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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Scaled-back increases in the assessments for the Amherst Regional Schools are expected to be considered by residents when Shutesbury and Leverett hold their annual Town Meetings on Saturday.But the compromise 6% increases over the current...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Javier Reyes, whose leadership of University of Massachusetts flagship campus began July 1, will be formally inaugurated as the university’s 31st chancellor on Friday morning.The inauguration ceremony, being held at the Mullins Center and...

We had a pretty little gift shop in Amherst, briefly. Botanica, open for about six months, attracted a lot of business … on the day it closed. When everything went on sale. Let's do better Amherst.Adam SiegelAmherst

By CHRIS LARABEE

In 1994, a new movement began to grow out of the Pioneer Valley, Berkshires and Hudson Valley, as a group of organic farmers banded together to form a cooperative educational program for farm apprentices.That year marked the birth of the Collaborative...

By GRACE FIORI

In 2023, Hampshire County received almost $1 million from the settlement payments of pharmaceutical companies and drug distributors involved in the opioid crisis. While Amherst received upward of $162,000 in fiscal year 2023, the town has yet to spend...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A Quincy-based temporary shelter that includes transitional housing, along with a resource center for people to find jobs, medical care and permanent homes, is being eyed as a model for how Amherst might redevelop the former VFW site at 457...

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

My column last month, “Solving humanity’s shared climate crisis” noted that greenhouse gas emissions anywhere, cause climate change everywhere. I explained the importance of the countries that have gotten rich burning fossil fuels providing funds to...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A section of Eastman Lane, from the traffic signal at East Pleasant Street to just east of the entrance to Sylvan Lot 44, is closed after a leaking drainage culvert caused a sinkhole in the road Wednesday.Jersey barriers are set up and...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Family fun, education and entertainment are expected to be part of the Amherst Sustainability Festival, being held for the 12th time on the Town Common on Saturday.Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the festival will have a number of vendors,...

By BRIDGET MILLER

Picture a quiet rural town where the charm of winding roads and open spaces should invite pleasant walks and friendly encounters. Yet, instead of a stroll, residents navigate treacherous paths and dodge traffic on roads devoid of sidewalks or safe...

It’s not really fair to use conversations with ghosts and other dead people to justify one’s personal opinion. Guest columnist Richard Bogartz admitted that he does not believe in ghosts but then uses what he believes he hears them say [“What the...

STAFF REPORT

AMHERST — Intermittent closures of the Norwottuck Rail Trail from Station Road in Amherst to Warren Wright Road in Belchertown are beginning Friday and will run through June 5.The periodic closures, which will necessitate detours, were announced by...

By JOSHUA ROSE

A few months ago, headlines flared that Peter Kaestner had seen his 10,000th bird species. This could have been anticlimactic, as Kaestner has been renowned for years among birders for traveling worldwide and seeing more species than anyone.However,...

By STEVE PFARRER

’Tis the season of gigs by artists dropping new albums.In early April, the Valley indie-folk band Cloudbelly celebrated a new disc, “i know i know i know,” with back-to-back shows at The Parlor Room in Northampton, and Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini,...

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

This week my boys and I are visiting my mom and stepdad for April break. Shortly after we arrived, they proudly gave us a tour of their new PV solar array, which they had installed on the south face of their home earlier this year. My stepdad, Rick,...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Fire Chief Walter O. “Tim” Nelson, who has led the department since early 2010, will retire from the position at the end of June, bringing to a close a more than 43-year career in fire services in which his emphasis has been on helping...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The tiny number of emergency dispatch calls directed to the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service since mid-December, when the department began taking 911 calls, is prompting worries by members of the Community Safety and...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — From their own journeys in Europe and across New England and the Northeast, and their experience in the hospitality industry, a Northampton couple is creating a market featuring wines, pantry staples and fresh, local produce in downtown...

I want to commend Sara Weinberger for her column “The appalling silence over the atrocities of October 7th” [Gazette, April 15]. As co-president of the Northampton/Amherst Chapter of Hadassah I would like to report that area residents, along with...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — An unfolded brown paper bag is being transformed, through use of crayons, pencils and paint markers, into a banner showcasing an acclaimed American naturalist, artist and academic.“I think Anna Comstock was very impressive in her work,” says...