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By BILL DANIELSON

During a recent lecture on evolutioin I had to explain the differences between three different processes known as geographic, temporal and behavioral isolation. Geographic isolation is the easiest of these concepts to understand because it involves...

By BILL DANIELSON

I have just about reached the end of my patience with the winter of 2024. I realize that this may sound a bit strange, especially because we are now in the beginning of spring, but those of us who bore the brunt of the April snowstorm may sympathize...

By BILL DANIELSON

It just so happens that I am a creature of habit and I always write my column on a Thursday. On this particular morning I find myself luxuriating in an unexpected, but most welcome, deviation from my normal routine. A huge winter storm has arrived and...

By BILL DANIELSON

As seems to be the case more and more often, March went out with a bang. And, in agreement with my assessment of the year from last week’s column, it seems only fitting that we experienced our most major winter storm of the season in what was...

By BILL DANIELSON

After a while, one learns what to expect with each month and each season. July is going to be hot and humid, October will be colorful and somewhat melancholy, January will be cold and sleepy, and then there is March. March is the month for which the...

By BILL DANIELSON

It was a rainy Sunday morning at the beginning of March and I was suffering from cabin fever. It hasn’t been a particularly cold winter, but I had been cooped up nonetheless. Saturday had gone by without incident, like so many Saturday’s since the new...

By BILL DANIELSON

Every week, rain or shine, winter or summer, I try to find something fun, interesting and positive to talk about in my column. This is actually an easy thing to do, but what can be somewhat problematic is finding a photo that will pair nicely with the...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Despite a tightening state budget picture, the Senate this week plans to take up a pricey early education and child care bill aimed at expanding access to education for the state’s youngest learners and making it more affordable for families,...

By BILL DANIELSON

It was the end of a very long day, but, because of the increasing daylight that we have all been enjoying, it was still light out when I got home. I pulled up to the garage, but I had to get out to open the garage door because my door opener had died....

By BILL DANIELSON

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded. I remember it being hot in the summertime, but I think the effect of this heat was most noticed by me in the autumn. The Thinking Chair...

By BILL DANIELSON

It was a cold winter’s night and my beautiful wife Susan and I were watching movies. There was a fire crackling in the wood stove, we were enjoying good food and drink and we were both all snoodled up and comfy. It was everything you could have wanted...

By BILL DANIELSON

I receive emails from readers throughout the year and I do my best to respond to them in a timely manner. Sometimes messages pile up in my inbox and sometimes things get filed incorrectly, but I genuinely do try to respond to every one. This year (the...

By BILL DANIELSON

My selection of a writing topic is not always an easy thing. Sometimes I sit down to the keyboard and find myself completely stuck. I haven’t had an idea all week and at the last minute I still find myself with nothing to focus on. These are the...

By BILL DANIELSON

It appears as though winter has finally arrived. November and December (most of which is technically autumn) were very mild and all through the Christmas break the high temperatures were consistently above freezing. This resulted in little to no snow...

By MADDIE FABIAN

As the state considers the governor’s proposed $4.13 billion Affordable Homes Act — a comprehensive roadmap for affordable housing across the Commonwealth — a group of 16 western Massachusetts legislators are advocating for amendments to meet housing...

By KYLE HIGHTOWER

FOXBOROUGH — Six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick agreed to part ways as the coach of the New England Patriots on Thursday, bringing an end to his 24-year tenure as the architect of the most decorated dynasty of the league’s Super Bowl era, a person...

By STEVE PFARRER

Early January, just after the holidays and New Year’s Eve have run their course, can be a quiet time for a lot of music venues.But The Parlor Room in Northampton has put together a pretty jam-packed schedule right through this month, starting with a...

By HANNAH BEVIS

Judy Dixon has spent most of her life playing and championing the game of tennis. The 74-year-old is constantly on the move, and her decades of hard work fighting for equity in tennis culminated in a recent unexpected honor from the United States...

By STEVE PFARRER

Like solo piano? Specifically solo piano from classically trained musicians who have infused their music with lots of other elements, from hip hop to jam band grooves to pop?If that’s the case, next Thursday, Nov. 9, you’ll have a tough choice to...

By MADDIE FABIAN

AMHERST — Why is it that the number of bills around the nation targeting the LGBTQ community has increased so much over the last few years? And what role does history play in that increase? That’s what Professor Jen Manion and Professor Khary Polk...

By MADDIE FABIAN

WESTHAMPTON — As farmers face increasing challenges due to climate change, labor shortages and rising costs, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern embarked on his 13th annual districtwide farm tour this week to hear directly from local farmers.His first stop of the...