Economy “Ban! Ban! Ban!”: Data-center discontent reaches western Massachusetts Last month, amid protests from city residents, Holyoke became the first in the state to ban new data centers. Two days later, Westfield moved... Jonathan Gerhardson1 day ago
Investigations Mass. resident data may train the next generation of AI The state has little to say about its "data commons" project, which it hopes will make Massachusetts a hub for tech development. Jonathan GerhardsonJune 26, 2026
Investigations Massachusetts’ AI program is more than meets the eye The Shoestring found that the state has been testing at least 40 government use cases for AI, though it remains tight-lipped about most of... Jonathan GerhardsonApril 8, 2026
Investigations AI Hallucination? Proposed Westfield data center appears abandoned by developers The Shoestring's investigation uncovered signs the project's developers may have abandoned it, even after local officials spent years arranging for significant tax breaks. Jonathan GerhardsonDecember 30, 2025
Column See Something, Say Something #23: Reporter bots come to western Mass For our media criticism column, Jonathan Gerhardson questions AI use at MassLive Jonathan GerhardsonNovember 19, 2025