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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Bradley James Driscoll, 26, of Amherst, will spend the next five years in prison for distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

Donald Trump and his minions are deliberately destroying our federal government and the economy, giving control to billionaires and far-right extremists, enriching themselves, waging war on workers, immigrants, and marginalized populations, worsening the climate crisis, stealing our private data, and eliminating government services that have protected our health, safety, and security.

Amherst is blessed with outstanding EMTs! I know because I have needed their services several times over the past year. The EMTs come promptly, listen carefully to one’s health issues, do a thorough exam including an EKG, are always kind, courteous and completely respectful. All of this care is critical when one is upset, afraid and in pain. Many thanks to our excellent, professional EMT department!

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A barn preservation program aimed at protecting iconic and historically valuable barns across Amherst is being introduced by the Historical Commission.

By Staff Report

AMHERST — A smoke detector covered in plastic in a University of Massachusetts dormitory room, delaying firefighter response and evacuation of the building during a fire that started in a trash can and spread to a bed Wednesday evening, is prompting a criminal complaint for tampering with a fire alarm against the student tenant, according to the Amherst Fire Department.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — During his military service, Charles Thompson, a Black soldier from Amherst serving in the 54th regiment during the Civil War, recounted his thoughts and feelings of his experience in a handwritten letter to his sister, Mary Thompson.

Throughout the world people are honoring the life of Pope Francis who was both a spiritual and political leader. He called on all of us to make it a priority to protect the environment, provide justice for all, especially the poor and marginalized, and to work for peace. In our country flags flew at half-mast in his honor. But to truly honor Pope Francis, it is not enough to lower our flags, light candles, and bow our heads. May we all reflect on and be guided in our actions by the Pope’s words and deeds.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A consolidation from three elementary school buildings to two is expected to mean some savings for the school budget beginning in July 2026, but Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman is cautioning the spending reductions may be limited.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Heavy traffic, possible delays and road closures will be taking place around the University of Massachusetts campus, both in Amherst and Hadley, starting Wednesday, as students move out and then the undergraduate commencement is held late Friday afternoon. 

Thank you, Joe Gannon, for speaking truth to power about MLK Jr. and the violence he stood and spoke against in this land of the so-called free (”The good doctor diagnosed our malady: spiritual death,” Gazette, May 8). And thank you, John Paradis (”White Rose legacy transcends, inspires,” Gazette, April 11) for bringing to light how dangerous truth-spreading was under Hitler. And thank you to our hometown Gazette for printing both. None of you will likely face the guillotine, as Sophie Scholl and her brother did, beheaded by the Gestapo for leafleting in 1943 Germany. Nevertheless, I am beyond grateful for the brave truths you bring to my doorstep, causing me to dress in black and to show up at the White Rose rally in Northampton on Friday.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Ahead of an expected round of workforce reductions at the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center based at the University of Massachusetts is preparing for the worst case scenario: elimination of the entire operation.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A Sunday afternoon fire at a four-story, nine-unit apartment building in downtown has displaced at least 24 residents, mostly college students, and closed a few businesses.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — With the $4 million plan to construct a new bathhouse at War Memorial Pool considered cost prohibitive, town officials are working with architects to come up with a less-expensive, long-term plan to either rehabilitate or replace the 1950s-era building.

By Staff Report

AMHERST — Easthampton, Amherst and Pelham are in the first cohort of Department of Energy Resources’ Climate Leader Communities, recently announced by the Healey-Driscoll administration

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — A sprinkler system, renovated bathrooms and a freshly painted exterior at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence, a rebuilt outdoor performing arts venue at Buttery Brook Park in South Hadley and theatrical lighting and sound equipment for the Northampton Community Arts Trust’s Hawley Street building are projects being supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

By MICKEY RATHBUN

In the Orchard Arboretum, a little-known public garden in South Amherst, a living work of art is making its debut this spring. “I call it a daffodil ribbon,” explained Richard Waldman, a retired landscape architect from New York City who conceived of the project two years ago and has finally brought it to fruition.

Most of us will become disabled at some point in our lives. Whether through accident, illness, or simply old age, we will all join the largest minority in the U.S. For decades, institutionalization was standard for people with disabilities. Conditions were commonly squalid, overcrowded, and abusive.When the deinstitutionalization movement gained momentum in the 1960s and 70s, we developed support systems to help people with disabilities live on their own.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst officials are renewing appeals to residents to step up to fill numerous vacancies on municipal boards and committees.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — In 2013, Canadian police estimated that there were 1,181 unresolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. The number today is closer to 4,000.