Opinion

Ben Tobin: Another educational song and dance

As a kid growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s in western Massachusetts, watching Malcolm in the Middle — the saga of a fourth-wall busting child prodigy and his family — was a staple of post-school hours. Jumping forward to present times, and my...

David Sloviter: The ghosts of Warsaw don't really speak

It’s not really fair to use conversations with ghosts and other dead people to justify one’s personal opinion. Guest columnist Richard Bogartz admitted that he does not believe in ghosts but then uses what he believes he hears them say [“What the...

Guest columnist Mariel E. Addis: Under seige from all sides

By MARIEL E. ADDIS

 When I first heard John Lennon’s masterpiece “Imagine,” and heard the line “imagine no religion,” I thought, “How awful is that; religion is a good thing!” Probably in junior high at the time, I couldn’t understand the significance of the line. I do...

Columnist Johanna Neumann: Reaping the rewards of rooftop solar

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

This week my boys and I are visiting my mom and stepdad for April break. Shortly after we arrived, they proudly gave us a tour of their new PV solar array, which they had installed on the south face of their home earlier this year. My stepdad, Rick,...

Julia Riseman: Join Friends of Northampton Trails

It's spring! I can't wait to pump up my bike tires and get back on the rail trails. We are so lucky. Northampton enjoys extensive, beautiful, and accessible trails that knit our community together. I feel so grateful for the Friends of Northampton...

Justine McCarthy and Ed Lamoureux: Political will needed to benefit from new power line technology

Political will needed to benefit from new power line technologyRecent news articles about upgrading power lines with new, lighter, higher-capacity wiring have us feeling hopeful. We’d like the Gazette to report on this process, called advanced...

Shelly Berkowitz: More examples of corporate greed

Many kudos to Olin Rose-Bardawil for writing a column in which he (sadly) documents many excellent examples showing how corporate financial interests hijack and seriously undermine the very necessary regulatory functions of our government agencies,...

Guest columnist Jim Palermo: Beware the zeitgeist! It’s bad for our kids

By JIM PALERMO

 I ran into a friend who asked why I had not for a long while submitted columns to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. I responded that I had not written because I was overwhelmed by the myriad issues that threaten out great country; that gnaw at the very...

Maggie Baumer: Access to prosthetics and orthotics for physical activity a right, not a privilege

As one of the 5.6 million Americans living with limb loss and limb difference (LL/LD), I’m passionate about advocating for access to prosthetic and orthotic devices for physical activity, which are not typically covered by commercial insurance or...

Rachel Vigderman: Area women ending silence over weaponization of rape

I want to commend Sara Weinberger for her column “The appalling silence over the atrocities of October 7th” [Gazette, April 15]. As co-president of the Northampton/Amherst Chapter of Hadassah I would like to report that area residents, along with...

Toni Doherty: 2020s essential workers: Oxymoron?

As a school employee, I’ve hesitated to write, expecting judgment for being self-serving. Here’s what kicked me into gear: Jim Bridgman’s March 5 “A Look Back,” 50 years ago: “Salaries at the University of Massachusetts continued to increase at a...

Timmon Wallis: More funding for Ukraine not the answer

A recent letter write rwants more funding for Ukraine (”Support Ukraine funding,” Gazette April 5). It is, of course, the Republicans in Congress who are opposed to this. But that doesn’t mean Democrats should support it! The reality is that no amount...

Columnist Razvan Sibii: How to welcome a refugee family into your community

By RAZVAN SIBII

The loud and shameless politics that surrounds the issue of undocumented immigration makes it easy to miss the moves that the Biden administration has been making in the realm of legal immigration, from rebuilding the refugee program to expediting the...

Guest columnist Jay Fleitman: Can’t leave Hamas intact

By JAY FLEITMAN

 The editorial space of this newspaper is replete with demands for a cease-fire in Gaza, and similar demands have been made by the governing bodies of Northampton and Amherst. This really is a “demand” for the Israelis to unilaterally stop their...

Walter Krzeminski: Locals who homered at Fenway for the home team

Three players from western Massachusetts hit home runs at Fenway Park playing for the home team. On Aug. 14, 2000, Rico Brogna from Turners Falls homered for the Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay. On April 13, 1990, Billy Jo Robidoux from Ware homered for the Red...

Mary Collins: Let’s create 413 Day

St. Louis, Missouri (area code 314) has a yearly event to celebrate their city. Appropriately, it’s called 314 Day.Begun in 2006 to show love and support for the city, the event includes numerous activities and festivities citywide.I daresay we should...

Judy Gutlerner: An investment in joy

As a retired performing arts teacher, it is always disheartening to learn that whenever there is a budget crisis such as in Northampton, the arts are the first to be cut.Missing from the ongoing discussion is the positive effect a performance has on...

Columnist Sara Weinberger: The appalling silence over the atrocities of Oct. 7

By SARA WEINBERGER

My computer has a file labeled “Gazette Column,” in which I keep articles about possible subjects for future columns. Since last November, I have been saving stories about the rapes, torture, mutilations, and murders of Israeli women by Hamas on Oct....

Guest columnist William Lambers: Boston Marathon winner inspires action against hunger

By WILLIAM LAMBERS

 In 1946, running legend Johnny Kelley, upon finishing second to Stylianos Kyriakides in the Boston Marathon, remarked “How can you beat a guy like that? He wasn’t running for himself. He was doing it for his country.”Stylianos Kyriakides was from...