Latest News
Police to charge Springfield man in Lego theft
Hadley mall owners demand Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School stop using its parking lot
State select board handbook dedicated to Worthington’s Stephen Kulik
South Hadley’s website gets new look with mobile users in mind
UMass Police investigating Saturday night robbery
Amherst officials mull Puffer’s Pond improvements
Blue Cross pauses controversial anesthesia policy
State OKs speed limit drop on Route 10 in Easthampton
Blue Cross takes heat for anesthesia policy change affecting colonoscopies, other procedures
Literacy Project spreads its wings with new Easthampton location
EASTHAMPTON – After dropping out of high school, Easthampton resident Peter Morris, now 32 years old, went on to work for years at the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s distribution center, then Friendly’s for a couple of years, before going on disability to...
Residents seek answers to big housing development at old Belchertown State Hospital
BELCHERTOWN — Donna Buxton hears every day that many Belchertown residents have no idea that a 108-unit residential development may be built on the old state school property off State Street.Prior to the creation of the Economic Development...
Top Picks
Unknown no more: WWII sailor finally comes home to Holyoke
With police support, Senate to debate gun bill Thursday
Partners hatching first brewery in Belchertown
Hitting it big for wrong reasons: In ‘American Fiction’ at Amherst Cinema, writer’s pastiche hailed as authentic
Columnist Susan Wozniak: Tracking my life through a small place
‘A natural, beautiful medicine’: NHS student, aspiring pianist plays for patients at CDH
A Look Back: Jan. 30
“Nice call, ref”: Pulling back the curtain in regard to the high school basketball officiating situation in western Massachusetts
Sports
Girls basketball: Hopkins Academy learning, growing together despite 58-37 loss to Lenox (PHOTOS)
HADLEY — Only taking into account what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, not much has gone right for the Hopkins Academy girls basketball team this season. And after the Golden Hawks’ 58-37 loss to Lenox on Monday night, their record now...
High schools: Ava Azzaro, Chloe Derby propel Northampton past Holyoke
Ava Azzaro scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half, helping the Northampton girls basketball team to a decisive 59-31 victory over Holyoke on Monday night.Northampton led 18-10 after one quarter and 34-14 at halftime.Chloe Derby drained a pair of...
Former Blue Jays, Red Sox and Astros manager Jimy Williams dies at age 80
BOSTON — Jimy Williams, the 1999 American League Manager of the Year for Boston who won 910 games over a dozen seasons that included stints with Toronto and Houston, has died. He was 80.The Red Sox said Williams died Friday at AdventHealth North...
Indoor track: Allie Sullivan wins 3 events to pace Northampton in dominant performance at PVIAC Meet No. 6
The Northampton High School boys and girls track teams both had stellar days during the sixth PVIAC indoor track meet of the year, as the Blue Devils combined for a 6-0 day during the late meet on Sunday afternoon.Each team went 3-0 with wins over...
Hockey: Charlie Fijal nets 5 goals in Belchertown’s 6-6 tie with McCann Tech (PHOTOS)
AMHERST — Trailing 5-3 to McCann Tech entering the third period, the Belchertown hockey team made it clear in the locker room during the second intermission that it wasn’t going to lose on its senior night.Charlie Fijal took matters into his own hands...
Opinion
Guest columnist Chelsea Gazillo: Law would help keep farms in families
When farmland owners die without a will, their heirs are often faced with an unequal division of property. Under current law, a single heir, or a speculator who buys out the interest of just one heir, can file a partition action in court and force a...
Guest columnist Aubrey Menard: They paved paradise and put up a storage facility
Every spring, as the Valley turns green and warmth returns to the air, I look forward to pulling my bike out and going for a ride. I live in Amherst, so one of my favorite places to ride is along the Norwottuck Rail Trail, past the beautiful Hadley...
Guest columnist Andy Morris-Friedman: A wing and a prayer
It’s time to give the airplane industry its props. Despite having the doors blown off, I’m still a big supporter of the Boeing 737 Max. They call it the “Max” because it’s the most profitable plane ever produced. There is still no 100% definitive...
Laura Bogdanowicz: Excellent article on World War II hero
Thank you to the Gazette and writer Bob Flahety for publishing and honoring a local WWII hero [“World War II sailor finally coming home to Holyoke,” Gazette, Jan. 27]. Your written words, coverage, and reporting not only helped bring closure to a...
