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By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — When she accepted the job more than eight years ago to become the city’s first female police chief, Jody Kasper had this message for the community: “I hope to live up to your expectations and I will do my very best to do that.”Former...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

SPRINGFIELD — A federal judge scolded both the Diocese of Springfield and the city of Northampton for needing to resort to a lawsuit to settle a dispute over the removal of five stained-glass windows at the St. Mary of the Assumption Church on Elm...

By MADDIE FABIAN

EASTHAMPTON — Following a review of a complaint accusing the School Committee of violating Open Meeting Law when it rescinded its offer to hire Vito Perrone as superintendent in March, the Attorney General’s office ruled last week that although the...

By MADDIE FABIAN

NORTHAMPTON — For many people covered under the immigration policy that offers work permits to people brought to the United States as children — known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA — this country is the only one they know....

By MADDIE FABIAN

WESTHAMPTON — In the last of seven articles on Monday’s special Town Meeting warrant, Westhampton residents will vote on whether to replace the existing Zoning Bylaw with a new document years in the making.“For the past seven years, the Westhampton...

By MADDIE FABIAN

SOUTHAMPTON — A proposed new bylaw would prohibit property owners from storing more than one unregistered vehicle or trailer on their property, with certain exceptions.The bylaw aims to regulate the storage of unregistered vehicles and “simultaneously...

By Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — Technology’s new frontiers present unique regulatory challenges for government systems that often lag behind the rates of change in fast-developing tech sectors.But some in the Legislature are trying to help orchestrate a response. Several...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — Resolving to “show up” for youth and bolster safety for all Massachusetts communities, about two dozen gun violence prevention activists gathered outside the State House last week demanding that elected leaders pass stronger gun control laws...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — A former three-term School Committee member has filed a complaint with the state accusing the School Committee of violating the Open Meeting Law when it rescinded its offer to hire Vito Perrone as superintendent in late March.Debora...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

As more police departments adopt officer-worn cameras and body cam footage becomes a more regular piece of evidence in court cases, district attorneys are finding that their statewide network that handles the footage is overloaded, leading to...

By EMILY THURLOW

SOUTH HADLEY — Residents will have a chance to weigh at a virtual public hearing Monday on two proposed bylaws that, if approved, would allow up to 25 short-term rental licenses in town.Often referenced by online platforms like Airbnb or VRBO,...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Massachusetts could become the third state in the country to decriminalize the use of several psychedelic plant-based substances, such as psilocybin mushrooms, should state lawmakers approve bills recently introduced in the Senate and House.The bills...

By EMILY THURLOW

SOUTHAMPTON — A few Southampton landowners are asserting that they are due “just compensation” from the federal government, claiming that their land has been seized for the Greenway rail trail project currently in the design phase.As part of a...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — After 50 years of service, Alan Rubin’s career as a prolific public defender is finally coming to an end.Rubin, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has seen a lot in his long career, from scandalous judges to serial killers to an...

By MICHAEL CONNORS

NORTHAMPTON — Before this year, Benjamin Maddison said he had never been pulled over by the Northampton Police Department. But during the first two months of 2020, he said, he was pulled over three times.In addition to filing complaints against...

By MICHAEL CONNORS

HOLYOKE — A monthslong investigation into a large-scale heroin trafficking operation around the Springfield area has led to the seizure of 94,000 bags of heroin and the arrest of five men, according to police.Law enforcement agencies were granted...

By MICHAEL CONNORS

NORTHAMPTON — Two and a half years after Daniel Cruz was fatally shot at Meadowbrook Apartments and his body set ablaze in a field in Hatfield, his killer, Nerkin Omar Morales, was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in state prison Tuesday.Morales, 24,...

By MICHAEL CONNORS

NORTHAMPTON — A Florence man was ordered held without bail last week on an attempted murder charge after he allegedly strangled a family member who ended up in a hospital trauma unit.Cody M. Malone, 25, was charged with attempted murder, strangulation...

By MICHAEL CONNORS

HOLYOKE — City police arrested three people and seized two handguns after responding to a Tuesday afternoon shooting in South Holyoke during which gunfire went through the windows of three apartments.Police responded to the area of Hamilton and...

By MICHAEL CONNORS

HOLYOKE — A Wednesday afternoon traffic stop on Forestdale Avenue led to the recovery of a significant amount of heroin and cocaine as well as the arrests of two city people on drug trafficking charges.Holyoke Police narcotics detectives, as well as...

By MICHAEL CONNORS

HOLYOKE — A city man was deemed dangerous by a judge Wednesday after authorities say he fired a gun on two separate occasions in one day at a man he believed was having an affair with his wife, allegedly telling police after his arrest that he wanted...