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

On this edition of the podcast is a double-header examining both sides of what has become a controversial subject: the implementation of a ballot question allowing the State Auditor to audit the Massachusetts Legislature. There have been questions about the constitutionality of the issue. I interview the State Auditor Diana DiZoglio as well as Jerold Duquette, Professor of Political Science, Direc...

Welcome to a new edition of "The Ink-stained Wretch" with G. Michael Dobbs. In this episode I speak with Mayor John Vieau of Chicopee, MA. Chicopee has a fascinating history as a classic new England water power mill town that also was for many years the home of Westover Air Force Base, an important Strategic Air Command base, home of B-52 bombers. When the base was made into a reserve base, the ci...

The congressional race, while in its early stages, is heating up and these two interviews will give you an idea of the differences between the two Democratic candidates: incumbent Richard Neal, the dean of the Massachuisetts House delegation and Jeromie Whalen, school teacher  and activist. 

Tracye Whitfield id a seasoned city councilor who now has the opportunity of guiding the council through some challenging times. The city has lost federal funding – like all municipalities – but also faces the loss of casino mitigation funds as well. This will be a very interesting year and Whitfield has a lot she wants to accomplish.

In this episode, I'll tell you about some great holiday events taking place in Springfield and then have a discussion with community activist Karen Lee about the selection of a site for a new Hampden County Courthouse. She provides interesting details. Please listen! "Funky Boxstep" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.o...

Hi folks! In this episode we'll look at the SNAP crisis and what Holyoke and Springfield are doing in reaction. First I'll talk about what Springfield is doing and then you'll hear from Holyoke Mayor Garcia about the city's financial situation and then its response to the SNAP issue. If you want to help those facing greater food insecurity  in Springfield, here is where to make a donation. Cash do...

Welcome back to "the Ink-stained Wretch with G. Michael Dobbs" and the first show of the second season is all about cancer. Specifically, prostate cancer and how it has affected my life. No, this is not one of those narcissistic social media posts that is intended for attention and pity. Rather, I want people to understand what goes into a diagnosis of cancer and one of the treatment options. I wo...

On this week's podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking again with Congressman Richard Neal who gave me an insider's look at what is happening in the House. This conversation was recorded several days before House narrowly passed President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." After than converation, I'd like to share the health journey I've been on since January.

This week on the podcast, the second part of my conversation with author and folklorist Joseph Citro. As I mentioned last week, Joe's many books collect odd histories and occurrences throughout New England have earned him an enviable reputation. Joe is not a ghosthunter. He researches and chronicles fascinating people, events, and the unexplainable. In today's podcast, Joe relates when his success...

It is a personal pleasure to share with you a two-part presentation of a conversation I recently had with my good friend Joesph Citro. I've had the good fortune of knowing him for decades as he not only just a great person he is also a very talented writer. A Vermonter through and through, Joe has established two careers as a writer – the first as an acclaimed horror novelist and the second as a f...

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...

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 b...

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 proje...

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, cann...

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. A...

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 fea...

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...

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 conversati...

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 o...

This week on the podcast, I had a very interesting discussion with Christopher DiMauro  about the rebirth of an organization in Springfield honoring Italian culture. Chris, along with his wife Lisa, has become very well known in the region for a series of podcasts, which I detailed. We also spoke about podcasting, the status of media in the region as well as some of his future projects. To stay cu...

Gary Hallgren is a very respected illustrator, painters and cartoonist and is my guest thos week. In the days of the undergound comix in the ealry 1970s, Hallgren was part of the Air Pirates, a group of artists who decided to parody the characters owned by Walt Disney.  They were sued by the Disney company and a judge found their work to fall outside of the protections of freedom of speech and was...

One of the most over-used words on the English language is "expert." There appears to be millions of experts out there, especially about media trends. On today's podcast, though, I have the pleasure of speaking with a genuine expert, Michael Harrison. Michael is the publisher of Talkers, once a magazine and now a website that covers the talk radio industry. It's been called the bible of the indust...

I had the privilege of speaking with Carrie Salso of NEPM's "The Rundown" and political consultant Anthony Cignoli about the election results from micro to macro recently. I think, if you are a politic wonk (as I am) you will enjoy the discussion.

This week on the podcast, we have a two-fer. I've conducted interviews with both Congressman Richard Neal and his opponent in this election, Nadia Milleron. They were undertaken as part of my gig as the host of "Government Maters" on Focus Springfield.  First up is Milleron, an independent who is both an attorney and a farmer from Sheffield, MA, who came into prominence questioning safety issues a...