Opinion

AP PHOTO
Ousted IRS Chief Steve Miller, left, and former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman talk during a break in testimony Tuesday at a hearing at the Senate Finance Committee.

Editorial: Healing the IRS

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

On Tuesday in Washington, the former commissioner of the IRS told a Senate panel that he was “dismayed” and “saddened” by an investigative report that concluded the IRS had wrongly targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. Earlier, Douglas Shulman, a Bush appointee whose six-year term ended in November 2012, had “absolutely” insisted no targeting took place. Nor had he nor … 1

Bruce Watson: Sam the Scam takes your questions

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

LEVERETT — Only a year ago, my longtime scandal consultant was unemployed. Scandal was “sooo Bush-Clinton,” Sam the Scam told me. Unable to even get on Fox News, Sam changed his name to Carl the Con and answered questions on conspiracies, from birthers to global warming. But last week, Sam woke up thinking he’d died and gone to heaven. After lining up freelance … 0

Dorrie Brooks: Backs city’s proposed override

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

To the editor: One of the most tragic side effects of our country’s entrenched political mismanagement is that local residents are increasingly pitted against each other when local budgets come up for debate. We pit school children against retirees and the unionized against the non-unionized in battles that get uglier every year. In a just world, no community would have to battle for … 3

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Larry Parnass, the editor of the Gazette, has been on the newspaper's staff since 1988 as an editor, reporter and columnist.

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Talkback »

IsobelAnais wrote:

11:34 AM EST

Get rid of benches because people are using them? Maybe we should get rid of Main Street altogether. It seems like the...(full comment)

Fewer Northampton benches in effort to curb loitering

Paris wrote:

10:48 AM EST

We made one of these for my wife's family. The thing I like best about it is how it can help someone...(full comment)

Custom trivia game reveals generations of Laprade family lore

Other Local News

Joseph Snyder: Courage of fire victims forced arsonist’s admission of guilt

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

To the editor: The truth is finally out about the Northampton arson spree. In spite of the protections afforded the accused and every conceivable bit of evidence excluded, the truth came from the arsonist himself. The prosecution was excluded from using a taped confession, similar fires and the … 0

Marian Wolfsun: Why the ‘Retreat’ in North Amherst is wrong

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

To the editor: I was taken aback by the two letters in support of the “Retreat” proposed for North Amherst. It is never sufficient to agree to something because “we’ve said no too many times.” By that logic, kindergarteners should plead repeatedly for the right to drive. I … 0

Donald Palmisano: Northampton SchoolCommittee taken to task

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

To the editor: What exactly is the role of our Northampton school committee in reference to the management of this school system? The superintendent was hired for a three-year contract with the Northampton school system. He was an “outsider” with little or no connection to the city or … 0

Lisa Foster: Erase statute of limitations in childhood sex abuse cases

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

To the Editor: I would like to inform your readers of the current laws with regard to the crime of childhood sexual abuse in Massachusetts. In 2006 the criminal statutes were raised from a victim’s age of 31 to the victim’s age of 43. Cases of incest have … 0

Steve Calcagnino: Vincent Dowling will be missed

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

To the editor: Vincent Dowling was a great actor, writer, loving husband and father, a dapper Irish gentleman, and a friend to the arts. His list of accomplishments, too long to mention here, include international acclaim and the insistence that Shakespeare was Irish. A “fact” that he would … 0

Donald Robinson: Facing up to climate change

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

ASHFIELD — Lately there has been a terrible hubbub emanating from Washington. Begging pardon, I would like to change the subject. I realize that, in asking that we pay attention to climate change, I am forcing an issue that appears as number 21 on the public’s list of … 0

Editorial: Recycling’s durable value

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

About the same time that the American Lung Association was giving Western Massachusetts its annual poor grades for ozone pollution, news reports surfaced of Gov. Deval Patrick’s decision to lift a 23-year-old moratorium on new waste incinerators to allow gasification waste disposal plants. Traditional incinerators are still banned. … 0

Carl Delta: Longer hours needed at transfer station

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

To the editor: With the closing of the Northampton landfill it’s time to implement longer hours at the transfer station on Locust Street. It’s a fiasco now and likely to get worse. At this time of year, the 4 p.m. closing feels too early when we have four … 0

Richard Greene: Northampton zoning changes ill-advised

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

To the editor: The Gazette’s May 11-12 report on proposed zoning changes, “More flexible zoning in Northampton to get public airing,” presents a one-sided picture. The article offers seven, in some cases lengthy, paragraphs presenting the official justification for the proposed changes and repeatedly quoting a city planning … 0

Edith MacMullen: How about a tent city at the stadium?

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

To the editor: The chancellor of the University of Massachusetts and his board should be congratulated on their ambitious campaign to raise $300 million for the university and on the five priorities that seem to be the core of the effort. However something is missing in their vision: … 0

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