High-speed east-west rail would enable Boston to do to Springfield exactly what it's done to Worcester after the commuter rail started up in 1994. Displace locals, jack up property values, commute to Boston by high-speed rail, overwhelm the locals in elections, and degrade the local community.

That sounds misguided but I suspect the majority of the waste in this state is plain old corruption, not liberal or conservative. Just the same old BS as in most states.

[removed]

I’d actually disagree there. The east west rail wouldn’t just feed Boston, it would connect people on the Berkshire’s to Springfield and the rest of the Pioneer Valley. My planning agency is fully behind that rail idea exactly because it would bring eco dev into Springfield and the Valley, by connecting more of Western Mass together. I mean, screw all the focus on the eastern end of the state, but the east west rail would greatly benefit economic development in Springfield, Holyoke, etc.

That was privately funded.

Therefore, no rail. Rail bad. Go build skyscrapers in Salem and then we'll talk.

I actually like some of their songs and was kind of psyched to hear them, but between the ten minutes of obelisk lowering and everyone in the band except Jared being situated at the very back of the stage... ugh, get over yourself, dude.

Edit: This guy is a brand new account and explicitly says below that he doesn’t give a fuck about the region and it’s economic development. He’s full of shit.

The people who live and work in Boston are incredibly Boston centric and don’t even realize we exist as a real economic center or that the PioneerValley has so much more to offer then just pretty views. Of course, now they all want to move out here and work remote from home while telling us how we are supposed to do things the Boston way. It fucking pisses me off. You and I are definitely on the same page.

Edit: and you are right, the people out in that area or remote working in Boston only see where the money needs to go in Boston. Even if they live here, they are so focused on Boston is the only place that needs funding that it is so frustrating.

Virtually all of them?

An easy example is the MLK statue they just did.

I'm from the area, I totally get it. I remember people saying "that tornado was the best thing that ever happened to us" when the casino went up, on account of it handling demolition of historic sites free of charge.

Know why isn't pushing for economic development in Springfield? The 2/3rds of voters who live in the Boston Metro. They want to squeeze every penny out of Springfield and every acre out of Worcester so they don't have to confront the truth that their lifestyle is unsustainable.

Did the exact same thing for the 30 Seconds to Mars show!!

I waited 4 hours last time, with an appointment.

If you actually read the decision, the girlfriend was less than a week from her due date with a viable fetus. Fetus would have been a living human within a few days and died solely because this guy stabbed the mother repeatedly in her vital organs and it was dependent on her blood supply. His argument was that because by luck he didn't actually stab the fetus directly it shouldn't be murder.

Nice! And you don’t have to transfer, it’s just a straight shot in? How often do you do this?

>Parking one's bike in sleepy Northampton, taking a nap, then waking up in Manhattan without having to find parking is a dream.

Or reading a book or playing a computer game or writing your own book or learning how to edit photo with Gimp or enjoying the scenery outside or ... ANYTHING other than clutching a steering wheel, staring straight ahead, and hoping you get there without an accident. 4+ hours of doing whatever you want always beats less than 4 hours driving.

You’d be surprised how many agencies in western mass are pushing very hard for exactly what you’re saying. We get ignored for Boston, all the time, and when I am in grant review programs, I repeatedly let them know that it is not just the Boston area that has issues. But there has been some huge economic development push in Springfield, the casino was a big part of that. The fact that it backfired doesn’t mean people aren’t pushing eco dev Springfield.

Because the Boston/Greater Boston is a rotting deplorable shithole.

Your comments suggest otherwise.

[deleted]

Yeah 91 in southern CT 😂

Gentrification, jobs concentrated into a few areas, towns refusing to allow higher density housing. If I were a young person starting out or a retiree I would probably leave too

Agree, which will also be possible with better infrastructure that allows travel among the corridor to Boston, since all those areas can draw from same talent pool, thereby creating opportunities anywhere. Right now, if a company opens up in Worcester, there’s no talent pool to draw from since everyone wants to be near Boston. With a high speed train however you can live in Boston and work in Worcester. Then over time Worcester will be cooler and more hip and draw people wanting to live closer to there. Idk just my thoughts on this.

They are absolutely correct.

Anything outside the pavilion is pretty bad at Mansfield. What show are you trying to go to?

Area