Opinion

Jennifer Dieringer: Budget must serve whole city

I am the parent of a Northampton High School student. I have been fortunate enough to have had the capacity and time to be engaged in the schools my son has attended, serving on the PTO since he was at Bridge Street Elementary School. (Pro tip: If you...

Nancy E. Grove: Landlines are the best

I enjoyed reading the guest column by Marietta Pritchard about landlines [”Landlines and more in our parallel universe,” Gazette, April 29].I totally agree with her. I thought my service was reliable until I loss my power a few years back. I have one...

Ken Rosenthal: Time to change direction on Jones Library

The Jones Library in Amherst received only one contractor’s bid for its long-planned renovation and expansion. When supplemental costs are added, that brings the estimated total project cost to at least $54 million. What seemed expensive before is now...

Sage Cooper-Clermont: A well-deserved thank you for chain of help

Thank you for finding and returning my keys. Thank you to Bob, the caretaker of Childs Park in Northampton, who went out and looked for them.Thank you to the young man who found them, saw my Big Y card, and took my keys to the Big Y service counter....

Joshua Singer: Friends of the trails could use a hand

As we start to feel the warmth of spring, I have seen a jump in the number of people outside, enjoying our neighborhoods —  biking, walking and rollerblading through the community.We are so fortunate to have an amazing and accessible trail network...

Columnist J.M. Sorrell: Days to remember

By J.M. SORRELL

May 1 is May Day. Originally it celebrated spring in Celtic and other traditions. Singing, dancing, bonfires, and competing for the tallest maypoles for male fertility were all the rage. Apparently size comparisons have been around for centuries. Who...

Guest columnist Owen Mitz: A hybrid suggestion for King Street

By OWEN MITZ

 Driving into Northampton south on King Street after getting off I-91, we are greeted by a number of tire stores, fast food establishments, auto dealers, auto body shops, drug stores (both types), food and liquor stores, and an occasional different...

Paul Craig: Gun control debate a fractured discourse

I don’t know if it’s irony, farce, comedy or tragedy. But, in the debate over gun control and ownership, some people insist that only members of the militia can “keep and bear arms.” And they restrict the “keep” part to armory storage.Additionally,...

Bernie Sadoski: Blake Gilmore is committed to his community

In the spring of 1986, a parent approached me to supervise a group of Frontier Regional High School students in a weightlifting program. According to the athletic director, the program needed an adult supervisor to oversee the program. I agreed to...

Byron Coley: Shores Ness for Select Board

Blake Gilmore wants my vote to serve on the Selectboard in Deerfield. So I asked friends and neighbors what they knew about the candidate, and where he stands on the issues in the town — subsidized senior housing, senior center, road repair funding,...

Guest columnist Sarah Willie-LeBreton: Smith College and the city — Neighborliness and much more

By SARAH WILLIE-LEBRETON

 As Smith’s new president, I have been enormously impressed to learn about our integrated history and 150-year relationship with Northampton. We will continue to be the neighbor who answers the knock at our door, cherishing the city we call home.I...

Guest columnist John Sinton: ‘In tears for both Jew and Palestinian’

By JOHN SINTON

 In 1918, my grandfather Jack Walter became a fervent supporter of a Palestinian homeland for European Jews. I am staring at his photograph as I write this, an image of a pleasant-looking man poised over an American flag with three other Jews under a...

Steve Smith: Rose for Worthington Selectboard

I am writing to support the re-election of Charley Rose to the Worthington Selectboard.This endorsement will no doubt surprise some of you who are aware our recent public disagreement over a matter of substantial importance to our town. Although the...

Sidney Moss: Trial showing that no one is above the law

On reading the article “Tabloid publisher says that he was Trump’s ‘eyes and ears’” [Gazette, April 24], I was encouraged that Donald Trump will be getting the punishment that he deserves. Trump has shown great cleverness in protecting himself from...

Karen Rowe: Support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act

I grew up in an era when there were no limits on what people could dump into rivers and lakes. I remember magazine photos of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland on fire in 1970, flames shooting high up into the air.It was a time when there also were no...

Arlene and Doug Tierney: Vote for Blake Gilmore on May 6

Blake Gilmore, a resident of South Deerfield, is seeking a position as a member of the Deerfield Selectboard. It is with great enthusiasm that we endorse his candidacy. We have known Blake for 60-plus years, early on as a co-worker at the Tri-Town...

Araceli Katalin McCoy: Why we should change the voting age to 16

Speaking as a Frontier student, if I think of a perfect political voting system, I think of everyone having a voice and fighting for what they believe in. I have a strong feeling that most of you feel the same way.With many people having the choice...

Guest columnist Marietta Pritchard: Landlines and more in our parallel universe

By MARIETTA PRITCHARD

 Recent news reports and events have reminded me that my husband and I are living in a parallel universe. We use a landline and we read print newspapers, which are delivered to our house daily.I have and use a cellphone, but my husband does not. He...

Guest columnist Dr. Meghan Gump: Dear Patients — We hear you!

By DR. MEGHAN GUMP

 As a family practitioner and the medical director of Valley Medical Group, I care deeply about my patients and our community. During my 20 years of practicing full-spectrum primary care in Franklin County, I have come to value the relationships I...