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One cannot escape the irony of some of the political theater we have been subjected to lately. First Donald Trump, who proposes, on day one in office, to bring manufacturing back to America, and then peddles a Bible for $59.99 printed (where else but) in China. One would think that we have plenty of printing presses in the U.S. but I guess it would be much too expensive to have an American company take on the job.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — The City Council will hold a special virtual meeting Wednesday to try and pass six financial orders relating to the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, after Ward 3 Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg raised a charter objection at the previous council meeting last Thursday that delayed a vote.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — A new building code kicks in citywide next Monday that effectively bans the use of fossil fuels in any new buildings or renovations of existing structures in Northampton.

By LISA MODENOS

By THE REV. ANDREA AYVAZIAN

Maybe you made some New Year’s resolutions a few weeks ago. Maybe you have adhered to them faithfully. Or maybe they are getting a bit frayed at the edges, modified, or abandoned.

It’s too early in the new year to read another doomsday plaint from letter writer Rutherford Platt about Picture Main Street [“The last First Night Northampton?” Jan. 6].  There are many of us in Northampton who welcome a downtown that will meet the future, despite the implementation challenges ahead.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, those of us who grieve the horrors and atrocities of that day have been, well, scared to speak up. What are we afraid of?

By JACOB NELSON

Some restaurants are once-in-a-while places. Maybe they’re a bit fancy. Maybe their menu is a bit one-dimensional. Maybe they’re great for grabbing a sandwich to-go between meetings, or a sit-down Sunday morning brunch while your parents are in town, but not both.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

The announcement of a proposed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has drawn a wide array of reactions from local organizations, activists and politicians in the Pioneer Valley and the commonwealth, many of whom have been protesting or closely following the events since the war’s beginning in October 2023.

The Academy of Music will host its first “Stitch ‘n’ Flix” movie screening — that is, a screening in which guests can bring their own craft project, like knitting or crochet, to work on while watching a movie in a theater with dimmed lighting — on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m. (The only caveat is that the project must be “self-contained” and unable to produce mess.)

By MAYOR GINA-LOUISE SCIARRA

By KAREN KAUSCHEN

Funding our schools isn’t just about supporting our children today — it’s about lowering Northampton’s long-term costs associated with crime, social services, and lost tax revenue. The narrative that restoring $2 million to the school budget will take $10 million away from future capital improvements over five years overlooks a crucial truth: every dollar invested in education generates significant returns.

This letter is in response to Olin Rose-Bardawil’s column “The case for debate in our polarized times,” [Gazette, Jan. 10].

What a refreshing experience it is to read the marvelous columns by Olin Rose-Bardawil. I salute you, Olin for your insights, offerings and critical thinking. How refreshing!

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — The director of Head Start and early learning programs in the city is joining the School Committee as Ward 2’s representative.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Area residents will have an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., both in the lead up to the Jan. 20 holiday and during a National Day of Service on Monday, as well as participate in the National Day of Racial Healing the following day.

By DOUGLAS J. AMY

In their Jan. 4 columns, both writers Joe Silverman [“Climate in the court of public opinion”] and Sarena Neyman [“Killing sparked long-overdue dialogue about greed. We need to keep talking”] seem to think that if they had better messaging campaigns, their policy proposals would be widely accepted. If only others had the proper understanding, we could finally make progress on fixing these problems. But isn’t it possible that many do understand the authors’ conclusory views on taxes, wealth, and climate change and simply disagree with them?

This most certainly is an indictment of a so-called “economic system” that supposedly melds democracy with capitalism and produced an idiot class news industry, billionaire toxicity and a world that is literally on fire.

As the Northampton City Council considers a proposed ban on fossil fuels in new buildings, I urge them to consider the price tag on the alternative.

Many thanks to Jim Bridgman for his very informative blurb in “A Look Back” in the Gazette’s Jan. 4 edition. According to his column, the Gazette reported 38 deaths in the city of Northampton for 1824, a rate of mortality of 1 out of 87, suggesting that the population of the city at that time was 3,306. Bridgman did not list the causes of those deaths, but he did describe the breakdown of deaths by age group. One-quarter of the 38 deaths that year were children under the age of 10 (26%), while one-third of all deaths (34%) were children and teens below the age of 20.