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East vs. West? ‘Regional equity’ emerges as flashpoint in debate over funding for Holyoke Soldiers’ Home
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
Local lawmakers and veterans advocates are smarting over concerns their counterparts in Eastern Massachusetts are raising over regional equity amid a debate over a new, $400 million Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.
During a lengthy hearing Tuesday before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administration and Regulatory Oversight, some argued the price tag was too high to spend on one project in Western Massachusetts while more veterans live in other parts of the state namely Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable counties.
Detractors cited previous academic studies tracking declining numbers of veterans, and recommendations to move away from institutional care that were never acted upon. Senate Committee co-Chairman Marc Pacheco and other lawmakers also wondered about regional equity since the state’s two soldiers’ homes are located in ....

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