GSCVB Receives ‘Top Destination’ Award
SPRINGFIELD — The Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) has received a Top Destination Award from Facilities & Destinations (F&D) magazine in its 2008 annual publication. The designation was given to 63 convention and visitors bureaus in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The GSCVB was the only non-capital-city CVB in New England to receive the honor. F&D polls its readers and association meeting planners annually to select the top CVBs. Criteria include: quality of the convention center, professionalism of the staff, hotel accommodations, on-site management, special promotions and services, accessibility, attractiveness of the destination, and other factors. The is the 14th year the publication has conducted the poll. “This designation is very gratifying for us, and it speaks to the quality of convention amenities in the Pioneer Valley,” said GSCVB President Mary Kay Wydra. “We have a number of advantages to offer to meeting planners and other decision makers, including top facilities, easy access, a range of economic options, and a dedicated group of front-line hospitality-industry professionals who will create a pleasant visitor experience for our guests.”
Many Area Cities and Towns Have Lost Population Since 2000
SPRINGFIELD — While there are some notable exceptions — East Longmeadow and Belchertown chief among them — most area cities and towns have held steady in population or seen declines since 2000, according to estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Among the losers are Springfield, down 2,100 people, or 1.41%; Chicopee, down 777, or 1.42%; Amherst, down 599, or 1.72%; Greenfield, down 462, or 2.54%, and Northampton, down 567, or 1.96%. Among the big gainers were East Longmeadow, up 1,122, or 7.96%; Southampton, up 575, or 10.67%; Montgomery, up 100, or 15.29%, and Belchertown, up 1,003, or 7.73%.
Springfield Offered Extended Repayment Period on Loans
SPRINGFIELD — State legislators and the Patrick administration have agreed on a bill that would give the city 15 years to pay back a $52 million state loan — three more than the governor originally proposed in June. The plan, described as a compromise measure, would save the city roughly $1 million per year in payments on the loan. It is subject to the approval of the state House and Senate, and would require the signature of the governor as well.
Three Businesses to Receive Workforce- training Grants
SPRINGIELD — While on a tour of Springfield and its South End recently, Gov. Deval Patrick announced the awarding of workforce-training funds totaling $164,350 to train 116 workers at three area companies. The grants will go to:
• Hampden Bank ($91,250) to train 79 workers in customer service and sales management;
• Thorn Industries ($36,500) to train 15 workers in lean manufacturing and inventory-control systems; and
• Hayden Corp. ($36,600) to train 22 workers in RAPID robotics software.
Springfield Gets $2.1 Million Grant for Armory Street Work
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Deval Patrick has awarded Springfield a $2 million grant to boost business development through a series of road improvements in the Armory Street area. The grant will fund a complete repaving of two miles of Armory Street from the rotary off Interstate 291 south to Federal Street near the Springfield Technical Community College Technology Park. The funds will also pay for new sidewalks and crosswalks; improved signaling to the intersection of Genesee, Taylor, and Worthington streets; and new catch basins. Trees will also be planted. City officials and administrators at the technology park said the planned improvements will make it easier to attract new businesses to that section of Springfield.
Brownfields Assistance Agreement Inked
SPRINGFIELD — The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission has signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for $1.62 million to clean up brownfield sites in Springfield. Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield. The agreement, dated April 17, is the result of the PVPC’s conversion of its original revolving loan fund to the Small Business Relief Rules for Brownfields. The new assistance agreement will provide funding to the PVPC to capitalize the Pioneer Valley Regional Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund. Brownfields are real property, the expansion, development, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
