Inside PVIAC Indoor Track Championship

The team and individual contender list at the PVIAC Indoor Track Championship is a long one.

The meet begins at 6 p.m. at Smith College Friday.

The four-time champion Northampton boys might have gone 6-3 during the season but never count out a champion.

Cross purposes: Proposed Westover cutbacks highlight competing interests in state's defense ties

CHICOPEE - Last week's announcement by Air Force officials that they intend to halve the number of cargo jets stationed at Westover Air Reserve Base served to highlight Massachusetts' heavy reliance on federal defense spending, according local lawmakers and analysts. The announcement also demonstrates Congress' sometimes conflicting goals of austerity and job creation, they said. The Bay State receives billions of dollars annually in defense contracts while its six military installations serve as a static but steady source of employment, they noted. "Do we want to start these budget cuts at a time when the economy is really struggling?" asked Robert Nakosteen, a professor at the Isenberg School of Business at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Amherst College offers to keep funding campus preschool, with caveat

AMHERST - Amherst College has offered to continue funding the Little Red Schoolhouse if the preschool program expands its hours to better accommodate the needs of college faculty with children.

Amherst schools chief says more reserve funds needed

AMHERST - Superintendent Maria Geryk has recommended the regional schools spend an extra $133,441 from reserves next year because state aid is expected to be less than anticipated.

Landfill bill may nix solar lawsuit

AMHERST - A bill allowing all capped municipal landfills to serve as sites for solar projects, even if previous state capping grants had restricted their future use to recreational purposes, passed the state's House of Representatives unanimously Wednesday.

New board member brings student's perspective

AMHERST - The newest member of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee said at his first meeting Wednesday that starting classes the Thursday before Labor Day next fall might help students ease back into school.

His opinion had some credibility because he is a senior at Amherst Regional High School.

Amherst College president offers to continue support for preschool

AMHERST - Amherst College has offered to continue funding the Little Red Schoolhouse if the preschool program expands its hours to better accommodate the needs of college faculty with children.