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In his Dec. 29 guest column, “Haunted by questions with no good answers,” Jonathan Kahane presents himself as an “asker of questions,” but I wonder if he’s really looking for answers or simply comforting himself with his justification for the...

If Congress fails to fully fund WIC, the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, by Jan. 19, states will need to reduce WIC participation by about 2 million young children and pregnant and postpartum adults nationwide by...

The expiration date. That’s what concerned us on the morning of day one of the new year. News arrived that a friend got COVID and we had a brunch to go to, so testing seemed sensible. Except all our unused tests had expired.Lots of talk about...

I read the recent guest column “Trump’s new American revolution of 2024” [Gazette, Dec. 30] with keen interest. Although I too find it troubling that Mr. Trump is ahead in the polls, I believe the race is far from over.Furthermore, the writer’s...

By MARIA JOSÉ BOTELHO

I’m grateful to find out that there’s another faithful reader (and writer) of obituaries in our community [“There’s just a lot of life in the obits” by Marietta Pritchard, Gazette, Jan. 3].I have been reading obituaries since I could read in English...

Kudos to Florence and all responsible for terrific Christmas/holiday lights! Every year they have been outstanding with local businesses participating. Great job!Joseph A. TwarogFlorence

By MARIEL E. ADDIS

My mom passed in 2008 at the age of 70. She had suffered for a number of years with early-onset Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and had been in nursing home care the last years of her life.I had come out as transgender to my wife a year and a half before...

By JOHN HAAG

I am writing in support of John Berkowitz’s recent column, “End the war in Ukraine before it ends us” [Gazette, Dec. 4].In recent years, the world has witnessed the tragic conflict unfolding in Ukraine, a crisis that has caused immeasurable suffering...

By LYLE DENIT

There is much talk these days, including in letters to the Gazette, about whether it is time for the United States to push Ukraine towards a cease-fire with Russia. Their counteroffensive did not go as planned, the front lines are not moving much, and...

By CLAUDIA LEFKO

The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a statement on grave violations of children’s rights in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory on Oct. 13. “We reiterate that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) requires States...

I felt so uplifted reading about the police officer who fought to overcome her circumstances and remake her world [“Emerging from darkness,” Gazette, Dec. 30]. I would love to see a weekly article dedicated to uplifting stories like this one. It is so...

After listening to the heart-wrenching testimonies of local educators and parents during the Dec. 14 Northampton School Committee meeting, and reading the article, “The Smith College effect,” [Gazette, Dec. 29], it is clear to me that Northampton...

By J.M. SORRELL

Last month I wrote a column about fighting all forms of antisemitism. I have written a few columns about misogyny as an insidious and acceptable form of oppression in many societies including ours. Over the years, I have had this nagging feeling that...

The property in the back of mine in Easthampton has a steep 100-foot bank. At the bottom is the Manhan River. On a large part of the bank there is a dump with broken glass, rusty metal objects, who knows what kind of toxic waste is present — there’s...

Bravo to the Florence Civic and Business Association [FCBA] for envisioning and manifesting the first annual Tractor Parade. Parading from Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School to Look Park on a dark and chilly night, 39 tractors aglow with...

In a Dec. 29 guest column, writer Michael Seward suggests that opposition to the proposed housing development in Leverett is racist and immoral (“Leverett housing a counter to injustice”). However, he neglects to describe the project being proposed.It...

By MARIETTA PRITCHARD

Have I mentioned that I read the obituaries in the Gazette every morning before I start my day? Does this sound depressing? I don’t find it so. It somehow anchors things for me.I can learn about people in my community and about how they or their...

Good afternoon and happy new year to our most generous and giving neighbors. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a very successful Toys for Kids drive this year, collecting the third most toys in our 15 years of doing this. The final...

I read the letter in the Dec. 26 Gazette regarding the demonstrators at L3Harris (”Protesters silent on atrocities in Israel.”) The writer accuses them of “biased simplistic virtue signaling” because they have not condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack in...

As of 2023, there were 31.2 million elders enrolled in private Medicare plans, known as “Medicare Advantage.” For the first time, that’s more enrollees than in the “Traditional” Medicare program. Seniors choose these private companies because they see...