Isaac Luria: Not worried about noise or parking at Bombyx

I was upset to learn of what appeared to be targeted and discriminatory attacks on Florence-based cultural center Bombyx. While some neighbors are calling the Fire Department to try to shut it down, I live on the block and I have loved the three...

Rachael Naismith: More speech, not less

This is in response to the May 17 letter [“On speech, expression and tolerance”]. The letter writer clearly expressed his opinion about “political correctness” and intolerance. I disagree with his opinions. I dislike the term “political correctness,”...

Sarah McKee: Republicans and the debt ceiling

House GOP leaders have been refusing to raise the so-called ‘debt ceiling” and to pay obligations that Congress created by law, unless they get deep cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, housing assistance, and core global poverty programs.In other words, the...

James W. Sullivan: No need to travel far for good bagels

I love bagels. And no, one need not travel to Manhattan or Brookline for the “real thing.” My favorite late spring top five “go-to” affordable coffee/ bagel places in Northampton and environs. 1. Bread Euphoria in Haydenville; I love their bagel with...

Casey Young: Supports better pay for HRHS teachers 

I’m writing in support of the Hampshire Regional High School Teachers Union and their efforts to get better pay!Casey YoungEasthampton 

Guest columnists Sarah Buttenwieser and Alice Barber: Moving on from COVID not as easy as saying so

By SARAH BUTTENWIESER and ALICE BARBER

We have been wondering what parents need to hear right about now. This month marks the declared “end” of the COVID crisis. It is a time of implied “get-on-with-its” and “that-was-then-this-is-nows.”Overall, our society tends not to think very...

Guest columnist Joe Blumenthal: Bombyx case the definition of injustice

By JOE BLUMENTHAL

When the Pleasant Street Theater closed in 2012, a new use had to be found for the space. As the owner of the building, I made a deal with the owner of McLadden’s, a Connecticut restaurant chain, to take over the space. At the end of a considerable...

Stephanie Grimaldi: The science of reading 

It is encouraging to hear that the Northampton Public Schools are engaged in curriculum review and data analysis to improve our children’s reading instruction. The recent article, “Schools eye literacy shift to ‘science of reading,’” [Gazette, May...

Emmett Barcalow: Permanent solutions needed in debt-ceiling crisis

President Biden vowed that he would not succumb to Republican blackmail over raising the debt ceiling, but now he is negotiating with Republicans, many of whom would be happy to destroy the world economy if they can't get their way. Of course, the...

Nancy Flam: Dogs and leashes

As a relatively new dog owner living in the Smith College neighborhood, I am trying to get a handle on how to walk my dog safely on the river. I see signs posted saying that dogs must be on a leash there, which I greatly appreciate. However, most...

Lois Ahrens: Bombyx an important community hub

Immediately after Felipe Salles and stellar musicians Avery Sharpe, Zaccai Curtis and Jonathan Barber finished recording “Tiyo’s Songs of Life,” nine songs composed by TiyoAttallah Salah-El and arranged by Felipe and produced by me, Felipe said, “we...

Guest columnist Sylvia Ghazarian: Abortion care access is essential to support military personnel and their families

By SYLVIA GHAZARIAN

“Women in the military shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they have access to health care depending on where they get stationed or deployed. Nor should any service members’ family.” Kim, former U.S. Army officer and women veterans’...

Guest columnist Allen Woods: Mourning the wars, remembering the warriors

By ALLEN WOODS

Memorial Day always immerses me in a pool of mixed feelings, like those inspired by the national anthem soon after the Vietnam War. Then, the song was used as a club in the culture war, which boiled down the complex issues surrounding the war into the...

Guest columnist Jay Fleitman: Asphyxiating downtown

By JAY FLEITMAN

A mixed metaphor is appropriate for Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra’s budget proposal and much of what has been the financial behavior of the city government of Northampton over the last many years: If you slowly increase the heat, the goose that laid the...

Barry Hirsch: Trial run needed on Main Street redesign

The ideals and goals behind the Main Street redesign are all quite admirable. However, I fear that when the ideal world and the real world meet up, it’s not going to be so idyllic. The design of Northampton puts downtown right at the center of traffic...

Dr. Christopher Flory: Requiem for a health care non-system

Two recent news stories got my attention. The first was about the creation of “Maternity Deserts.” These large areas in America totally lack maternity care and they have become more common because financial entities are closing maternity services in...

Connie Burak: Bombyx shutdown a questionable act

Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity is not the name of a “nightclub.” Neither is a nightclub the same as a “live music venue” which doesn’t even sell water or have space for dancing (among church pews?). Nor does it comply with Merriam-Webster’s...

Dennis Desmond: Crushing another Florence enterprise 

What have we done in Florence? Once again, the city of Northampton is treating us like the kid who gets blamed for everything. As we were coming out of Covid restrictions, it was our local brewpub that was sidelined. While other breweries locally and...

Arch MacInnes: City should protect Bombyx, not shut it down

Northampton has always benefited from having a handful of excellent music venues, which make it a stop on the tours of top shelf performers from throughout the region and beyond. This brings a vibrancy and cultural richness to our community that...

Jack Tulloss: Bombyx ‘ignoring history’

On the evening of February 20, 2003, at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a fire broke out during the rock band Great White’s performance. The ensuing investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded...