Opinion
Columnist Sara Weinberger: Stunning country, with horrific past
By SARA WEINBERGER
When I told my friends that I was taking a 10-day trip to Albania in late September, most responded with a one-word reply: “Why?”A friend and I wanted to take a trip, but weren’t sure where. I did a Google search and saw an ad for a tour of Albania....
Gail Thomas: Northampton should follow Amherst's lead
According to a front-page story in the Gazette, Amherst will be using the former VFW site to open a shelter and community space for the unhoused that will include one-bedroom apartments and associated services [“Joint shelter, housing in works,” Oct....
Amy Leos-Urbel, Tamar Taitz Fields and Rabbi Nancy Flam: Working together for peace
We are concerned that Gazette coverage of local Oct. 7 anniversary commemorations may perpetuate the false idea that one must be either pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian. Rather than taking sides, many members of the Jewish community and the greater...
Columnist Rev. Andrea Ayvazian: Just how close we’ve come before
By THE REV. ANDREA AYVAZIANWe have all heard the anxious warnings: Vote as if your life depended on it! Vote in what is the most important election of your lifetime! Vote because our democracy itself is on the ballot!OK. Got it. Now let me tell you...
Elizabeth Rumelt: A third way to respond to the tragedy in Israel/Gaza
The recent article “Oct. 7 victims remembered” concerning the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks featured two opposing points of view. One is that of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts, concerned mainly with the suffering inflicted...
Patrick Kaltner: Deaton understands the people
Republican candidate John Deaton is relatively unknown in Deep Blue Massachusetts and it is a forgone conclusion that Sen. Elizabeth Warren willRepublican candidate John Deaton is relatively unknown in deep blue Massachusetts, and it is a forgone...
Kerry Dumbaugh: What a second Trump term would bring
Recent events suggest that if Donald Trump is elected president in November, he will use the power of the U.S. government to reach into the lives of private Americans — citizens, businesses, news outlets, anyone — to inflict federal punishment on them...
Columnist Russ Vernon-Jones: Why hurricanes are getting worse
By RUSS VERNON-JONES
We’ve known that climate change is getting worse. We’ve known that we are going to see more serious effects of climate change in the United States. Nonetheless, the wind, the rain, the flooding, the damage, the deaths caused by Hurricane Helene,...
Guest columnist Joseph Levine: Will brutal campaign to remake Mideast work this time?
By JOSEPH LEVINE
After a year of a genocidal campaign in Gaza in response to the Al Aqsa Flood attacks of Oct. 7 and the recent escalation in Lebanon and beyond, it’s a good time to assess where we’re at, how we got here, and where we’re going.Immediately before the...
Raymond James Ahearn: A must read for the nation
I have to say that Bill Newman’s column “The day of decision nears” [Gazette, Oct. 11] is an absolute gem and a must read. His cogent, compelling, factual, and holistic column is more persuasive than anything I have read in any national publication or...
Nancy Nelkin: Jill Stein could make Trump president again
Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate, should put country first, drop out of the race and direct voters to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. She has no path to the presidency. She is not on the ballot in every state, but she can tip...
Columnist Johanna Neumann: Rush for energy-hungry data centers is folly
By JOHANNA NEUMANN
For the past two decades, America has accomplished a minor miracle. Despite a growing population, ballooning home sizes, a spike in the number of electronic devices we own, and more, electricity demand has remained largely stable. That’s a testament...
Guest columnist Mayor Nicole LaChapelle: Richie Neal — Delivering results for the 1st Congressional District
By NICOLE LACHAPELLE
At a time when misinformation and disinformation are plaguing our elections, facts should matter more than ever.When it comes to who delivers results and resources for Massachusetts’s 1st Congressional District, it is an indisputable fact we are...
Julie Pokela and Elizabeth Denny: The better Hatfield we know
We were dismayed to read about the Hatfield family being harassed for their political views [“‘We do not want your kind here,’” Gazette, Oct. 14]. We moved to Hatfield in 2020 and wondered how we’d be accepted as a lesbian couple. We love living here...
Jack Tulloss: A sociopath at the helm?
The writer Alice Roosevelt Longworth once quipped, “If you can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me.” Could she be Donald Trump’s muse? Seeing that he is a Juilliard-trained narcissistic prevaricator discharging daily geysers of...
Carolyn Cushing: Uncomfortable vote at River Valley Co-op
I don’t find the deshelving of Israeli products at the River Valley Co-op to be a comfortable tactic. But uncomfortable tactics may be the options left to us.The violence on the surface of Middle East conflict (food as a weapon of war, 2,000-pound...
Liz Gomes: Resources for women-owned businesses
Women-owned small businesses are a cornerstone of the Massachusetts economy, contributing to job creation, innovation and overall economic growth. October is National Women’s Business Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the lasting impact of...
Guest columnist Henry Lappen: How are trees lining the streets of Amherst?
By HENRY LAPPEN
How many trees grow along the streets of Amherst? What’s the most common species? Are our street trees healthy, and how does the climate crisis affect them?The town of Amherst recently attempted to answer these questions and more. With funding from...
Guest columnist Rob Weir: Gridiron follies at UMass
By ROB WEIR
I recently struck up a conversation with three visitors from 1,200 miles away. They came to watch their alma mater, Missouri, tackle UMass in football. One worried it could be a “tough road game” for Mizzou: “an unfamiliar team in an unfamiliar...
Columnist Razvan Sibii: This is about all immigrants, not just undocumented ones
By RAZVAN SIBII
Somehow, even though Donald Trump himself delights in describing how he’ll shut down various immigration programs, I still meet people who are convinced that “He’s not anti-immigration, he’s just anti-illegal immigration!”I can’t tell whether they...
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