Belly." Local writer Lynn Bowmaster will also be leading writing groups, including one for teens. Details at the Springfield Library Poetry page.Some poets not only write well but read well, and that definitely describes Martin Espada . If you haven't heard him read, and you want to be caught up in his rich and glowing world, come hear him on Saturday, March 8, 2 pm. at the Springfield Library. Details here.Atom
| | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Time for Springfield to eliminate plastic bags | | 2008-02-10 08:53:00 | | If Mayor Domenic Sarno wants to be known as Springfield's environmental mayor, he could set in motion a plan that would virtually eliminate plastic bags in this city.First, hold this image in your mind: You're sailing in the North Pacific, on your way home from a sailing race in Hawaii, when you notice you've sailed into as sea of plastic waste suspended just below the surface of the water. You have to sail through an area twice the size of the continental U.S. before you are clear of it. That's what happened to Charles Moore, businessman turned environmental activist, in 1997. Today the plastic soup is estimated at 100 million tons and growing. Independent UK.Plastic bags are a significant part of this soup. Less than one percent of these bags are recycled and they can cause damage in unexpected ways. In the state of Maharashtra, India, plastic bags clogging sewer drains were blamed for flooding that caused the deaths of more than a thousand people in 2005. Bangladesh has b | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Fewer homeless counted this year than last year in Springfield | | 2008-02-07 18:24:00 | | Mayor Sarno and Gerry McCafferty, deputy director of the Office for Housing, had some good news to announce to the press yesterday: there are 37 fewer single people homeless this year than last year.The Housing First model, which prioritizes housing and services for the city's most entrenched homeless people, seems to be paying off. The strategy is to house those 10% of the homeless who use the most resources, leaving more resources for the other 90%.There's a lot I think is missing from the Housing First model-- like new housing!-- but what is very different in Springfield now compared to three years ago is that the city has a plan. Homeless people and allies have moved the city from ignoring homelessness to managing it. Too bad homeless people can't be a part of that "management," but how often does that get to happen? Maybe only in tent cities....George Graham from the Republican called me yesterday for any thoughts I had about this news, but I didn't have a lot to say. My or | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Optimism about Springfield-- is there any other choice? | | 2008-01-08 07:40:00 | | I went to Sarno's swearing-in as Mayor yesterday with a few other Arise members to see what I could see. It's the first swearing-in I've ever been to, so I have nothing to compare it with, but Sarno put his priorities out for all to see and of course we'll be keeping a close eye on him.There's much I could comment about, but the big surprise for me yesterday was Sarno's commitment to move Springfield toward a truly environmentally-friendly city! This is long-overdue in Springfield. Ryan liked to call Springfield "green" because of our wealth of parks and waterways. But as far as I know, he never did anything proactive.A recent article in the Republican about the new Federal Courthouse mentioned that the General Services Administration required that "art" be integrated into the building. Well, that's fine and good, but not a word about sustainability, energy recapture, solar power, etc. What a lost opportunity!If I were mayor I'd say that not another building that uses federal, state or local money can be constructed without integrating green principles in the design. (Actually, I'd go farther, but that's another story.)The Republican didn't mention Sarno's green goals, but it's probably on Bill Dusty's video of yesterday's ceremony.Atom
| | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Please: no more murdered women and children in Springfield in 2008! | | 2008-01-01 12:07:00 | | Patrick Johnson at the Springfield Republican has a story today tallying up the domestic violence murders in Springfield this year. Three women and five children died at the hands of those they should have been able to trust the most.It's worth posting both the local domestic violence hotline and the national number. Locally, call ARCH, 413-733-7100. Anywhere in Massachusetts, call SafeLink, 1-877-853-2020.So often the male perpetrators of these crimes kill themselves after they kill their wives and their children. Why don't they just kill themselves first?Here's an understatement: domestic violence is a complicated issue. Women are not the only victims; children and men suffer, also. It's not