Governor, cabinet visit western part of state

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker and top administration officials are in spending the day in the western part of the state.

After visiting a Springfield middle school, Baker convened a cabinet meeting Friday at his western Massachusetts office in downtown Springfield.

Baker told reporters he wanted to highlight “very positive developments” taking place in the region in areas such as education, economic development and health care.

Baker and Public Safety Secretary Dan Bennett also planned a tour of the joint Westover military base and civilian airfield in Chicopee. Westover maintains a fleet of C-5 cargo planes, one of the world’s largest aircraft.

In Greenfield, Baker and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders planned to highlight the funding of new drug treatment beds as part of the state’s effort to stem a deadly opioid addiction crisis.

Review process for power project can start

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A state panel says a utility’s application to string power lines from Canada to southern New Hampshire is officially complete, signaling the start of the project’s review process.

The Site Evaluation Committee’s order Friday formally accepts Eversource’s application to build the Northern Pass transmission project.

In a statement, the company noted the committee will preside over public information sessions and hearings in the five counties where the project would be located.

Hartford, Connecticutbased Eversource wants to run a 192-mile transmission line from Pittsburg to Deerfield, carrying 1,090 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to Southern New England markets. Backers say it will create jobs and lower costs in a region that routinely pays the nation’s highest average cost for electricity.