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By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A bill to fortify protections under a 2022 law that shields reproductive and transgender care providers from out-of-state and federal threats received a favorable report from the Senate members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday.

By LILY REAVIS

Thousands of western Massachusetts residents rallied in the streets on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies, joining the nationwide “No Kings” movement against actions they called authoritarian. Many in attendance pointed to the administration’s recent immigration raids and Trump’s federalization of the military against protesters as key drivers for their attendance.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Like their peers at the other elementary schools in Amherst and Pelham, students in the band and orchestra at Crocker Farm School took the stage at the Amherst Regional Middle School for an annual spring concert in early June, showcasing their musical talent and the instrumental music education they receive.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, through its private transportation provider Highland Electric Fleets in Beverly, will continue to electrify school buses through a $500,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

By Staff Report

HATFIELD — Indigenous medicine in western Massachusetts in the 19th century and the practice of individuals such as Huntington’s Rhoda Rhoades, known as “the Indian Doctress,” will be the subject of a Hatfield Historical Society presentation on Thursday, June 19.

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — With every race uncontested, there were no surprises in the annual town election on June 3, although the future Whately Elementary School Committee member has yet to be decided as several folks each received two write-in votes.

By RYAN AMES

The UMass hockey team’s 2025-26 roster continues to take shape as three more recruits were announced to be joining the Minutemen this past week.

By JOSEPH LEVINE

The recent murder of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington and the attack on the people attending a vigil for the Israeli captives in Gaza has poured fuel on the fire consuming the movement for Palestinians rights, supposedly justifying the harshest crackdown on protected political speech since the days of McCarthy and the congressional Un-American Activities Committee. The almost universal response to these crimes  – blaming the people who are protesting the unprecedented carnage wrought by the Israeli military in Gaza — highlights several troubling features of the state of debate over Israel/Palestine at this time.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

WILLIAMSBURG — Two weeks after residents engaged in a contentious shouting match at annual Town Meeting over easement approval needed for proposed construction of a section of a rail-trail that will eventually connect to Northampton, residents of Haydenville’s South Main Street neighborhood opposed to the project and town officials were equally apologetic at a Select Board meeting on Thursday.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

The number of calls to Northampton Fire Rescue has nearly doubled over the last decade, leading the city to expand department staffing in next year’s fiscal budget, which begins July 1.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Willow Vandoloski stares into the phone camera, a solemn expression on her face as she recounts the story of her brother’s death.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — As a divided Finance Committee recommends the Town Council adopt the $103.3 million fiscal year 2026 spending plan brought forward by Town Manager Paul Bockelman, members are preparing a letter to school officials advising them that a portion of the elementary school budget is to be considered a one-time gift.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

By SCOTT MERZBACH

By MARIETTA PRITCHARD

We don’t often discuss the war, but one day last week Olesya and I spent a few minutes doing just that. She told me with some pride about the destruction of the bridge to Crimea, which I hadn’t yet heard about. Somehow tons of explosives had been planted there. And this came on the heels of daring drone attacks on Russian air force bases. Many drones were being made by Ukrainians in their homes, she said, using 3-D printers and other easily accessible materials.

By CAROLYN BROWN

A new vegan food festival is about to take root in the Pioneer Valley.

By LISA GOODRICH

The Smiarowski family name has been a fixture in Valley farming since around 1923 when Alexander Smiarowski came from Poland, and purchased farmland in Montague for a dairy, along with cucumbers, asparagus and corn.

LEVERETT — As Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions take place across Massachusetts, with some happening in the region, a panel discussion is being held at the Mount Toby Friends Meetinghouse, 194 Long Plain Road (Route 63) Monday night.

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — The town’s search for a developer to create affordable senior housing on the former St. James Church property will continue.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — The city on Thursday closed a portion of the sidewalk in its central downtown after engineering consultants found that the section posed “an immediate risk of collapse.”

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Ever since moving to Florence 18 years ago, JoJo Howlett has had only one choice for where she fills her car with gas — the Citgo gas station in the village’s center, owned by Bob Gougeon and his family.