News
Area property deed transfers, May 2
AMHERST Faheem Ibrahim Lt and Faheem Ibrahim to Nan Zhao and Zhihong Ni, 16 Arbor Way, $738,000 Richard B. Spurgin to Yg Pleasant LLC, East Pleasant Street, Lot 1, $218,000 Richard B. Spurgin to Yg Pleasant LLC, East Pleasant Street, Lot 2,...
Democracy’s defense marches on: Constitutional lawyer, activist daughter highlight annual Law Day event
By JAMES PENTLAND
NORTHAMPTON — Raised into activism and grassroots organizing, Marisol Pierce Bonifaz cites two key events that, for her, served as calls to action: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s dismissive response to youth activists pushing for the Green New Deal, and...
Valley writers shine in initial round of Mass Book Award competition: 12 area authors and author/illustrators long-listed for 2024 awards
By STEVE PFARRER
NORTHAMPTON — It’s been another good year for Valley writers.Twelve area authors (and author/illustrators) have had new work long-listed for the 2024 Massachusetts Book Awards, presented annually by the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) in five...
Hadley Town Meeting OKs battery storage bylaw, honor Chunglo for service
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — A bylaw to allow stand-alone battery storage facilities in town, though prohibit them in the aquifer protection district, and spending that includes a $21.7 million fiscal year 2025 municipal operating budget were easily approved at annual...
Southampton Town Meeting on Tuesday to weigh land buy for safety complex
By Alexa Lewis
SOUTHAMPTON — Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve a major land acquisition that officials envision would one day be home to a new public safety complex. Voters will also consider a $21 million operating budget when they convene on Tuesday.A...
Select board race between Gilmore, Shores Ness tops Deerfield ballot on Monday
By CHRIS LARABEE
DEERFIELD — Topping Monday’s election ballot is a race for Select Board between longtime incumbent Carolyn Shores Ness and political newcomer but longtime Deerfield resident Blake Gilmore, as the two candidates seek to address residents’ concerns...
Around Amherst: Primary schools piloting foundational reading program
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A foundational skills reading program, known as Magnetic Foundations, is being piloted by eight teachers in the four Amherst and Pelham elementary schools as the focus of an elementary literacy curriculum review this school year.Mary Kiely,...
1989 homicide victim found in Warwick ID’d through genetic testing, but some mysteries remain
By DOMENIC POLI
GREENFIELD — It took nearly 35 years, but the human remains found just off Route 78 in Warwick in 1989 have been identified as belonging to Constance (Holminski) Bassignani, who was 65 years old at the time of her murder.The Northwestern District...
A Look Back, May 3
50 Years Ago■An enthusiastic crowd of 75 to 100 people took part in a ballroom dancing revival at the Hotel Northampton Sunday night. Edward Brandt of 28 Columbus Ave., who with his wife Caroline instructed the group, said Monday that those attending...
Debt-burdened students, grads rally for relief
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Responsible for $135,000 in student debt, Amherst resident Ian Rhodewalt observes that during the yearslong federal pause in making loan repayments during the pandemic, he and his family were able to get a vehicle, to replace a broken-down...
ValleyBike to roll again by end of May in eight communities throughout Valley
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — After nearly a year of inactivity, the ValleyBike Share program is poised to roll again throughout the Pioneer Valley.After Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra teased an announcement regarding ValleyBike on Monday, the city announced Thursday it...
Amherst College store opens downtown in former Hastings space
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A new retail store carrying assorted Amherst College merchandise, as well as school supplies, tech accessories and snacks, is open at 45 South Pleasant St., as demolition of a building immediately to the south, and removal of an attached ell...
3-unit, 10-bed house in backyard called too much for Amherst historic district
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Construction of a three-unit, 10-bedroom home behind an existing home at 98 Fearing St., in the North Prospect-Lincoln-Sunset Local Historic District is inappropriate for the neighborhood, according to a panel that reviews projects and...
Photos: Student producers
Plainfield voters will consider $3.5M budget at Town Meeting on Saturday; new Select Board member to be elected
By JAMES PENTLAND
PLAINFIELD — Voters will be asked to approve a $3.54 million budget and other articles when Town Meeting convenes Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Dennis A. Thatcher Public Safety Complex. Polls for the annual town election, which features a contested race...
South Hadley Fire District 2 to hold annual meeting Monday
By EMILEE KLEIN
SOUTH HADLEY — Fire Distri`ct No. 2 voters will vote to approve a $1.73 million fire department budget and a roughly $902,000 water department budget during its annual meeting on Monday, May 6.The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the district...
A Look Back, May 2
50 Years Ago ■William A. Burke, president of the First National Bank of Northampton, announced at the monthly meeting of the bank held in the banking room yesterday that Gordon A. Woodward Jr. was elected a member of the board of directors to succeed...
Services being held Thursday for Greenfield homicide victim
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI
GREENFIELD — Services for Christopher Hairston, 35, who was identified as the victim in last week’s slaying on Chapman Street, will be held Thursday at the Devanny-Condron Funeral Home in Pittsfield from 4 to 6:30 p.m.Hairston, a drummer from...
Former Chicopee superintendent sentenced to year probation for lying to FBI
By JAMES PENTLAND
SPRINGFIELD — A former superintendent of Chicopee schools was sentenced this week to a year of probation for lying to FBI agents who were investigating scores of threats sent via text to a candidate for the city’s police chief.Lynn Clark, 53, who was...
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead to speak at UMass commencement
Staff Writer
AMHERST — An author who has twice received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, earning that recognition and a National Book Award for 2016’s “The Underground Railroad,” will deliver the main address at the 154th undergraduate commencement at the...
