Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Mayoral Debate Oct 13 7pm NHS

This Just in from David Pakman and our friends at VFR and NCTV: Be There or Be Square!

The 2009 Northampton Mayoral Debate, hosted by Valley Free Radio and Northampton Community Television, will be held at the Northampton High School Auditorium on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:30.
Candidates and a three-member panel will be moderated by the David Pakman, producer of the nationally-syndicated Midweek Politics.

Audience members will have the opportunity to pose questions to the candidates or submit them in advance to mayoraldebatequestions@valleyfreeradio.org.

The Debate is sponsored by the League of Women Voters and by Herrell's Ice Cream. Herrell's will be giving away free ice cream passes at the debate.


The event will be taped for later broadcast on NCTV, Valley Free Radio, and WHMP/WRSI The River. Live Twitter updates of the event will be provided by Jason Turcotte of Turcotte Data and Design at http://twitter.com/jasonturcotte


The winner of the November 3, 2009 election will sit at the helm of a city with an $87 million budget and a population of nearly 30,000.


To inquire about sponsorship or getting involved, please contact mayoraldebate@valleyfreeradio.org or visit www.valleyfreeradio.org/2009mayoraldebate.




Friday, September 4, 2009

US EPA Visits Russell Re Biomass Plant

The federal Environmental Protection Agency visited Russell on August 13 to hold a hearing on a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System [NPDES] permit issued to Russell Biomass. The plant is seeking permission to discharge heated and contaminated effluent into the Westfield River. (The draft permit can be found here.)

Dozens of concerned citizens and environmental professionals spoke, most opposing the permit. The pair from the EPA, as the evening wore on, were clearly wilting.

US EPA visits Russell MA re Biomass Plant