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By EMILY THURLOW

NORTHAMPTON — Beyond the fairgrounds, past an I-91 overpass and the airport, and around a tight corner shrouded by trees is a path that opens up to a vista of the Mount Holyoke Range and Summit House.The picturesque landscape is elevated only by the...

By EMILY THURLOW

A woman dressed in pajamas walks into a Cottage Street bar and challenges a random stranger to an arm-wrestling match.The circumstances sound like the set-up of a joke. It’s not.The woman is Rose Lynch of Easthampton, and over the next few weeks...

By EMILY THURLOW

SOUTH HADLEY — Winnie Sanderson. Ursula the Sea Witch. The Wicked Witch of the West.Though they’re fictional characters presented by actresses and animations, their depiction of witchcraft features meddlesome and downright evil behavior — trying to...

By EMILY THURLOW

CUMMINGTON — Tucked away along a hilly gravel road, shrouded by trees is a 14-acre property in rural Cummington stewarded by Northampton Judaica artist Emmett Leader.For the past 15 years, Leader, who is also a sculptor, builder and baker, has slowly...

By EMILY THURLOW

Whether he’s sporting villainous Maleficent-style horns, channeling his inner witch dressed as Winifred Sanderson, twirling in a red-and-black polka-dot a-line dress or lounging around in a raglan T-shirt, Aaron Johnson is still, “just Aaron.”Though...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — As the invisible wounds of war continue to take a toll on veterans, one city native is fighting a mission off the battlefield through art therapy.For the past seven years, Steve Jones has been providing veterans, active duty members and...

By EMILY THURLOW

NORTHAMPTON — Amid the patriotic displays of fireworks booming across the Valley skies, the aroma of burgers and hot dogs sizzling on a grill, and red, white, and blue decor draping tabletops and tents for outdoor barbecues, there’s also an influx of...

By EMILY THURLOW

HOLYOKE — Donning a violet mortarboard and gown on a sweltering June afternoon in the back garden of the Wistariahurst Museum, Destiny Bermudez stood confidently at a podium and smiled.Facing a number of trials during her teenage years, the Bronx...

By EMILY THURLOW

WESTHAMPTON — A week after the five school committees for the Hampshire Regional School District rejected Superintendent Diana Bonneville’s recommended choice for assistant superintendent, the school’s chief again came under fire regarding another...

By EMILY THURLOW

WESTHAMPTON — During an emotional virtual meeting Thursday night, the leading candidate for an assistant superintendent job at Hampshire Regional School District apologized for controversial Facebook posts about transgender athletes that emerged when...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — With open trenches, rough terrain and orange cones and reflective barrels in full bloom at numerous housing and infrastructure project sites, it’s no surprise to anyone that much of the city is under construction.However, with so many...

By EMILY THURLOW

AMHERST — Seven years ago, middle school students helped usher in change to make Amherst the first community in the state to formally ditch Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.This year, a group of Fort River Elementary School...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — Amid boisterous jeers and cheers in a packed community room at Cliffview Manor, the Housing Authority board Tuesday night announced the executive director’s intention to resign on June 23, shortly before agreeing to a contract that will...

By EMILY THURLOW

SOUTHAMPTON — The orange-and-black former Harley-Davidson building is being considered as a temporary processing facility for legal immigrant families and others who might be displaced because of a natural disaster. Town Administrator Ed Gibson said...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — The effort to recall School Committee Chairperson Cynthia Kwiecinski has fallen short as the petition did not garner enough signatures before the deadline expired last Thursday.For more than two weeks, several residents were stationed...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — After less than one hour of discussion, the School Committee unanimously voted Monday night to offer a one-year interim superintendent job to the current leader of the Quaboag Regional School District who once oversaw the Worcester...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — The City Council approved a $52.2 million budget for next fiscal year Wednesday night, but not before council members engaged in significant discussion on the importance of maintaining specific programming in the city’s...

By EMILY THURLOW

BELCHERTOWN — Bonnie Strickland grew up in Alabama at a time when homosexuality was considered a mental illness.As a self-described tomboy, Strickland recalls her mother trying to feminize her and find boys for her to date all the while, she continued...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — The Family Dollar on Union Street has been forced to close for a second time this year after numerous fire safety code violations were discovered. Fire Chief Christopher Norris said the code violations were similar to the infractions for...

By EMILY THURLOW

NORTHAMPTON — When meeting new people, Megan Allen has found herself at times on the receiving end of preconceived notions and incorrect assumptions about her intelligence when she indicates that she grew up in Florida.Defying social expectations like...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — Public input from a March community meeting has been developed into concept designs in an effort to improve one of the city’s main thoroughfares, Main Street.As an introduction to those preliminary concepts for the now estimated $14.7...