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By THE REV. ANDREA AYVAZIAN

My sister Gina had the proclamation framed and she displays it prominently on her wall. It means so much to our family. The Proclamation of the City of Northampton marking Armenian Martyrs’ Day, dated April 24, 2018, is signed by then-Mayor David...

Superintendent Mark McLaughlin has said the quiet part out loud: The proposed school budget and restructuring of the district’s delivery of services will be accomplished at the expense of students with disabilities and the paraprofessionals who serve...

By THE REV. ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Because my husband is currently writing a book about robots at war — how the military is combining artificial intelligence with robotic devices to create “unmanned” weapons systems — our house is infused with articles, reports, and dinner...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SPRINGFIELD — More than 2,400 current and former Yankee Candle employees are eligible to split $1.2 million from a class action lawsuit brought forward by an employee alleging the company failed to pay workers for “thousands of hours of work” due to...

By RICHARD MCCARTHY

I suspect a fair number of readers are aware who Timothy Leary was, and more still have heard his name as part of the lexicon of popular culture. For those who do not know, he was one of the more famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective)...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

SPRINGFIELD — A federal judge scolded both the Diocese of Springfield and the city of Northampton for needing to resort to a lawsuit to settle a dispute over the removal of five stained-glass windows at the St. Mary of the Assumption Church on Elm...

By THE REV. ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Good news is hard to come by these days. All our news media outlets are filled with troubling stories, disturbing images, and frightening predictions. It can be very difficult to read the newspaper or watch the evening news.And so I am delighted to...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Tourism contributes more than $1 billion in annual economic impact across Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties, according to a recent study released by the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.The study was the first of its kind...

By PEMA LATSHANG

Over the past three years, it’s become clear just how essential teachers are to the everyday lives of the western Massachusetts community. In remote and hybrid settings they were there for us throughout the pandemic, with many stepping up to do this...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALLand CHRIS LARABEE

SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal touted a new tax relief bill passed by the House of Representatives this week, and shared his views on U.S. foreign policy during a gathering with the press on Friday morning.Speaking in the atrium inside the...

On Thursday, I read an amazing article titled “Officials face fan criticism,” [Gazette, Jan. 25]. Very well written and informative.I recently attended a young women’s hockey game at Deerfield Academy where Deerfield hosted Choate. The game was one...

As a former college admissions counselor, I’m mindful that this time is an opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief as final applications to college are submitted to meet a January deadline. Respite may be short lived as questions about housing and...

By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Earlier this month, I was asked to offer the benediction at the Northampton inauguration ceremony, when elected officials are sworn in to their positions of leadership in our city — a request that I was honored to fulfill.These inauguration...

By EMILEE KLEIN

NORTHAMPTON — Palestinian advocates will march 25 miles — the length of the Gaza Strip — from Northampton to Springfield on Sunday to demand Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey call for a permanent cease-fire.The 12-hour event, expected to draw at...

By BISHOP WILLIAM D. BYRNE and MEMBERS of CATHOLICS FOR INCLUSION

In 2021, Pope Francis instituted a call to every Catholic congregation, and beyond, to take part in a worldwide synod, an invitation to even non-Catholics who wished to participate, to listen to people and ask how the Holy Spirit was moving them, and...

By REV. ANDREA AYVAZIAN

I have been writing monthly columns for the Gazette since 2009. Often, in November, I would write how painful I find it that the story of Thanksgiving has been misinterpreted, white-washed, and taught incorrectly in schools nationwide.I also have...

By DOMENIC POLI

Don’t worry, radio personality Christopher “Monte” Belmonte will still push a shopping cart 43 miles from Springfield to Greenfield to raise money to combat food insecurity. The journey will simply have a different name.This year marks the first March...

By DOMENIC POLI

SHELBURNE FALLS — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield this week acknowledged new credible findings against the late Richard Lavigne, a convicted sex offender and former Shelburne Falls priest believed to have killed a 13-year-old altar boy in...

By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

It was almost seven years ago, after I had retired as senior minister from a church in the Hilltowns, that I began worshiping at different churches in Holyoke and Springfield. I knew then that I wanted to find a new church home in Hampden County.One...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

SPRINGFIELD — Massachusetts will receive $108 million in federal funds to support improvements to east-west passenger train travel between Springfield, Worcester and Boston, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Gov. Maura Healey announced Friday.The money comes...

By ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Our granddaughter Fiona was about a year and a half old when she was playing with my husband and me in our backyard and a bug began circling around her. Her language skills were still quite limited at that time, and so we were surprised when she...