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By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A consultant has found that a former deputy superintendent at the Hampshire County jail violated state law by engaging in political activity in the run-up to September’s primary election and should not be allowed to work again at the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Two newsroom staff members at the Daily Hampshire Gazette recently won awards from the New England Newspaper & Press Association in its 2022 New England Better Newspaper Competition.Photographer Carol Lollis won a third-place award in...

By JAMES PENTLAND

CUMMINGTON — Voters had no problems approving the town’s $2,579,950 budget for next year at Town Meeting May 5, Town Clerk Brenda Emerson-Camp reported.The meeting at the Community House lasted 70 minutes and drew 48 residents, the town clerk said....

By JAMES PENTLAND

CHESTERFIELD — Voters approved all money articles and referred a petition article seeking a ban on many marijuana-related businesses to the Planning Board for further action at Town Meeting on Monday.Town Clerk Sandra Wickland reported that 111 voters...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — An Easthampton man who admitted leaving the body of his companion by the side of the road in Westford in 2019 after she overdosed in his car was sentenced to seven to eight years in state prison, according to the Middlesex District...

By JAMES PENTLAND

Firefighters quickly extinguished an early-morning garage fire Monday and prevented the blaze from spreading to the nearby home, Fire Chief David Hewes said.A neighbor of the Ireland Street home saw flames and woke up the residents around 5:30 a.m....

By JAMES PENTLAND

GRANBY — Town Meeting voters will consider a number of budget articles, but not the town budget, when they gather for the meeting’s first installment Monday. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the East Meadow Elementary School on East State Street....

By JAMES PENTLAND

CHESTERFIELD — A petition article seeking a ban on marijuana-related businesses will be voted on alongside budget items totaling just over $4.8 million when Town Meeting convenes May 8.The citizen petition follows passage of a bylaw regulating...

By JAMES PENTLAND

BELCHERTOWN — In a move that caught at least two of its members off guard, the Select Board chose a 25-year department head to be town administrator after members deemed the three finalists recommended by a search panel were not a good fit for the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

CUMMINGTON — Voters will be asked to approve a budget totaling $2,579,950 when Town Meeting convenes Friday. The bottom line is slightly lower than this year’s spending plan, aided by school spending that has dropped by $53,676 due to lower...

By JAMES PENTLAND

BELCHERTOWN — As Town Administrator Gary Brougham prepares to step down, Town Meeting voters will be asked next Monday to approve a change that would give Belchertown a town manager for the first time.The article asks voters to authorize the Select...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A Supreme Judicial Court ruling that alcohol tests given with a certain type of breathalyzer were invalid evidence in drunken-driving prosecutions between 2011 and 2019 will not affect area prosecutors’ approach to such cases.The Boston...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WILLIAMSBURG — Election to the library board of trustees is drawing interest this year, with three candidates declaring for the two three-year seats.Joy Kinigstein, Kevin McAllister and Anna Seren are all newcomers vying for seats being vacated by...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WORTHINGTON — Three candidates are seeking a single seat on the Select Board in town elections May 6.Edward “Ned” Ferguson, Ron Sampson and incumbent Stephen Smith are vying for the position. Each has posted statements on the town website.Ferguson, a...

By JAMES PENTLAND

SOUTH HADLEY — Fire District No. 1 voters will be asked to approve a $5,184,876 fire department budget and a $2,940,672 water budget at the district’s annual meeting next week.The warrant for the annual meeting contains 38 articles, including a...

By JAMES PENTLAND

SOUTH HADLEY — Town Meeting members will be asked to approve an annual operating budget of $54.27 million, an increase of 4.6%, when they gather May 10. The spending plan includes proposed general fund expenditures of $24,348,907 and a school budget...

By JAMES PENTLAND

GOSHEN — Capping a gradual transition from the business world to small-town law enforcement, Fred Bezio was recently named chief of police in Goshen. Bezio, 53, started working as a police officer seven years ago in neighboring Ashfield, where his...

By JAMES PENTLAND

SPRINGFIELD — New England Public Media’s Latino Advisory Board has resigned en masse over recent layoffs that its members say disproportionately affected people of color, despite NEPM management’s repeated assurances of its commitment to a...

By JAMES PENTLAND

SOUTH HADLEY — A Newton Street liquor store has been issued a warning after police determined that it had sold alcohol to underage customers, sometimes without checking identification.South Hadley Police said they received a tip last month from a...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — The damage to gravestones at St. Mary Cemetery that were hit by a motorist last week could amount to $125,000 or more, according to an estimate from Dorsey Memorials of Amherst.Roy Chapman, the cemetery supervisor, said Thursday it will...