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There are limits to what any of us can do to help any others of us. In Plato’s “Theaetetus,” Socrates says “I am like the midwife, in that I cannot myself give birth to wisdom”; and he then says, “The many admirable truths which they bring to birth have been discovered by themselves from within.” Our law schools are supposed to base their pedagogy on the Socratic method, whose applicability to real life situations might not always appear very great. That people cannot always argue their way to the establishment of abiding truths may be seen with the great eloquence of speechifying in Congress in the years leading up to our Civil War.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Massachusetts State Police apprehended a South Hadley man on Monday night after he fled from police in a vehicle and crashed into another vehicle on the Joseph E. Muller Bridge.

By ERIKA HEYER-WATTS

In case you missed it, this year is the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster, Jaws. Jaws is one of my favorite movies and I have seen it at least 30 times over the last 30 years or so. But I’ve never seen Jaws on the big screen until this year. The music was louder, Bruce was bigger and the theater was packed. I usually watch Jaws with family or a small group of friends, so watching it with a large group of strangers made the viewing experience new to me. We all laughed at the fisherman on the dock when he said “A what?” after Hooper explains the shark they caught is, indeed, a tiger shark. We all lifted our Narragansett cans and crushed them in unison with Quint. And we all jumped when Ben Gardner’s head popped out of his sunken vessel even though we all knew it was coming.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Boaters on the Connecticut River between the Coolidge Bridge and the Holyoke Dam have for decades depended on channel markers and buoys as navigational aids while traveling along the waterway, protecting them from dangers, like rocks lurking below the surface, as well as alerting them to no-wake areas where they must move at slower speeds.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Since July 2015, the Rev. James Nolte has led the St. Patrick’s parish as a “gentle giant,” according to Deacon David Bergeron.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — In an effort to slow down cars speeding along thickly settled residential roads, South Hadley joins other Hampshire County cities and towns in lowering the statutory speed limit on roads from 30 mph to 25 mph.

By EMILEE KLEIN

BELCHERTOWN — Dwight Day returns on Saturday for a second year to celebrate Belchertown’s historic village with conservation and wildlife activities, a cemetery tour and a portrayal of Emily Dickinson’s friendship with famous Dwight author Josiah Gilbert Holland.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Mount Holyoke College will indefinitely pause construction of its geothermal pump hub — the heart of its $180 million effort to build a carbon-neutral heating and cooling system — due to uncertainties with potential tariffs and economic downturn.

A good-sized group of people attended the informational session on Mount Holyoke College’s proposed Geothermal Hub/Energy Center/Power Plant, held June 5 at Gamble Auditorium, though the college did not appear to engage in widespread publicity. Citizens from the community used other methods to alert the public to this meeting. Except for one speaker, all attendees who either ventured to the microphone or spoke from their seats, praised the concept of geothermal energy, and requested that MHC relocate its Energy Center elsewhere on their vast campus. Speaker after speaker raised the following concerns: noise from this “electric power plant” with air handlers outside the building and on the roof would disturb abutters, neighbors, and patrons of nearby restaurants; air pollution from the gasoline still compacted into the soil beneath the site, which had long ago been a gasoline station, would damage the health of abutters and neighbors.

There has been, since Ivan the Terrible, in Russia a philosophy of brutalism. Its justification might be understood in terms of two approaches to taking a band-aid off of a wound: A slow removal produces somewhat less pain over a longer period of time than follows from ripping it off quickly. In this way, I imagine state-sponsored brutality is not supposed to be about being cruel per se, and there may be a certain reasoning around it. While Russians are targeting civilians in Ukraine to hurt or kill, the theory would go that this is to hasten an end to the war, after which survivors will go on to have many children.

By PETER B-G WELLER

Last week, my 8-year-old daughter used her school-managed internet browser to research information for a science report on cheetahs. She entered key words to discover sites describing the big cat’s sleek golden coat, tear-marked face, and explosive speed. She learned about its habitat, prey, and the unique features of its claws, designed to grip the ground like cleats. She then paused, looked up, and asked if the computer was “watching her type.” I wasn’t sure how to answer.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Instead of figuratively wearing their heart on their sleeves during this momentous occasion, the 2025 graduating class of Mount Holyoke College choose to literally wear their values on their gowns.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Service, sacrifice, the commitment of veterans and active military service members from across Massachusetts and support from their families should always be recognized, says retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Mount Holyoke College’s proposed site for a new Energy Center on Woodbridge Street — a key piece of a long-range plan to install a new geothermal heating and cooling system to serve campus — is drawing criticism from residents who worry that noise and potential gasoline fumes from the power plant will impact their health and quality of life.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Town Meeting members on Wednesday overwhelmingly supported the formal creation of the town’s first historic district, declared the town a “welcoming community,” and established an affordable housing trust.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — A new jury trial has begun for a former physical therapist from South Hadley previously convicted for indecent assault and battery on a patient, who is now facing two counts of rape after another alleged victim came forward.

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 EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — On Wednesday, Town Meeting members will contemplate approval of the town’s first historic district, reduction of speed limits on thickly settled roads and a citizen petitioned ordinance declaring South Hadley a welcoming community.

At the annual Town Meeting on May 14, Town Meeting members will vote on a citizen’s petition for a Welcoming Community ordinance. This ordinance asks town officials and employees to welcome all people in our community, so that they can live positive and productive lives in South Hadley, without fear of investigation and deportation by local officials. The majority of the proposed ordinance is already aligned with Massachusetts laws and current town and police department policies.

While elements of the Roman Catholic Church may go in different directions, there is a long history of close association between that communion and the state. Of some note, the conservative members of the current U.S. Supreme Court all have had some Catholic formation. This would school them to protect the office of the presidency regardless of who is president, as that is how Catholics are taught to navigate their church hierarchy. This approach can help parishioners to get through it if, for example, their parish priest should have an alcohol addiction.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — South Haldey Police are investigating a vandalism incident that occurred at South Hadley High School over the weekend.