'Frumpy hippie to Fashionista': Granby woman ambushed by Today show makeover crew

GRANBY - The television cameras were rolling when a sleepy Susie Slater answered the loud, incessant knocking at her front door at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Slater had been ambushed, makeover-style.

In the moment: Bright life in the U.S. inspires Amherst poet

Like most of the winners of the recent Bright Lights Big Verse contest, in which poets from across the country were invited to extol the virtues of Times Square, Amherst poet Henk Rossouw's relationship with the iconic stretch of New York City real estate is merely a passing one. Of the four top finishers (out of a field of 500 entries), only one lives in New York. The others, like Rossouw, are occasional passersby. But, that doesn't mean Rossouw, a student in the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, didn't have plenty to say.

Apartment fire: Meadowbrook tenants, Northampton fire department at odds over response

NORTHAMPTON - It's been seven months since fire destroyed the homes of 22 Meadowbrook Apartments residents, and for some, anger over the event smolders. Tuesday, four fire victims and former city councilor Mike Kirby voiced their grievances with the Northampton Fire Department and Meadowbrook management in a meeting of the City Council's Committee on Public Safety that also drew about a dozen members of the Fire Department. And the session was tense at times, as tenants complained and firefighters shot back with testimony of their own.
--See a package of video reports from the day of the Meadowbrook fire and its aftermath

Around area, veterans receive due respect: Ceremonies honor 'ordinary people' for service, sacrifice

Residents in Easthampton, Amherst and Williamsburg recognized and remembered veterans Wednesday through gun salutes, patriotic performances and stories about ordinary people who have accomplished the extraordinary on behalf of our nation. Dressed in clothing that ranged from military uniforms to sweatshirts and jeans, people took off their hats and placed their hands over their hearts as trumpet soloists played taps, uniformed retired vets laid wreaths, and speakers saluted those who have served.
--In Northampton, WWII Club dedicates new flagpoles
--Watch GazetteNET's video from the Veterans Day ceremonies in Easthampton

Best of the best: Southampton boy a horse show champ

SOUTHAMPTON - Thirteen-year-old Matthew Labrie has won awards for showing horses since he was 3, but he is most proud of the championships he received last month at the All American Quarter Horse Congress in Ohio, the world's largest single-breed horse show.

Incumbents pledge greater visibility in wake of campaigns' end

There's a good chance that Northampton residents will see more of Mayor Clare Higgins over the next two years, and they'll also hear more about the city's accomplishments. Ditto for Easthampton, where Mayor Michael Tautnzik says he may add more walking around the community into his schedule of city travel. With the rigors of the bruising political campaign behind both incumbents, each said Wednesday that they want to continue records of work for their respective cities, but also to reach out more to residents of varying viewpoints and opinions.
--Higgins says she will make stronger case to city residents | Video interview
--Tautznik reflects on lessons learned, pledges to get back to work | Video interview

Tautznik reflects on lessons learned, pledges to get back to work

EASTHAMPTON - Still a tad bleary-eyed 12 hours after winning a seventh term in the most competitive political race of his career, Mayor Michael A. Tautznik vowed Wednesday that he will work harder to make more people feel included in city government.