Guest columnist Dan Peters: No, you bleep: Refs have had enough
Imagine being at your workplace trying to perform your job duties and you hear your boss yell the following comments directed at you:“That’s terrible!”“Open up your eyes.”“You blew that one!”“Where are your glasses?!?!”Can you imagine trying to work...
UMass
UMass basketball: Matt Cross leads balanced Minutemen past Saint Louis for first A-10 road wi
Matt Cross led four players in double figures, scoring 19 points to propel the UMass men’s basketball team to an 84-73 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over Saint Louis on Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo.The Minutemen won on the road...
UMass basketball: Minutewomen drop 7th game in a row in 63-48 loss at Rhode Island
The UMass women's basketball team fell on the road at Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon in the Ryan Center, 63-48.It was the seventh loss in a row for UMass, which fell to 3-18 overall, 1-8 in the Atlantic 10.Stefanie Kulesza led the Minutewomen in...
UMass basketball: Minutemen look to rebound against Saint Louis; Minutewomen hope to snap skid at URI
After winning two of its first three Atlantic 10 Conference games, the UMass men’s basketball team has now lost three of its last four – including two crushing defeats at the buzzer stemming from an inability to rebound down the stretch.The Minutemen...
Slow start dooms UMass women’s basketball against Davidson
A slow start plagued the UMass women’s basketball team in its 72-42 road loss to Davidson on Wednesday night. The Minutewomen scored just eight points in the first quarter and found themselves down nine at the end of the frame. Although UMass played...
UMass basketball: Minutemen to host La Salle, Minutewomen on the road at Richmond
AMHERST — The effort and no-quit attitude that the UMass men’s basketball team showed against Dayton on Sunday was a promising sign for the Minutemen moving forward.UMass’ 64-60 loss on the road was the closest the Minutemen have come to beating the...
e-Edition
Arts & Life
‘Creole love call’: Gombo launches new music series starting Feb. 2 with jazz reedman Evan Arntzen
When John Piskor opened his Cajun-style restaurant, Gombo Nola Kitchen & Oyster Bar, in Northampton last year, he said he eventually wanted it to turn it into something akin to a New Orleans cafe, where people come out for a drink and live music after...
Earth Matters: Facing the ‘age of humans’: Should a new epoch, the Anthropocene, be initiated to reflect human impact on Earth?
As I concentrated on the computer screen, the news played in the background. A story about the environment got my attention, causing me to sit back and listen more carefully. I played the piece again to be sure I heard it correctly.In summer 2023, the...
Staying in the game: Veteran actors and teachers Raye and Candace Birk are still involved with theater after decades of performance
Looking for some talented older actors who can play a wide range of roles? Who have decades of experience in theater, film and television?Raye Birk and Candace Barrett Birk are at your service.The Florence couple, relatively new transplants to the...
The Beat Goes On: A busy couple of weeks at The Drake, a new acoustic music series in Holyoke, and more
In my last column, I mentioned that The Parlor Room in Northampton and the Marigold Theater are maintaining busy schedules right through these early, dead-of-winter days.Another area venue that keeps pumping up the music is The Drake in Amherst, and...
Speaking of Nature: Drama at the feeders: The arrival of winter means the arrival of some foul-weather friends
It appears as though winter has finally arrived. November and December (most of which is technically autumn) were very mild and all through the Christmas break the high temperatures were consistently above freezing. This resulted in little to no snow...
Obituaries
Diana L. Adair
Amherst, MA - Diana L. Adair, 70, passed away January 22, 2024. Born in Northampton, MA on July 26, 1953, she was the daughter of Howard I. Mann Sr. and Marietta Tataro. Diana grew up in Be... remainder of obit for Diana L. Adair
Philip Stanton Hall
Florence, MA - Philip Stanton Hall of Florence, MA passed away peacefully on January 22, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. He was 89. Philip was born January 30, 1934 in Bennington... remainder of obit for Philip Stanton Hall
William J. O'Neil
Hadley, MA - William J. O'Neil, 80, of Hadley, passed away surrounded by his family at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. He was born in Cambridge, MA on July 24, 19... remainder of obit for William J. O'Neil
Annick Porter
Amherst, MA - Annick Porter, beloved mother, grandmother, and friend, died December 3, 2023. It was her dear departed husband's birthday. She would have cooed at the coincidence. Annick was... remainder of obit for Annick Porter
