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By STEVE PFARRER

When Chris Smither found his live gigs shut down during the worst months of COVID-19, he figured it might at least be a good opportunity to write some new songs — something the veteran folk/blues singer and guitarist admits is not the easiest process...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Town Council is likely to determine the scope of renovations to the Amherst Regional High School track and its interior field after the Regional School Committee this week deferred the final decision on the project to Amherst’s elected...

The Peace Development was founded in Amherst in 1981 by anti-war activists as a means for supporting the peace movement. As an organization rooted in support of grassroots organizing we are deeply troubled by the mass arrest of peaceful protesters at...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Members of Sunrise Amherst recently uncovered a $2 million discrepancy in the fiscal year 2025 municipal budget when it was released on May 1, showing how the same vehicles for various departments were listed for purchase two years in a row...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A new three-story building that will add nine apartments and two office spaces is being proposed as part of the Amherst Office Park in the Pomeroy village center.The Zoning Board of Appeals is set to hold a hearing on May 23 at 6 p.m. on the...

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

There has been some discussion of carrots and sticks in our nation’s climate policy. Why? What’s at stake here and why does it matter?The metaphor apparently goes back more than a century to a cartoon that portrayed a race between two donkey riders —...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — One-on-one attention for a resident with hoarding issues was recently offered by members of the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service department to illustrate the focus they can bring for someone experiencing a crisis.“We can...

By STEVE PFARRER

Not long after 20 years of war finally ended in Vietnam in 1975, another wave of horrendous violence erupted just to the west.The Khmer Rouge, the Communist party of Cambodia, seized control of the country and began a brutal “reeducation” campaign...

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the rarest whale species in the world. Will we drive them to extinction or save them?Those of us lucky enough to have taken a whale-watching trip in the Gulf of Maine may have glimpsed the majesty of humpback...

A recent letter writer complains about “today’s snowflake generation pleading for subsidies to support their lifestyle choices,” insisting that young people suck it up and pay for their own college education [“Don’t cancel student debt,” May 13].The...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Trustees for the Jones Library are recommending that the lone bid for renovating and expanding the Jones Library, which is at least $6.5 million above projected costs, should be rejected.In 6-0 vote, the elected trustees advised Town Manager...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Eight college-age people are facing criminal charges for violating the town’s noise bylaw after police responded to two large and loud parties over the weekend, the last before University of Massachusetts commencement on May 18.At a Pelham...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The possible conversion of a home at 180 North Whitney St. into a non-owner-occupied duplex is prompting residents who live near the circa 1900 farmhouse to oppose granting a special permit to renovate the existing building and add a second...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A preliminary vision for breathing new life into the 2-acre area around the War Memorial Pool shows a new bathhouse building anchoring the site, along with play areas, a spray park, walking paths and a memorial area.While Kuth Ranieri...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A program offering Northampton, Amherst and Pelham residents more electricity supplied by green sources should be ready to launch by this fall.Amherst officials announced Wednesday that the state’s Department of Public Utilities recently...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — An Amherst resident with two children in the public schools, Jill Brevik made her way to the University of Massachusetts campus Tuesday evening to offer protection to students at a pro-Palestinian encampment, by bearing witness and...

By MICKEY RATHBUN

After long weeks of yearning for gardening weather, we’re suddenly inundated by spring. Endless outdoor chores beg for our attention — composting, mulching, edging, scrubbing birdbaths and, at least in my garden beds, pulling out multitudes of maple...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A statewide launch of a housing agenda by Gov. Maura Healey that began in Lynn this week included participation by Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, who leads the Massachusetts Mayors...

AMHERST — Paving on four Amherst streets by Warner Brothers LLC is beginning Friday, the start of $2.75 million in projects getting underway now that asphalt plants are open for the season.From 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., construction crews will put down the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Disturbed by the arrests of 132 protesters on the University of Massachusetts campus this week during a pro-Palestinian encampment, Colson Whitehead, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the...

To those protesting the war and genocide in Gaza, refusing to support those institutions with monetary gifts is also an option. If we stop financially supporting and investing in those institutions that make the production of weapons of war possible...