Search Results

Keyword search: Opinion

On Oct. 4, Gov. Maura Healey signed into law Massachusetts’ first tax cut in 20 years to the tune of $1 billion. Fast-forward to Jan. 8, when Gov. Healey announced a $1 billion tax shortfall.I am one of many residents who put in countless hours to...

Western Mass. Baseball 2024 Hall of Famer and Springfield resident Bob Taylor, 79, played on 13 professional teams (1962-1977) including our MLB (San Francisco Giants), in two countries (U.S. and Japan), and also played professionally here for the...

By JAMES A. LOMASTRO

The summer of 2023 brought many forced migrations to cities in the North and Northeast and created a “crisis.” Coverage of the border, particularly Eagle Pass in Texas, presented a chaotic situation. Even when the images were not chaotic,...

As a former college admissions counselor, I’m mindful that this time is an opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief as final applications to college are submitted to meet a January deadline. Respite may be short lived as questions about housing and...

The Jan. 19 letter “Why are we sending money out of state?” suggests that the Amherst School Committee was wrong to contract with an executive search firm from “red state” Nebraska. As someone who has signed over 60 contracts with public agencies...

By RICHARD FEIN

Gaza’s civilian population: Hamas has ruled Gaza since defeating the Fatah faction in 2006 elections. Hamas then killed 459 Fatah operatives. The general population has suffered as Hamas expropriated billions of dollars in foreign donations and local...

Dear readers: You don’t need a geology course to visualize dinosaurs! Two hundred million years ago, the Connecticut River Valley was indeed “Jurassic Park” in a great rift valley similar to the famous ones of east Africa today. Podokesaurus, our new...

We serve as volunteers on behalf of the elderly population of the town of Amherst. We represent the interests of more than 5,500 senior citizens and concerned members of their families through the Friends of the Amherst Senior Center and the Amherst...

In the daily sports section The Gazette has two basketball lists: “College Hoops: The Top Twenty Five” and “Women’s Hoops: The Top Twenty Five.” I suggest a change of the first to “Men’s Hoops: The Top Twenty Five” is both long overdue and more...

I work in health care. I spent a lot of time, energy, money and sweat learning my trade so that I could assess patients and develop the best treatment plan to get them better. Insurance companies have created a system in which the determining factor...

In case you haven’t noticed the record rain and flooding this summer, or the 50 degree days in January, climate change is upon us. The effects of this global crisis have arrived, now the question becomes how to build resilience, while lowering...

By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Earlier this month, I was asked to offer the benediction at the Northampton inauguration ceremony, when elected officials are sworn in to their positions of leadership in our city — a request that I was honored to fulfill.These inauguration...

I wholeheartedly agree with Patrick O’Connor’s Jan. 18 column, “Out of school and headed for jail.” The underfunding of Holyoke’s schools can lead to young people with learning disabilities and high needs into Massachusetts’ jails and prisons. As...

By SARENA NEYMAN

For me, being Jewish was never about religion or Zionism. My Holocaust survivor parents sent me to Jewish day schools and Zionist summer camps, but none of that stuck. I haven’t set foot in a synagogue for decades and have always been critical of...

By JOHN VARNER

While it is true that racism has been behind some zoning restrictions, racism is not the only reason zoning restrictions exist.Is all zoning racist? This is certainly what some real estate people want you to think, based on nearly a full page of...

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

Last month I wrote about the damage the U.S. is causing to the global climate by exporting huge amounts of oil and LNG (liquefied natural methane gas) — the most of any country in the world. I shared the information that the fossil fuel industry wants...

I was encouraged to read the recent Gazette article “State reckons with its history: Efforts to change school mascots, state seal make slow, steady progress” [Jan. 9]. This is a needed and vital step to correct the way that Native Americans are...

Kidney failure changed my life. I’ve learned a thing or two after spending 18 years on dialysis, receiving a kidney transplant, and spending years as an advocate for my fellow patients.In the initial 30 months of dialysis, dialysis patients have...

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

Happy 2024. After my last column, I got feedback from a reader who pointed out that I missed a topic in my round-up of environmental progress in 2023. She mentioned that I had completely failed to mention Amherst voters overwhelmingly approving plans...

By PATRICK O’CONNOR

There is a crisis in Holyoke’s public schools. Each year, a classroom-sized group of students with learning disabilities drops out. These students are then more likely to be arrested and jailed on Holyoke’s streets. Although unintentional, we are...