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By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

EASTHAMPTON — Five decades ago, when David Witthaus was 15, he would hang out at his local record store in New York. But one Friday, the owner kicked him out of the store right at 5 p.m.Witthaus was perplexed, asking why. The owner told him that he...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — Mayor Joshua Garcia announced this week that the city has hired a firm to conduct an audit of the Holyoke Police Department.Garcia said that a sub-group from the city’s Police Relations Advisory Committee reviewed several consulting firms’...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

NORTHAMPTON — An association representing songwriters, composers and music publishers says it has filed a lawsuit against the Calvin Theatre over the “unauthorized public performance of its members’ copyrighted musical works.”In an announcement...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

EASTHAMPTON — Stephen Parmenter married his wife Nina on a special, palindromic date: Nov. 11, 2011. Read another way: 11/11/11.So as the couple’s 11th anniversary approaches, Parmenter knew his anniversary gift to his wife had to be special. Nina is...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

SOUTH HADLEY — Some four months after he disappeared from the district and went on paid leave, South Hadley school officials are still mum about the circumstances surrounding the departure of Superintendent Jahmal Mosley.But circumstances are pointing...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — The state has officially taken over the quarry on Mount Tom, ending a lengthy battle over control of the property and its future.After closing on a real estate deal Tuesday, the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation is now the...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — Plans are in the works to possibly turn a historic Highlands church on the corner of Pleasant and Hampden streets into a museum, restaurant and motorcycle dealership.On Tuesday, the City Council’s Ordinance Committee will take up an...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

AMHERST — A.J. Hastings, a third-generation retail store that has been a cornerstone of Amherst’s downtown since it opened in 1914, will close its doors next month.A large closing announcement hung from the front window on Friday. Inside, shop owners...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

SOUTH HADLEY — A meeting of the Prudential Committee of a South Hadley fire district generally doesn’t elicit tons of excitement. Most of the meetings are quick, perfunctory affairs.But sparks flew at a tense special meeting Wednesday of Fire District...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — A cannabis business which runs the dispensary Holyoke Cannabis at 380 Dwight St. is suing its landlord in a dispute over how deliveries are made to the building.In the lawsuit, Holyoke 420 LLC has alleges that Holyoke-based AACO Realty Corp....

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

BELCHERTOWN — A lieutenant with the Belchertown Police Department has been charged with illegal wiretapping after allegedly filming women naked inside his own home without their consent or knowledge.Lt. Michael Beaupre appeared in Eastern Hampshire...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

BELCHERTOWN — A federal grand jury has indicted the superintendent of Chicopee Public Schools on two charges of making false statements in connection with prosecutors’ allegations that she sent threatening text messages to a candidate for the city’s...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

NORTHAMPTON — As Democrats look to solidify their control of state government in November, most of the party’s candidates for governor and lieutenant governor made an appearance at a Northampton candidates forum Tuesday.Among the candidates for...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

BELCHERTOWN — Chicopee’s superintendent of schools has been arrested on a charge of lying to the FBI, which has accused her of sending threatening text messages to a candidate for the city’s police chief job.On Wednesday, federal prosecutors and the...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — Eight years after he was first arrested, a Chicopee businessman who owned a Holyoke auto shop was sentenced this week in a cocaine and heroin conspiracy case.U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni on Wednesday sentenced Jamil Roman,...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

SOUTH HADLEY — With town elections approaching on April 12, the only contested races in South Hadley are for two seats on the Municipal Light Board.When voters cast their ballots next month, they’ll be voting on 13 townwide seats: one on the Select...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

SOUTH HADLEY — Yet another local college president is stepping down, the third such announcement in less than six months.On Wednesday, Mount Holyoke College President Sonya Stephens announced that she will part ways with the school in August to take a...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

NORTHAMPTON — Smith College President Kathleen McCartney plans to step down as the school’s leader in summer 2023, a decade after arriving on campus.In an announcement Friday, the college said that McCartney — Smith’s 11th president — will leave her...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — Five Holyoke Police Department officers were promoted to new supervisory positions on Wednesday in a ceremony at City Hall.The promotions were made in part to deal with what police leadership say is a staffing crunch in its higher ranks....

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

SOUTH HADLEY — Officials from the electronic paper company E Ink Corp. were in front of the Planning Board on Monday to present plans for an expansion of their Gaylord Street facilities.In May 2021, E Ink purchased the building, where it had been...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — Last week, the city’s acting mayor fired a police officer who earlier this year posted a viral video on social media alleging corruption and racism within the Holyoke Police Department.In March, Rafael Roca, who had been a Holyoke police...