rare for violence to be mutual-- although when it comes to the death of a partner, women are almost always the victims.Interestingly enough, Johnson's article says that the police were never called to the victims' residences, no restraining orders were ever filed, and no neighbors ever complained about excessive noise.Perhaps this is because the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction to protect women that women often see the "cure" as potentially as damaging as the violence.An all too common scenario goes like this: you and your husband are having a fight, and voices get loud. (There may or may not be physical violence accompanying this argument.) You have children in the home. A neighbor calls the police. What happens next depends on whether or not the police suspect violence has taken place. But one thing that will surely happen is that the police will file a 51A-- a Care and Protection order-- with the Department of Social Services. DSS will require that you get a restraining order against your husband and remove him from your home and your life. If you fail to do so, your children may be taken away from you. This is a heavy chain of consequences to bear. Many families that need help are destroyed, and, I think, many women who really do need h | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Not easy being homeless in Springfield | | 2007-12-11 16:21:00 | | I was going to put up some links from MassLive and LocalBuzz to illustrate some of the publicity homeless efforts are getting in Springfield, but for some reason, all I could find was a LocalBuzz interview with a staffperson at the Worthington St. Shelter. The other stories seem to have disappeared.Meanwhile, over at MassLive, Springfield's "forum," homeless people continue to take a beating from those who hide behind their made-up names. Folks have really been on a roll recently, comparing homeless people to zombies, calling the folks who eat at the soup kitchen a bunch of slobs, calling them crazy, dangerous, etc...I try to remember that not every poster feels that way; the more reasonable people probably just don't bother to respond to the worst comments. Most people think that homeless people choose to be homeless, because they won't take the steps necessary to move ahead. Well, of course it's much easier to fall into a hole than it is to climb out.Some horrendous crimes have been happening in Springfield. The one this week that just leaves me shaking my head in sorrow is the murder of a 20 year old kid delivering pizzas by a 28 year old man.What the hell. There was a picture of the man being arraigned in today's paper: a slight figure, all hunched over, looking as if he was filled with shame. Maybe that's just my wish-- that he not be some genuine psychopath unable to feel remorse but someone who will have to live with what he has done-- taken the life of another young man who was only doing his job, trying to get ahead.I'm no sociologist and I admit I have an unabashed allegiance to the poor and working class. But I'm no romantic, either, and not one who thinks there's no role for personal responsibility in our fates.Many years ago, before I ever knew there'd be an Arise for Social Justice in Springfield, I used to be part of a program called Decisional Training that went into the county jails and taught decision-making skills to the prisoner | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | SPRINGFIELD: La Conquista de las Mujeres | | 2007-11-13 15:47:00 | | Sprinfield se apunta al viral y lanza nueva campaña la conquista de las mujeres, centrada en el target femenino...Spot con versión web bastante bueno, con dinámica viral sencilla (envía a una aimga), un diseño muy bueno y un eje de comunicación apropiado... recordemos que esta marca tiene un posicionamiento + masculino.Os dejo el vídeo:Un saludo a los Apasionados del Marketing...Via: EsViraltechnorati tags: viral marketing, comunicación, Campaňas, marketing, advertising, Springfield woman, laconquistadelasmujeres,del.icio.us tags: viral marketing, comunicación, Campaňas, marketing, advertising, Springfield woman, laconquistadelasmujeres,icerocket tags: viral marketing, comunicación, Campaňas, marketing, advertising, Springfield woman, laconquistadelasmujeres,keotag tags: viral marketing, comunicación, Campaňas, marketing, advertising, Springfield woman, laconquistadelasmujeres, | | By: Pasion por el Marketing | | |
| | | De Partuza en Springfield | | 2007-07-24 20:08:00 | | Y como todo llega, les presento a los chicos y chicas De Partuza, al estilo Los Simpsons. Les dejo las imagenes y se reciben comentarios.Vero P. y GuilleMariano y Vero S. Rana y FernandoSilvia y PeladoSe aclara:Guille y Vero P. son solo amigos.Rana y Fer, proximamente, casados.El resto, estamos con el famoso anillo carcelero....
| | By: De Partuza y algo mas.. | | |
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