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By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

It was almost seven years ago, after I had retired as senior minister from a church in the Hilltowns, that I began worshiping at different churches in Holyoke and Springfield. I knew then that I wanted to find a new church home in Hampden County.One...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

SPRINGFIELD — Massachusetts will receive $108 million in federal funds to support improvements to east-west passenger train travel between Springfield, Worcester and Boston, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Gov. Maura Healey announced Friday.The money comes...

By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Our granddaughter Fiona was about a year and a half old when she was playing with my husband and me in our backyard and a bug began circling around her. Her language skills were still quite limited at that time, and so we were surprised when she...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SPRINGFIELD — Preservation of historic buildings in rural communities, including some in Hampshire County, will be supported through a $750,000 grant from the National Park Service.The federal agency announced on Thursday that the Pioneer Valley...

Dancing in the streets: Jazz & Roots FestivalSPRINGFIELD — Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival returns to the city for the second consecutive year in a multi-day format, with over 16 musical acts on tap as well...

By JOSH SCHIMMEL

With the passage of many public fiscal year budgets, it is a good time to reflect on what these budgets support and the values they reflect. As we do so, consider what could be more central to our quality of life, public health, economy, agriculture,...

By STEVE PFARRER

Mary Climbs In: The Journeys of Bruce Springsteen’s Women FansBy Lorraine Mangione & Donna LuffRutgers University Press With his many songs about working-class guys trying to weather tough economic times, or restless dudes and dreamers adrift on...

By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Every joke, stereotype, and snide comment you have ever heard about 50th college reunions is true. I should know, I attended my 50th Oberlin College reunion in Ohio in May. It really was a bunch of old people in awful outfits with large nametags...

Time to celebrate Hadley grassHADLEY — New England Public Media’s Asparagus Festival, now in its ninth season, returns to the Hadley town common June 3 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., offering a variety of family-friendly events such as music and games, as...

By STEVE PFARRER

SPRINGFIELD — Almost three years after their last contract expired, and following months of contentious negotiations for a new one, musicians with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) have agreed to a new deal with the orchestra’s management.The...

By THE REV. ANDREA AYVAZIAN

I remember the stomach-churning jitters I felt on the flight from Seattle to Anchorage. And that was before I had laid eyes on the big mountain — before I saw how it dominated the landscape both vertically and horizontally, before I had stared down...

By KYLE GRABOWSKI

AMHERST – Alex Miller spends most of his time in the corner of the UMass football practice facility.While the quarterbacks, receivers and backs throw routes and practice handoffs on the playing surface, the offensive line drills to the fundamentals....

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SPRINGFIELD — Operating rooms that are double the size and provide space for the necessary technology for surgeries with smaller incisions, allowing patients to recover faster, are opening at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield this week.The...

By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Every day around noon, my husband Michael, a political scientist and prolific writer, stops writing at his desk and walks to downtown Northampton for lunch. He always goes to the same place, BalaganCafé, and orders a sandwich and café latte. The...

By HANNAH BEVIS

NORTHAMPTON — Not content with back-to-back titles, the Smith basketball team is going for the trifecta. For the third straight year, the Pioneers (25-1) punched their ticket to the NEWMAC championship with a 61-49 win over Springfield College. Morgan...

By STEVE PFARRER

It’s no secret that the U.S. railroad system, which a century ago had the largest passenger service in the world, looks very different today.Though the nation’s freight system is still significant, passenger service has long since been eclipsed by...

Staff Report

SPRINGFIELD — Over 400 people walked on Sunday to end homelessness in western Massachusetts as part of the inaugural Winter Walk for Homelessness. The Winter Walk is a year-round organization that hosts an annual homelessness walk to raise awareness...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — A longtime editor and writer whose career in journalism for the past 35 years has spanned much of the Pioneer Valley and the Berkshires will begin leading the newsroom at The Republican in Springfield later this month.Larry Parnass, who...

By EMILY THURLOW

SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Domenic Sarno made history at 10 o’clock Tuesday morning when he put $50 on the Philadelphia Eagles as they square off Feb. 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Arizona.The Springfield mayor’s wager at...

I was recently interviewed on a local radio program about my reflections on the state of the peace and justice movement in the Valley and around the country. At the end of the show, the host asked: “So Andrea, what keeps you going? What gives you...