Keyword search: columns
By LYLE DENIT
There is much talk these days, including in letters to the Gazette, about whether it is time for the United States to push Ukraine towards a cease-fire with Russia. Their counteroffensive did not go as planned, the front lines are not moving much, and...
By J.M. SORRELL
Last month I wrote a column about fighting all forms of antisemitism. I have written a few columns about misogyny as an insidious and acceptable form of oppression in many societies including ours. Over the years, I have had this nagging feeling that...
As of 2023, there were 31.2 million elders enrolled in private Medicare plans, known as “Medicare Advantage.” For the first time, that’s more enrollees than in the “Traditional” Medicare program. Seniors choose these private companies because they see...
Dr. LYNNETTE WATKINS
To members of our community: As we approach the conclusion of 2023, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the journey we have shared this year and provide you with an update on recent developments at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. This year has been...
By AMY WIWUGA and SYLVIA GHAZARIAN
In the ongoing battle for reproductive justice, the intersection of religious beliefs and public policy casts a long shadow over the fundamental rights of individuals, particularly those in marginalized communities, including LGBTQ+ and non-binary...
By The REV. JULIE G. OLMSTED
In the Sermon on the Mount in the Bible, Jesus tells his audience: “Take out the log in your own eye before you can expect to remove the speck in your neighbor’s.”It is a friendly (and somewhat comical) admonition to discipline oneself not to judge...
By JON HUER
The most common description that liberal-democratic America uses to refer to Donald Trump’s GOP-MAGA followers is that they are “crazy.” This description seems entirely appropriate. Just watch and listen to Trump — and his followers in the street and...
By ERIC COCHRANE
Two years ago, before I moved to Somerville, a neighbor asked my thoughts on development in western Massachusetts. I have pondered the question, and have concluded that mixed-use development, when built densely and with universal design in mind, is a...
By JONATHAN KAHANE
Last week I ran into a woman I know from town in our local library. I stopped to say hello and to wish her and her family a happy holiday season. At one point during our conversation, she asked me what the subject of my next column in the Gazette...
By MICHAEL SEWARD
After about 100 years of exclusionary zoning, there was bound to be a reckoning. Antiquated and discriminatory housing policies among the towns of the Pioneer Valley resulted in a severe housing shortage. The housing proposal presented at a recent...
By THE REV. PETER KAKOS
Since you must know that hundreds of thousands of displaced women, children, and elderly of war-ravaged Gaza face cruel, imminent deaths due to starvation and infectious disease brought on by the relentless bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces,...
By CARRIE N. BAKER
Over 60 percent of Americans support abortion rights, but last year Roe was overturned and 14 states now ban abortions in most circumstances. A president who lost the popular vote by millions appointed three staunch opponents of abortion to the...
By MOLLY ARONSON, AVIV NISINZWEIG and KAIA JACKSON
What do we do with all our pain? On Saturday, Dec. 16, we walked.More than 500 of us — American and Israeli Jews, Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim community members, antiwar activists, allies — in a 25 Mile March for Palestine.Over the course of 14...
By BILL DANIELSON
Dear Reader: I can’t believe that 2023 is almost over. Next week I am going to work on my traditional Year-In-Review column, but today I have decided to give myself permission to go back to one of my favorite photos of 2023. This is a photo that I...
By MICHAEL STEIN
As a political theorist I think about democracy more than most, and this fall, as an incumbent running for re-election to the Northampton School Committee, I had an intimate view of our local political culture. What I observed was a vague yet vocal...
By MATT L. BARRON and JON WEISMANN
On Dec. 11, the U.S. House passed the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, legislation to require Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to disclose drug rebates and discounts, revealing what they pay drug makers for prescription drugs. The bill would also...
By RICHARD FEIN
My last column was about the Israel/Hamas war. It suggested that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas was winning. Now I’m posing a related question: When the current war in Gaza ends is an overall resolution to the Israel/Palestine conflict...
By RICHARD S. BOGARTZ
I remind the reader of my penchant for recreational lying, the purpose of which is not to deceive but to entertain, lest the reader misunderstand my tranquility under the threat of Trump becoming dictator for life.Whew! I am so relieved. I’d read a...
By NINA SCOTT
Richard Nicoll and his wife Martha Hanks-Nicoll live in New Salem, in a lovely house with a spectacular view. Richard is originally from the southwest of England; he finished high school and one year of Agricultural College, then came to the U.S. in...
By TOM WEINER
I want to start with the conclusion of this story, which is expressed in its simplest form in the title. Palestinians and the Jews of Israel are arguably two of the most hurt people in the annals of human history. Nowhere are the consequences of their...
By using this site, you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience, measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users
Copyright © 2016 to 2025 by H.S. Gere & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.