The Greenfield School Committee has reversed an earlier decision and voted to keep the first virtual school in Massachusetts open. The committee voted earlier this month to stop operating the 3-year-old Massachusetts Virtual Academy, because under a new state law, they would have to apply to the state to run it like a charter school. On Thursday they voted to draft a proposal to the state to keep operating the school. The committee voted after hearing from a state education official who said there was some confusion over the transition of the school from local to state control."
Related: First, only virtual school in Mass. will be closed
While the Globe was in town:
"Nurses to strike at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield" by Robert Weisman | Globe Staff, October 04, 2012
Unionized nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield plan to hold a 24-hour strike Friday to protest what they say are demands for unreasonable concessions in contract negotiations that broke down without a settlement Wednesday night.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents 209 nurses in the Western Massachusetts community hospital, said proposals from its Springfield-based parent, Baystate Health System, would increase overtime at the Greenfield hospital and discipline nurses for using legitimate sick time, forcing them to care for patients while ill.
Baystate Health said nurses union representatives were unwilling to negotiate seriously on the hospital’s proposals and declined to commit to dates for further bargaining later this month. The hospital said it will proceed with its strike contingency plans, bringing in replacement nurses to care for patients from 7 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday.
The sticking point in the contract talks is a proposal to pay time-and-a-half only after a nurse has worked 40 hours in a week, rather than on a per-shift basis as is called for in the current contract, according to the hospital.
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I always support nurses. They are on the front lines and are your primary caregivers. The last thing you want is an angry one.
"Conway officials want vehicles on bridge" Associated Press, October 23, 2012
Efforts are underway to allow cars to cross a 141-year-old covered bridge in Conway. The Recorder of Greenfield reports that the Board of Selectmen is backing the Conway Historical Commission’s efforts to allow vehicles on the Burkeville Covered Bridge. The 107-foot long bridge was built in 1871. It closed in 1985 due to structural deficiencies, but underwent a $1 million renovation that allowed it to reopen to pedestrians in 2006. The Historical Commission says that the bridge is strong enough to support vehicles and that reopening it would draw tourists and help residents. The state Highway Department kept it closed because it has no guardrails and because of fears that road salt would damage the wood. The bridge is the oldest surviving covered bridge in the country, according to travel website Waymarking.com"
"Greenfield lawyer gets six months on tax charges" Associated Press, March 01, 2013
A Western Massachusetts lawyer has been sentenced to six months in federal prison on tax evasion charges. Gregory Olchowski of Colrain was also sentenced Wednesday in US District Court in Springfield to one year of probation and fined $8,000. Prosecutors said Olchowski, who practiced in Greenfield, failed to report his full income from 2005 to 2008. They said he has already paid almost $150,000 in delinquent taxes. The Recorder reported that his lawyer argued that the charges stemmed from financial stress brought on by a divorce. Olchowski, 57, said in court that his behavior was an aberration. His license to practice law is currently suspended."
"Greenfield lawyer gets six months on tax charges" Associated Press, March 01, 2013
A Western Massachusetts lawyer has been sentenced to six months in federal prison on tax evasion charges. Gregory Olchowski of Colrain was also sentenced Wednesday in US District Court in Springfield to one year of probation and fined $8,000. Prosecutors said Olchowski, who practiced in Greenfield, failed to report his full income from 2005 to 2008. They said he has already paid almost $150,000 in delinquent taxes. The Recorder reported that his lawyer argued that the charges stemmed from financial stress brought on by a divorce. Olchowski, 57, said in court that his behavior was an aberration. His license to practice law is currently suspended."
