Declaration of Independence

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the sepa

This political wife is keeping it real

An indication that Gov. Mark Sanford's extramarital affair wouldn't be business as usual was the absence of his wife, Jenny Sanford, from his icky news conference last week.

Add to that her statements of not knowing her husband's whereabouts and not seeming to particularly care.

The Bay State's road to equality

At the State House, in the House of Representatives chamber, hangs a mural entitled "Milestones on the Road to Freedom in Massachusetts."

In Our Opinion: A chief's legacy

Since 9/11, assessing Americans' sense of safety has meant tracking threats from abroad. But for a small community's police chief, homeland security is all about the hometown. And for the last nine years, as Amherst's police chief, that has been Charles Scherpa's world.

Aging and the value of dependence

This is probably not the best week to air any reservations about the American passion for independence. After all, we don't have fireworks for Dependence Day. We don't hold parades to celebrate Interdependence Day. We don't get a holiday for Connections.

A virtual University of California

It is time for an 11th University of California campus: a cyber-campus devoted to awarding online degrees to UC-eligible students.

Moved by Relay for Life

To the editor:

As a staff member of Cooley Dickinson Hospital and a person whose family has been touched by cancer, I have participated in the past in the Hampshire County Relay For Life.