Former Not Bread Alone director plans Amherst center for poor, homeless

AMHERST - A breakfast drop-in center to help poor and homeless individuals find housing, employment and social services is expected to open in downtown Amherst in the near future.

Area Police News

 · Latoya Diana Smith, 24, of 114 N. Whitney St., was arrested Thursday at 2:47 a.m. at the intersection of North Whitney and Main streets on charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and failure to stay within marked lanes, police said.

Sabina Braunthal, 80, microbiologist

AMHERST - Sabina Diamond Braunthal, 80, of Red Gate Lane, died of cancer on Nov 16, 2009, at the Center for Extended Care in Amherst.

Abstract paintings set 'alarm clock for the senses'

Neatly tucked between a popular cinema and a busy coffee shop in downtown Amherst, is a surprising exhibit of new, enigmatic abstract paintings by Belchertown artist Brent Klockars.

Colleges' safety chief moves to Princeton

SOUTH HADLEY - Paul L. Ominsky, director of public safety at Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith colleges, will leave the Valley in January to head up the public safety department at Princeton University.

Veterans flock to UMass: Campus on track to meet new needs

AMHERST - The number of veterans at the University of Massachusetts grew by almost 35 percent this year, a gain driven in part by improved education benefits. To accommodate these new students - who come to campus with different needs - UMass is implementing a host of programs.

Health care coverage change upsets UMass grad students

AMHERST - The high cost of health care is taking its toll on University of Massachusetts graduate students.

In an email survey of 500 graduate students, 66 percent of respondents said increased costs and changes to their health care coverage have dissuaded or inhibited them or family members from seeking care this fall.