Tina Sanchez: Northampton streets

The guest column [“Save Main Street,” Sept. 18] misses quite a few marks. Putting aside that the money allocated for Northampton’s Main Street redesign cannot be used for other projects, the writer says little or nothing about the actualities of...

Reynolds Winslow: Sojourner Truth annual meeting

The Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee, in accordance with their recent attainment of 501c3 status, is pleased to announce its annual meeting on Saturday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. by Zoom. The link will be available on our website immediately before the...

Jamie Elkin: Thanks again for generosity of Gazette readers

As a follow up to the article about us assisting migrants in Mexico, some good news from Oaxaca [“Our hearts were shattered,” Gazette, April 15]. Because we have some money in the bank, we have secured a new place with sleeping space for 50 women,...

Martha Terry: Planning Board hearing to address flexible development in South Hadley

I am writing to alert the citizens of South Hadley, including all Town Meeting members, of a very important meeting of the Planning Board on Monday, Sept. 23, at 6:30 p.m. This virtual meeting is a continuation of a public hearing on proposed...

Guest columnist Adam Novitt: Save Main Street

By Adam Novitt

The recent guest column [“A walking manifesto,” Sept. 16] by Claudia Lefko misses the mark on several points. Picture Main Street is not an “either or” proposition. We cannot reallocate the funds to local neighborhood projects outside of downtown....

Guest columnist Allen Woods: Unbiased news? No, it’s not a thing.

By ALLEN WOODS

In my first try at college, beginning in 1968, I didn’t major in journalism, or English, but experimented with writing, and read voraciously. A literate friend tutored me in the types and styles of writing, including the period’s passionate debate on...

Jonathan M. Daube: The glories of Northampton

When my wife and I, now both well into our eighties, moved to Northampton about nine years ago, we didn’t fully understand how this city of almost 30,000 hangs together.Part of the reason is an organization called Northampton Neighbors, which, with a...

Willliam Glass: Proposed OSHA regulations

Proposed OSHA regulationsI just saw the Aug. 29 article regarding the newly proposed OSHA regulations [“New regs alarm small fire departments”]. I am a 50-plus year volunteer firefighter and a practicing lawyer for the fire service (all in New York)....

Brian Cady: How should we choose a U.S. president?

In choosing a U.S. President, what matters? First, I think U.S. presidents should use force in line with law, respond to violence against the U.S. only with measured, equivalent violence against perpetrators (not convenient scapegoats), should avoid...

Wendi Weinberg: Cost of postage stamps a bargain

I am responding to a letter to the editor about the price of postage stamps [“Inflation and the U.S. Postal Service,” Sept. 14]. The writer points out that in 18 years the cost of a postage stamp increased from 39 cents to 73 cents. That’s a total...

Guest columnist William Lambers: When the presidential candidates fed starving children

By WILLIAM LAMBERS

Even amid the intense focus on the presidential election, we cannot forget the plight of starving children in Gaza and other war zones. We cannot let these children in need fall off the news radar. Sadly, they do all too often. As history reminds us,...

Cynthia Schaedig: Notes on the dog park

The Gazette recently had a long article about the “unofficial” off-leash dog park on Burts Pit Road in Northampton next to the Community Garden [“Leash laws and public safety,” Aug. 9]. While the troubling incidents with off-leash dogs are a...

Kelley Glista: Paradise City's parking lot

I was surprised to read Saturday’s front-page article “City says illegal [King Street] car lot must go” when just the day before I had reflected on how much more attractive the area presents now that it is covered up with cars.In my opinion, it is...

Jack Tulloss: Gun rules or guns rule?

In his 1775 “Common Sense” pamphlet, Thomas Paine observed, “Society in every state is a blessing, but government in its best state is but a necessary evil.” While society propels collaboration toward goal achievement, government is the unfortunate...

Guest columnist Claudia Lefko: A walking manifesto

By CLAUDIA LEFKO

“The pedestrian is an extremely fragile species, the canary in the coal mine of urban livability.” — Jeff Speck, “Walkable City,” 2012 Something’s missing from the still very lively debate about Picture Main Street, from the city’s website on that...

Guest columnist Barry Hirsch: No peace, no future with Hamas still a factor

By BARRY HIRSCH

 Like many people, I have felt the pain and sadness of the war in Gaza every day since Oct. 7. I have a colleague who is Palestinian and I know he sees his children’s faces in every injured Palestinian child. I have another friend whose son is in the...

Guest columnist Jonathan Kahane: Look in the mirror now and then

By JONATHAN KAHANE

 A couple of weeks ago an alternative universe must have been created, and by some combination of supernatural forces I met up with my two college roommates at a nondescript diner somewhere in rural (very rural) Maine. We hadn’t seen each other in...

Columnist Bill Newman: Can’t we protect our kids?

By BILL NEWMAN

Last week 14-year-old Colt Gray shot and killed two classmates and two teachers at his Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Colt has been charged with four counts of felony murder and will be tried as an adult.His father, Colin Gray, has been...

Guest columnist D. Dina Friedman: The dangers of othering

By D. DINA FRIEDMAN

 Like many members of the Jewish Community, I felt grief and sadness on hearing last week that six additional hostages taken in the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7 had been found murdered. And yet, I felt uncomfortable with how much attention people paid to...