Wilbraham News

Long a presence at local chains, Friendly's has started selling products at about 2,400 Walmart locations, like the one in Quincy where Deborah O'Malley shopped recently.

WILBRAHAM, Mass. The chief executive of the Friendly's restaurant chain has announced he is stepping down after 18 months on the job and a month after the company emerged from bankruptcy protection.

Jeju Free International City Development Center Chairman Byon Jong-il, left, meets with Wilbraham & Monson Academy Head of School Rodney LaBrecque recently.

LUDLOW - Selectmen met with town department heads and Finance Committee members last week and said they need to come up with at least $800,000 in savings in next year's budget so taxpayers are not hit with a big tax increase.

A City Council committee will meet Thursday to discuss two proposals - a group home for women in the McKnight neighborhood and a proposed ordinance that would regulate barbershops in the aftermath of a homicide and drug case in recent months.

WILBRAHAM - The Board of Selectmen has held off approving a liquor license for a restaurant at 2343 Boston Road until the manager shows them a printed menu for the proposed restaurant.

WILBRAHAM - Members of the Hampden-Wilbraham School Committee met Wednesday night with public safety officials in the two towns to determine the steps needed to utilize the new Minnechaug Regional High School as an emergency shelter.

WILBRAHAM - Nominations are being sought for induction into the Minnechaug Alumni Hall of Fame.

A little friendly advice to the Friendly Ice Cream Corp.: Menu items may come and go, but good service is always in style.

SPRINGFIELD - Police responded to a report of a carjacking on Kent Road in the city's Boston Road neighborhood at about 3:04 a.m. Sunday.

Harsha Agadi loves mint chocolate chip ice cream and strawberry Fribbles. The 49-year-old Friendly's chief executive continued to rely on these dairy indulgences after the Wilbraham chain filed for Chapter 11 last fall.

Friendly's Scoop, a 200-square-foot counter space, opened several weeks ago in Jackson, N.J. It is operated by Burger King franchisee Joe Anghelone.

MONSON - Only a handful of Western Massachusetts Casino Task Force Committee members showed up at Wednesday's meeting, the first since casino gaming became legal, but the chairman was pleased with the outcome, as the group decided to create a list of ways member communities could protect themselves in the event a resort casino project opened in ... (more)

I recently learned that MassLive.com, The Republican's online home, set a new record: 1.66 million unique monthly visitors in November.

Looking for a physical activity that can be both physically and spiritually fulfilling? Yoga may be just what you seek, no matter your age, gender or physical ability.

WILBRAHAM - The Board of Selectmen on Monday appointed an 11-member Senior Center Building Needs Study Committee to study the need for a new senior center .

WILBRAHAM - For the eighth year, the town's Community Preservation Committee is seeking proposals addressing open space preservation, historic preservation, affordable housing and recreation for possible funding under the Community Preservation Act .

Hundreds from across the Diocese of Springfield left for Washington, D.C. Sunday night to take part in the 39th annual March for Life.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is criticizing Massachusetts environmental officials for supporting a wastewater treatment plant seeking less stringent limits on phosphorous and nitrogen discharge to the Blackstone River.

Lotte's Professional Dog Grooming owner Sharon M. Kozik clips the nails of a cocker spaniel in this file photo from 2002 PALMER - Sharon Kozik, the Wilbraham dog groomer charged with animal cruelty after the death of a toy poodle in her care, had her case continued without a finding for two years after admitting to sufficient facts in Palmer ... (more)