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By JAMES PENTLAND

CHESTERFIELD — In contested elections Monday, voters returned two incumbents to office and elected a newcomer to the local school committee, Town Clerk Sandra Wickland reported.Roger Fuller won reelection to the Select Board over challenger Emma Dee...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Raised into activism and grassroots organizing, Marisol Pierce Bonifaz cites two key events that, for her, served as calls to action: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s dismissive response to youth activists pushing for the Green New Deal, and...

By JAMES PENTLAND

PLAINFIELD — Voters will be asked to approve a $3.54 million budget and other articles when Town Meeting convenes Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Dennis A. Thatcher Public Safety Complex. Polls for the annual town election, which features a contested race...

By JAMES PENTLAND

SPRINGFIELD — A former superintendent of Chicopee schools was sentenced this week to a year of probation for lying to FBI agents who were investigating scores of threats sent via text to a candidate for the city’s police chief.Lynn Clark, 53, who was...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — In the wake of the Justice Department’s proposal to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug, dispensary owners say the change would help their business, especially on taxes.“The immediate impact would be for the government to treat...

By JAMES PENTLAND

CHESTERFIELD — Three contested races are on the ballot for this year’s town election scheduled to take place on Monday. Voting will take place at the Community Center from noon to 8 p.m.Additionally, voters will be asked to confirm the vote at the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HOLYOKE — After almost two years of reconstruction and remodeling, the Waterfront, Holyoke’s new event venue, is ready for its public unveiling.Owners Carlos and Evelyn Colón and family will host a grand opening Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WORTHINGTON — Voters will be asked to approve municipal spending and two proposed amendments to zoning bylaws when they convene Saturday for Town Meeting.Several department budgets show a substantial increase for 2025, with the $1.5 million school...

By JAMES PENTLAND

CUMMINGTON — Town Meeting will be held Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. at the Community House, 33 Main St.Voters will be asked to approve a $2.7 million budget, reflecting a spending increase of $277,745, or 10.7%, over FY 2024 levels.Some of the increase...

By JAMES PENTLAND

SOUTHAMPTON — A former Southampton water chief has admitted he violated the state conflict-of-interest law by accepting gifts of a golf outing and lodging and meals at a ski resort from a water meter vendor, and has agreed to pay a $6,000 fine, the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WORTHINGTON — Annual town election and Town Meeting are on Saturday, May 4.Polls are open at Town Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Town Meeting begins at 9:30. There are options for early voting and vote by mail.The ballot includes one contested...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WILLIAMSBURG — With decision time nearing on the first section of the long-planned Mill River Greenway that will one day create a trail connection from Northampton to Williamsburg, a dispute over the project’s design through Haydenville’s residential...

By JAMES PENTLAND

AMHERST — Federal civil rights officials are investigating the University of Massachusetts for allegedly dragging its feet over complaints of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian harassment on campus amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.An official...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HOLYOKE — Like many people, Michael Garjian believes global warming is a pressing issue of our times.Unlike most, he’s putting his ideas for reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into practice — and at the same time bidding for a share of the $100...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A city man will go to trial on a first-degree murder charge with a new attorney after long-running negotiations toward a plea agreement broke down, lawyers said at a brief hearing Wednesday in Hampshire Superior Court.Devin Bryden, 26,...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HOLYOKE — After months of work on securing a new home elsewhere, LightHouse school plans to buy Gateway City Arts in a move that will allow the burgeoning alternative secondary school to meet its growing demand and expand its offerings.LightHouse...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A Holyoke man arraigned last month in Hampshire Superior Court on drug trafficking and assault charges was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to most of the charges he faced.Hector Diaz Torres, 22, admitted...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HOLYOKE — Armand Laramee was heading out on his morning walk around 6 a.m. Tuesday when something lying in his yard caught his eye.His first thought was perhaps his neighbor’s black cat had been hit by a car. He went to check on it.“Then I saw that...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Days before he was due to go on trial, a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his tent in Northampton in 2022 agreed to plead guilty Wednesday to two counts of rape with threat of bodily injury.Hampshire Superior Court Judge...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved $375 million in bond authorizations for statewide transportation projects, including $200 million for the state’s Chapter 90 program and, for the second year in a row, $25 million for rural...