Talk:Springfield, Massachusetts/Archive 1

Untitled
Very nice page on Springfield, Massachusetts--such an interesting city! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.14.32.36 (talk) 23:37, 26 May 2005‎ (UTC)

Recent Vandalism
I really regret suggesting this, but this recent vandalism, though minor has been steady for some time. Is it possible to put a block up that requires only logged in editors can edit the page (or if this function exists, delay edits until they can be approved as not vandalism)? I feel bad, but this is getting ridiculous. I'm from the area and find it depressing and unfortunate, despite the prompt correcting of the vandalism. -- Mski2005 12:08, 5 December 2006 EST

Recent Demographics Changes
I do not mean to be a jerk, but the changes to the Census information cannot be taken as accurate. It still lists the amended data as being from the 2000 Census, which it is not. The 2000 Census data is the old information, not anything new. Any data from 2005 or 2006 is not considered complete and I think that it should not be changed until the next Census. I know the Census keeps tabs, but that is done with sampling, not the actual head count. Comments? I'd like to reverse the change if people don't disagree. Mski2005

For anybody complaining about how the current demographic information doesn't add up, the 27 or so% for Hispanic is on the population as a whole. Hispanic is not considered a race, per se by the Census bureau. It is a designation that Census takers may put on top of the tradtional ones (Caucasion, black, Asian, Native American/Hawaiian). So the numbers do in fact add up to 100%. -- Mski2005 4:27, 1 May 2007 EST

Why so much negativity?
As someone who lives and works in this area, I have to ask, why is there so much negativity in the text of the article. Springfield is such an amazing city and has so much history but there seems to be so much focus on the negative in this article. Just about every section from the "State Takeover" down has some kind of negative tilt. Some examples:

"While WWLP is licensed to Springfield, to escape the crime and bad publicity of Springfield, they moved their studios to nearby Chicopee." - NOT TRUE. Their 1950s studios were on top of Provin Mt in Feeding Hills and they wanted to move to more modern facilities in Springfield but Chicopee offered better deal to them so they built their studio there.

The Economy section begins with "For nearly six decades, Springfield has been slumping economically". That says nothing about the current economy like the fact that Springfield is home to largest Fortune 500 company in Massachusetts or that Baystate Health has the largest construction project in the state. That section says nothing about the current economy.

The Culture segment seems to focus on the past as well and doesn't reflect anything about the current culture of the city and its environs.

Article now reflects Springfield's current revitalization (2007-present)

 * In my opinion, the above complaint is 100% justified, especially given downtown Springfield's improvement in recent years. Since 2007, Springfield has obviously revitalized relative to the 1990s and earlier in the 2000s. This article's text should more accurately reflect the current state of the city, e.g. Main Street and State Street improvements; the $600 million BayState expansion; the beautiful new Federal Building near the Quadrangle; the North End and South End improvements; (the removal of blight at the Hollywood-Gemini site;) Union Station rebuilding and opening for the first time since 1973; the city's new sports franchise (the NBA D-League Springfield Armor;) the two rail projects currently planning to use Springfield as a nexus (New Haven-Springfield "Knowledge Corridor" rail, and the Springfield to Brattleboro intercity rail;) UMass' new urban design graduate program in Court Square; the city's new LGBT bars and clubs, etc.

And what about all of the arts functions downtown? The Symphony orchestra, CityStage, the lecture series at The Quadrangle. This city is an artist's dream right now -- a vibrant and (relatively) inexpensive place to live with a lot of resources. JWM83 (talk)