The Ink-stained Wretch with G. Michael Dobbs, News and Views from Western Massachusetts

My guest today is Karen Finn, the executive director of the Springfield Culture Partnership. If you've not heard of the partnership, here's a little history, according to the organization's website: In 2018, the Springfield Central Cultural District, Springfield Cultural Council, City of Springfield and the Mass Cultural Council partnered to form the Springfield Cultural Compact. The three partners work exclusively on cultural activities to boost the local economy through creative expression separately, signed a "cultural compact" on Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at Springfield City Hall, to increase collaboration and partnership, together.

"The compact includes regular meetings and communication as well as Springfield-specific goals like integrating public art into the metro center, also known as downtown. Springfield was one of six pilot cities including Harwich, Lynn, New Bedford, Pittsfield, and Worcester for this initiative across the state of Massachusetts, and the first in the state to hold a signing ceremony." The mission is to "connect artists, institutions and audiences to create and celebrate creativity in Springfield."

The arts is an economic driver for the city as you will learn in the interview.

Consider the following: in 2022 (the last year for stats) Springfield's nonprofit arts industry alone generates $82.4 million in economic activity annually – spending by organizations and their audiences – which supports 1,483 jobs and generates $15.3 million in local, state, and federal government revenue.

Give a listen.

And I'll explain what my wife and I are doing to try to prevent some of the impacts on current federal government policies as well as tariffs.

Today on the podcast my guest is Kelly Fellner the superintendent of the Springfield National Historic Site, one of the federal parks in Massachusetts (https://www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm). The week starting April 19 is National Park Week and the museum has a number of events. Check out their on-line calendar at https://www.nps.gov/spar/planyourvisit/calendar.htm.

Personally, I love the museum because the armory and the arsenal that preceded it has played such a major role in not just the history of Springfield and the Pioneer Valley but also the nation.

I appreciate having the opportunity of speaking with Fellner about the history of the armory as well as the events offered by the museum.

Today on the podcast, I'll share a discussion I recently had with three members of the Springfield Veterans Activities Committee, a non-profit organization, that is currently raising money to fund a monument in Springfield to denote the Global War on Terror. The city has monuments for veterans of WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

The committee is undertaking several up-coming fundraisers for the project. On April 16 from 5 to 8 p.m., there will be an event at Dewey's Jazz Lounge at 232 Worthington Street in Springfield. The entry donation is $25, with an option to donate $25 more for free passed appetizers and beer. Weather permitting, the event will be on Dewey's patio. Tickets are available online https://www.eventbrite.com/e/springfield-veterans-activities-committee-fundraiser-tickets-1304787647979?aff=oddtdtcreator or in person at Smokey Joe's Cigar in downtown Springfield.

The second event is a golf tournament on June 7, which you will hear more about in the podcast.

If you're a vet or the family member of a vet or someone who is concerned about vets, I hope you consider attending the event on April 16.

"Funky Boxstep" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

With all the turmoil happening daily in the Trump Administration, I welcomed the opportunity to speak once again with Representative Richard Neal over Focus Springfield and this podcast.

Neal answered a number of questions which I think many people will find illuminating to what is happening on the federal level.

And this week, I'll talk about the new movies I've seen.

This week on the podcast we have an interview that was supposed to be very different. Steve Cary, the executive director of Focus Springfield community television, had labored for weeks negotiating an appearance of Cannabis Control Commissioners as part of a discussion about the effort the commission is undertaking in setting up the regulations for social consumption or in non-government-ese, cannabis smoking lounges.

The commission's website reports the commissioners should have these rules established sometime in the middle of this year.

The commission agreed that two commissioners – Bruce Stebbins who had lived in western Massachusetts and Nurys Camargo – would appear with two licensees. After some discussion, Focus Springfield asked Payton Shubrick, owner of the Six Bricks dispensary in Springfield and former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, founder & CEO of Apex Noire Cannabis in Boston. They both readily agreed to participate.

It should be noted that both dispensary owners have been critical of the commission's activities or lack of activity about key issues facing the cannabis industry in the commonwealth.

The night before the interview, Stebbins told Cary that the two commissioners would not be there as Camargo felt "uncomfortable" discussing the issue with licensees. The decision was made to move forward with the interview, though, with Shubrick and Jackson.

As discovered after the program was taped, both Stebbins and Camargo were indeed in Springfield and having lunch at the famed Student Prince restaurant a few blocks away from the Focus Springfield studio. They were eating with two members of the Liberty Bank staff, one of whom decided to post a photo of the group on social media.

I've included the photot of thre two commissioners hard at work.

This interview will give listeners an opportunity to hear the answers I posed to the two licensees about smoking lounges. They gave informed answers about what they know about how lounges here could work and how lounges in other states operate.

It's enraging to me that the commissioners did what they did. They are public officials paid by tax dollars and they should be willing to discuss issues. Perhaps they should consider finding a new job.

The year is still young from a legislative point of view here in Massachusetts and I recently had the pleasure of speaking once again with State Senator Jake Oliveira. The senator spoke about his own legislative agenda as well as clarifying for me the need for a rail station in Palmer, MA, for the upcoming increased west-east passenger rail service. It was a good talk and I hope you will listen.

After the senator, I'll talk about what I'm watching – movies, TV.

On this week's podcast, I speak with Ayanna Crawford, a woman who wears many hats. She is the chief of staff for state Rep, Orlando Ramos and has her own media consulting company. The reason for our talk this week is about a program – Take the Mic (https://www.facebook.com/TaketheMicProgram) – she has developed and runs that teaches young people – and adults as well – how to overcome their fears of speaking in public.

She is having a special event on Feb. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. called "Empower Her Calendar Launch at The Venue at 1205 Liberty Street in Springfield, MA. It is a fundraiser for her Take the Mic program.

RSVP by calling 413-886-9089.

After the interview, say tuned for an announcement that hopefully some of you will find interesting. That's a tease, isn't it?!

Larry Akers is the new police superintendent in Springfield but he prefers being called "Chief." Akers is a 39-year veteran and the first African-American to be named to the job. His perspective in law enforcement is both practical and humane. It was a pleasure to speak with him on Focus Springfield "Government Matters."

I hand out some onions and orchids to dserving folks from last year. It's an award show in a matter of minutes and doesn't require dressing up!

On this week's podcast I had the privilege of talking movies with my friend and former colleague Matt Conway. Matt and I worked at Reminder Publishing together and he was a great reporter who has since left journalism full time to work for the city of Greenfield, MA. Like me, Matt loves movies and has written reviews for a number of outlets, including The Reminder. We had a freewheeling conversation about some recent releases.

My rant this week is an announcement about a decision I made that ends almost 25 years of an activity that I loved to do. There is an end for all good things. I hope you will listen.

Thanks for listening to my first podcast of 2025 and in this episode I share an interview I did for Focus Springfield Television with state Senator Adam Gomez and state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez. Both men just were sworn into a new session of the Massachusetts Legislature and had a lot to say about the last session and what was accomplished as well as what they are seeking to accomplish in 2025.

Also on the broadcast today, I'll share what stuff I've been watching in theaters and on streaming.