News/Business
Former national lacrosse star reopens Valley Fabrics 8 years after closing shop
By M.J. TIDWELL
NORTHAMPTON — After an eight-year hiatus, Valley Fabrics is back — but upholstery and traditional fabrics aren’t the soupe du jour at the shop’s new Northampton digs.In March, the fabric store reopened its doors at 881 N. King St., which formerly...
Chez Albert will be 4th restaurant to close in Amherst in recent months
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A bistro serving French-style comfort food for 13 years will end its run next month, another in a line of restaurants in Amherst that have closed in recent months that have largely catered to year-round residents, visitors and...
Opa Opa Steakhouse in Southampton up for sale
By CAITLIN ASHWORTH
SOUTHAMPTON — The Opa Opa Steakhouse and Brewery on College Highway is up for sale for $799,000.The listing on Canon Real Estate’s website describes the offer as a “unique opportunity” with “many possibilities.” The business, on-site brewery...
Business 2018: One Block: Parsons Block, Maple Street, Florence
By CAITLIN ASHWORTH
THE BLOCK: Just a turn off Main Street in Florence and onto Maple Street, a variety of businesses — many that have been around for decades — are housed in what’s known as the Parsons Block.The Parsons Block, which stretches from 76-96 Maple St.,...
A dish of success: Spoleto owner still going strong 30 years on
By BERA DUNAU
NORTHAMPTON — The year is 1987. The scene is downtown Northampton. A tall, skinny young man with a beard is staring at a key outside a storefront — a key to his future. “I was contemplating how this one key was gonna change everything,” restaurateur...
Apple takes Dow over 22,000 points
By MARLEY JAY
NEW YORK — Being the world’s most valuable public company has its privileges, like getting almost all the credit for the latest stock market milestone. Apple made its biggest jump in six months Wednesday, helping send the Dow Jones industrial average...
Amazon job fairs draw crowds
By MATT O’BRIEN
FALL RIVER — Hundreds of people showed up Wednesday for a chance to pack and ship products to Amazon customers, as the e-commerce company held a giant job fair at nearly a dozen U.S. warehouses.Though it’s common for Amazon to ramp up its shipping...
Children get a prehistoric experience at Rock, Fossil and Dinosaur Shop in Deerfield
By ANDY CASTILLO
SOUTH DEERFIELD — “I’m not getting up until I find something good,” announced one youngster earlier this month while sifting through sand at The Rock, Fossil and Dinosaur Shop on Greenfield Road.Six students used shovels and screens to search for...
Stocks sag following disappointing profit reports
By STAN CHOE
NEW YORK — Stock markets around the world sagged on Friday after Amazon and other big companies reported quarterly results that underwhelmed investors.The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 3.32 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,472.10 and closed a week...
Wisconsin governor calls special session on Foxconn deal
By SCOTT BAUER
MADISON, Wis. — A wide array of Wisconsin environmental regulations would be waived in an effort to speed up construction of a $10 billion Foxconn electronics factory under a proposal Gov. Scott Walker unveiled Friday.Walker called on the...
Now hiring at Amazon: Thousands of people in 1 day
By JOSEPH PISANI
NEW YORK — Amazon plans to make thousands of job offers in just one day as it holds a giant job fair next week at nearly a dozen warehouses across the U.S.Those offered jobs on the spot will pack or sort boxes and help ship them to customers. Nearly...
US stocks edge higher; bond yields fall following Fed
By STAN CHOE
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes inched further into record territory Wednesday after AT&T, Boeing and others joined the parade of big companies reporting stronger profits than analysts expected. Stocks that pay big dividends were particularly strong...
Amazon goes on hiring spree
SEATTLE (AP) — Amazon has some job openings. Lots of them.The company said Wednesday that it’s looking to fill more than 50,000 positions across the U.S.It’s planning to make thousands of offers on the spot on Aug. 2, when it opens the doors to...
Making News
Orloski top loanoriginator in regionHOLYOKE — Beverly Orloski, vice president and mortgage consultant at PeoplesBank, was named by the Warren Group as the top loan originator by volume in western Massachusetts for the third year in a row.Orloski said...
Ford says it will fight latest Takata recall
By TOM KRISHER
DETROIT — Ford is fighting the latest expansion of the Takata air bag inflator recall.Earlier this month, Takata filed documents with the U.S. government adding 2.7 million vehicles to the recall from Ford, Nissan and Mazda. All have inflators with a...
Wall Street's Goldman Sachs moves quietly into Main Street
By KEN SWEET
NEW YORK — More homeowner, less hedge fund titan. Goldman Sachs, long known for its super-rich clients and well-connected executives, is starting to act a lot more like a neighborhood bank.The most Wall Street of Wall Street firms really wants people...
A brush with success: UMass student gains business, leadership skills by running a summer painting crew
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — An aspiring composer, University of Massachusetts senior Christopher Fonte sees public relations skills and knowledge of social media as vital to pursuing a career in music.“Whenever I have free time, I make music for video games,” says...
A twist on creepy: Granby company carves a niche in Halloween industry
By CAITLIN ASHWORTH
GRANBY — When it comes to selling Halloween costumes and props while trying to compete with retail giants like Walmart and Target, 24-year-old Zachary Gosciminski has learned to think outside the box.For his four-year-old company, Creepy Twists...
Stocks skid on worries about slower hiring, growth
By MARLEY JAY
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks took their biggest loss in more than six weeks Thursday as investors reacted to mounting evidence that hiring has slowed down. Energy and health care companies fell sharply, and so did retailers.Stocks slumped after ADP, a...
Jesse Adams graduates from first-ever Mass. Bar Association Leadership Academy
By AMANDA DRANE
NORTHAMPTON — A city attorney is among the first graduates of a leadership program offered by the Massachusetts Bar Association.Jesse Adams, who served for seven years on the Northampton City Council, stands among the new program’s 21 fellows who...
