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By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A revised club alcohol license for the Young Men’s Club that offers more flexibility for where members and their guests can be served and consume alcohol at the 138 East St. property, including on an outside deck, has been approved by the...

By MARTIN MILLER

The Amherst Town Council will be making a very important decision at an upcoming December meeting. I, along with a likely majority of voters (based on the results of the town vote in 2021), are asking that the council vote in favor of amending the...

By JEFF LEE

Next week the Amherst Town Council will be deciding whether to add $9,860,100 to the $35.3 million borrowing authorization it approved in 2021 to pay for a renovation and expansion of the Jones Library that has been years in planning. Given Amherst’s...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — With supporters describing it as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity, voters at Monday’s special Town Meeting approved the acquisition of the old St. James Church at 85 North Main St. The purchase of the property for $420,000 with...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Shutesbury’s Conservation Commission, bringing a series of new and revised wetlands regulations forward for public review, is continuing a hearing on the proposal Wednesday night, after being forced to delay taking input when the virtual...

By SOPHIE HAUCK

HOLYOKE — Three candidates for the open Holyoke Ward 7 City Council seat will compete in a preliminary election Tuesday to determine which two contenders advance to the November general election.Eileen Brady Leahy, Meagan Magrath-Smith and Steve N....

By SOPHIE HAUCK

HOLYOKE — The Holyoke School Committee voted unanimously to petition state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley to release the city’s public schools from state receivership during a special meeting on Monday night.All eight committee members appeared...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst Town Hall’s large granite steps, in place since the building opened at the corner of Main Street and Boltwood Avenue in 1889, have been dismantled and removed as part of an ongoing repair project.Since the project began June 19, the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Earl Miller, Amherst’s director of the unarmed police alternative Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service department, is on paid administrative leave until the completion of an independent investigation, according to town...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — All of the town’s more than 5,000 rental units would be inspected at least twice a decade for building and health code compliance rather than waiting for a complaint to prompt an inspector to investigate under a proposed revamp of rules...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Hadley officials are interested in buying new budgeting software to assist various financial and personnel offices at Town Hall, though this will come at a potential cost of more than $25,000 annually.The Select Board last week unanimously...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Residents who live on a cul-de-sac in South Amherst and deal with regular flooding on the road, and the deterioration of pavement the standing water causes, are making a new appeal to the Town Council and town officials for a specific plan...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Regulating large-scale solar projects proposed for land that is actively being farmed or is significantly wooded remains a sticking point for an Amherst committee attempting to write a solar bylaw to be adopted by the Town Council.“It’s...

By JAMES PENTLAND

PLAINFIELD — A dispute between town officials and two residents over alleged health, building and wetlands violations at their property has devolved into a legal stand-off, with the residents flouting a court order to permit inspections.Town officials...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — More details about how to spend the remaining $4.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act money Amherst has available are expected to be presented to the Town Council on Monday.Town Manager Paul Bockelman said this week that he anticipates...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HATFIELD — Money to move the cable control room for the public access station from Smith Academy to Memorial Town Hall is included in a new 10-year contract between the town and Comcast.On Tuesday, the Select Board, acting as the Cable Television...

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — After hearing more than an hour of testimony from numerous residents, the Selectboard deemed a dog dangerous and ordered it be confined to its owner’s property.With reports from several people around town, Police Chief James Sevigne Jr. and...

By JAMES PENTLAND

GRANBY — Town and school budgets and other major expenditures will be presented to voters for approval when the second half of the annual Town Meeting gets underway Monday, June 5.What isn’t on the warrant this year but could be in the near future...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HATFIELD — The town election on May 16 will feature contested elections for three-year seats on the Select Board and Board of Health, and the three-year position as town clerk.With nomination forms due late last month, the ballot will feature a...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A $15 million low-interest loan will be provided to Amherst by the state’s Clean Water Trust so the town can move forward with rebuilding the Centennial water treatment plant in Pelham.Trustees for the Clean Water Trust last week announced...