"Springfield’s overseers leave a city in the black; But as state control ends, some fear return of fiscal woes" by Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff | July 1, 2009
SPRINGFIELD - Located an hour and a half from Boston, Springfield was once an epicenter of manufacturing, turning out machine parts, cars, guns, motorcycles. Its boulevards boasted Queen Anne Victorians, mansions rose on bluffs overlooking the Connecticut River, and the grand, columned Symphony Hall opened.
Yeah, it's the Valley's hub.
In the 1960s, the factories began moving to the South and overseas, taking the jobs that had made Springfield a regional powerhouse. Much of the middle class filtered away, leaving behind a population whose poverty grew more entrenched as new jobs failed to take root.
These were daunting challenges for any community. But Springfield was a city whose government had run amuck. When Governor Mitt Romney appointed the control board in 2004, more than 8,000 residents and businesses owed property taxes. The city was on the verge of not being able to make payroll. The Housing Authority’s executive director was under indictment, accused of spending public money on chandeliers, ceramic tile, carpets, and other items for his family’s homes....
Like that is something new in this state!
As I have documented, it goes on EVERYWHERE!
Related: How Big is Your BRA, Boston?
Still, more than a third of Springfield’s children live below the poverty line; 9 percent of families rely on public assistance, according to a report by MassINC and UMass Dartmouth’s Urban Initiative, two nonprofit think tanks. The city’s teen pregnancy rate is the second highest in the state and growing, the report says. Shootings and gang violence remain news staples, although FBI statistics show that violent and property crime has dropped in the last five years. The city has an estimated 10.9 percent unemployment rate for May, higher than the statewide rate.
Tells you so many things -- particularly the paucity of our local news channels.
--more--"