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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Standing on the steps of the downtown Amherst church he now calls home, Lucio Perez on Thursday afternoon asked the community to provide him strength as he continues to face the possibility that he will be deported and separated from his...

By LISA SPEAR

When Dusty Miller of Belchertown would pick up her cat Mary Clare, the kitty would wrap its little legs around her shoulders in a kind of hug. When Miller was sad, Bardsley, her other cat, would cuddle up to her.But two summers ago, both pets...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Holding signs with words criticizing the media, blasting feminism and slamming Hillary Clinton, Phil O’Connell has been a frequent presence on the sidewalks of downtown Amherst.Even though his political views may differ from many of those...

By LISA SPEAR

Sunlight streams in through the sliding glass doors as Lynne and Ron Dutton sit at their dining room table on a recent Saturday sipping cups of dark roast coffee, spiked with shots of liqueur. They can feel the room swaying, but it’s not because...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Fresh pavement has been put down and new curbs are being installed as the roundabout at the northern end of downtown continues to take shape.Crews from Warner Brothers LLC, of Sunderland, and Caracas Construction Corp., of Ludlow, are at the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — While improvements to the 1928 Jones Library are on hold, library officials believe the state is endorsing the expansion and renovation project by putting it on a funding waiting list. Critics of the project, however, see being wait-listed...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

WORTHINGTON — With limited fire hydrants in the Hilltowns, a new special type of fire truck will allow Worthington firefighters to more quickly extinguish fires by transporting 3,000 gallons of water to blazes and more easily drawing water from other...

By LISA SPEAR

Despite the prevalence of tick-borne Lyme disease warnings in our area, avid outdoorsman Joe Larson, 74, of Pelham never worried. Ticks crawled on his arms and legs almost every day on walks in the woods behind his home – but when they bit him, he...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Regular fare increases ensure that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which oversees the buses, trains and subways that make up the T in the Boston area, has sufficient revenue for operations and capital projects.But as the largest...

By STEVE PFARRER

 Carol Neubert took piano lessons for several years when she was growing up, learned to read music and figured out how to play the instrument — to a degree.“My right hand can play the piano well, and my left hand plays well, but they do not play well...

By LISA SPEAR

Millions of bacteria line the inside of our guts. We have more bacteria in our bodies than cells, and these little critters are working to help us break down and digest the food we eat —  without them we wouldn’t be able to survive — so it would seem...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Around 300 service workers employed at Cooley Dickinson Hospital will join a labor union following the results of a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board Thursday.But ballot challenges and a narrow margin...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — For the sixth year, Iraqi students spending part of their summer at the University of Massachusetts will share stories about their country and its many cultures during a fundraising event for the Amherst Senior Center.The students in the...

By LISA SPEAR

The Pioneer Valley has one of the highest instances of breast cancer in the state, so it is especially important for women here to get screened, ideally in a comfortable environment. That is one major reason Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton is...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Adjusting parking regulations in downtown Amherst to encourage regular turnover of spaces and to make it easier for visitors to find parking will not be enacted until later this summer.A divided Select Board Monday postponed decisions on a...

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...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — After 16 months and 60 meetings, the Charter Commission recommended Thursday that a 13-member town council and professional town manager replace Town Meeting and the Select Board.The commission, established by voters in March 2016 to examine...

By STEVE PFARRER

A hundred years ago, there was one relatively efficient way of crossing the country: by rail. To do it by road required using a patchwork of mostly unimproved surfaces — dirt, gravel, and sometimes just sand — on motorized vehicles that were still in...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A 19th-century farmhouse in North Amherst that has been used as a college-student rental in recent years could be demolished, along with an adjacent barn, to make way for another phase of the Mill District development.The Historical...

By LISA SPEAR

It’s a Monday night and Em Peyton, 59, of Putney, Vermont is in a room full of strangers in the basement of Forbes Library in Northampton where everyone is acting silly and laughing hard.Peyton curls her fingers into claws and bares her teeth as she...