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By JACK SUNTRUP

Two Massachusetts state senators told the Gazette Monday lawmakers would need to “get to the bottom” of why a proposed high-speed rail study was stripped from the state’s budget in closed-door negotiations last week. The $40.2 billion spending...

By JACK SUNTRUP

ABOARD THE THUNDERBUSTER — “Pull the lever and gooooo!” a farmer shouted at Paul Sena, a burly 63-year-old with shoulder-length gray hair who has been flying hot air balloons since 1991.The farmer was brush-hogging goldenrod on his plot in Hatfield on...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — The River Valley Co-op and the union representing its employees have reached an agreement over long-simmering shuttle and leafleting complaints.The two sides also announced on Monday higher wages for the cooperative’s lowest-paid...

By JACK SUNTRUP

EASTHAMPTON — If it were up to Tim Sharrow, all cellphone use would be banned in cars.He has seen distracted drivers rear-end people, distracted drivers slow to go when the light turns green, distracted drivers who don’t seem to realize the...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — Forget Pokémon cards, or whatever children are trading these days. The newest craze could be trading cards featuring Northampton cops.On Tuesday, Police Chief Jody Kasper announced a new trading card initiative designed to strengthen...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — Despite recent news cycles not dominated by health care — think Russia, “covfefe” and climate change — the fate of the American health system remains very much an issue.On Sunday, about 60 activists held a “die-in” at Pulaski Park in...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — Oprah Winfrey walked her cocker spaniel Sadie downtown Sunday morning, early enough to see the sunrise “extend and expand its warming glow over an already beautiful Northampton.”Winfrey used the allegory to describe how her...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — For the second day in a row, the region saw record high temperatures as Mother Nature offered an early summer preview. According to the National Weather Service, it was 96 degrees in Hartford, Connecticut, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday,...

By JACK SUNTRUP

SOUTH HADLEY — For at least one parent at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Public Charter School, news of head of school Scott Goldman being placed on administrative leave in the twilight of his time at the charter school affirmed her thoughts on the...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HOLYOKE — The Connecticut River powered over the Holyoke Dam Sunday under an overcast sky, and hundreds of people stopped to see it.From Route 116’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, that view is not a new one. But for the first time ever, MassDOT on...

By JACK SUNTRUP

The Western New England University women’s lacrosse team caught headlines over the weekend, but the news had nothing to do with on-the-field play.Instead, the team attracted the attention of administrators and a social media backlash over the...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HADLEY — Voters enacted a moratorium on recreational marijuana, approved the town’s budget plan and shunned sending $10,000 to Northampton to fund courthouse renovations at Hadley’s annual Town Meeting Thursday night.Select Board Chairwoman Molly...

By JACK SUNTRUP

The state has completed a first-round probe into lead and copper levels in school water sources, and found 21 out of 25 participating Hampshire County schools have high levels of lead in at least one fixture.The voluntary program, coordinated by the...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — More than two months after the cancellation of High-Five Friday rattled Northampton, the school district announced Monday a permanent police liaison to its elementary schools.The four district elementary schools have lacked a steady law...

By JACK SUNTRUP

DEERFIELD — At a Massachusetts Department of Transportation depot in Deerfield, there’s a corner behind the heavy machinery and garages dedicated to signs plucked from the side of state roads.The signs advertise open houses, garage sales and political...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HADLEY — If you’ve been hunting for just the right scarf or purse, The Lady Bugs Women’s Club of Hadley might just have the answer. The club is hosting a scarf and purse sale at the Hadley Council on Aging from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.Jeanne...

By JACK SUNTRUP

FLORENCE — Jim’s Variety Store in Florence was robbed Wednesday night, the second time the convenience store’s cash register has been plundered since January.Northampton Police Department Capt. John Cartledge said in a news release that a male suspect...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HATFIELD — One of the producers of the Hatfield Public Schools’ production of the musical “Grease” promises an “electrifying” experience.“The kids are phenomenal. ‘Grease’ is just a fun show for kids to do,” Randi Poirier said. “It’s downright...

By JACK SUNTRUP

SOUTHAMPTON — When 16-year-old Damien Cox caught a faint burning smell Sunday afternoon, he assumed the scent was wafting from a neighbor’s kitchen. It was Easter, after all.“So we didn’t think anything of it,” he said.Later, his godfather spotted the...

By JACK SUNTRUP

ORANGE — Rodney Flagg sat under a lamp at the front of his bait and tackle shop tying up a batch of Winnie Squid flies. Every so often, the front door squeaked open, and a fisherman walked in.“That time of year!” one told Flagg, 79. The angler would...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HADLEY — In politics, sometimes a handful of votes makes the difference.In this case, all it took to propel 38-year-old Keith Shannon to the School Committee were three write-in votes — from himself, his wife Geri Labay and a family friend. He said...