News
Doors open at Tilton Library’s temporary home at South Deerfield Congregational Church
By CHRIS LARABEE
SOUTH DEERFIELD — It was business as usual at Tilton Library on Wednesday morning — just in a slightly different location.The library reopened Wednesday in its temporary space at the South Deerfield Congregational Church, 71 North Main St., just a few...
Community Action Pioneer Valley presents awards to volunteers and supporters
By CHRIS LARABEE
GREENFIELD — For the first time since the pandemic, Community Action Pioneer Valley welcomed volunteers, legislators and community partners for its annual meeting — and celebrated an important milestone, too.The regional supportive service agency...
Public to weigh in on amenities they’d like to see at War Memorial Pool site in Amherst
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — An ongoing feasibility study is examining how the area around the War Memorial Pool, a 2-acre site in downtown Amherst close to Amherst Regional High School, can be revitalized into a popular destination for families.While the pool was...
Loan program aims to ease burden of home energy retrofits
By COLIN A. YOUNG
BOSTON – Hoping to accelerate the switch to clean energy technologies, the climate bank at MassHousing recently announced a new financing product that aims to make $20 million in loans available over the next two years to help homeowners cover the...
A Look Back, May 4
By JIM BRIDGMAN
200 Years Ago ■Lord & Hutchinson (two doors north of Warner’s Coffee House) keep constantly on hand a complete assortment of ladies’ shell combs; also, a great variety of fancy articles, fruits, toys for children, etc. Shell combs mended with or...
State legislative panel spurns ballot measures
By CHRIS LISINSKI
BOSTON — The next phase in the fight over half a dozen major and pressing policy proposals kicked off Wednesday with a common feature on Beacon Hill: lawmakers recommending that the Legislature not take action.A special committee tasked with...
Holyoke Police Chief Pratt retiring: ‘It’s time to go’
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
HOLYOKE — After more than 30 years of serving on the force, Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt has announced he will be retiring from his post, effective the end of July.Pratt, who has served as chief since 2021, announced his resignation at a press...
Settling in on the streets: Six months on, Division of Community Care finding niche in Northampton
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — In September, the city launched an experiment to try to create an alternative to police responses to address issues of mental health, homelessness and social inequities in the city.The Division of Community Care, which opened its doors...
Democracy’s defense marches on: Constitutional lawyer, activist daughter highlight annual Law Day event
By JAMES PENTLAND
NORTHAMPTON — Raised into activism and grassroots organizing, Marisol Pierce Bonifaz cites two key events that, for her, served as calls to action: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s dismissive response to youth activists pushing for the Green New Deal, and...
Valley writers shine in initial round of Mass Book Award competition: 12 area authors and author/illustrators long-listed for 2024 awards
By STEVE PFARRER
NORTHAMPTON — It’s been another good year for Valley writers.Twelve area authors (and author/illustrators) have had new work long-listed for the 2024 Massachusetts Book Awards, presented annually by the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) in five...
Hadley Town Meeting OKs battery storage bylaw, honor Chunglo for service
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — A bylaw to allow stand-alone battery storage facilities in town, though prohibit them in the aquifer protection district, and spending that includes a $21.7 million fiscal year 2025 municipal operating budget were easily approved at annual...
Southampton Town Meeting on Tuesday to weigh land buy for safety complex
By Alexa Lewis
SOUTHAMPTON — Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve a major land acquisition that officials envision would one day be home to a new public safety complex. Voters will also consider a $21 million operating budget when they convene on Tuesday.A...
Select board race between Gilmore, Shores Ness tops Deerfield ballot on Monday
By CHRIS LARABEE
DEERFIELD — Topping Monday’s election ballot is a race for Select Board between longtime incumbent Carolyn Shores Ness and political newcomer but longtime Deerfield resident Blake Gilmore, as the two candidates seek to address residents’ concerns...
Around Amherst: Primary schools piloting foundational reading program
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A foundational skills reading program, known as Magnetic Foundations, is being piloted by eight teachers in the four Amherst and Pelham elementary schools as the focus of an elementary literacy curriculum review this school year.Mary Kiely,...
1989 homicide victim found in Warwick ID’d through genetic testing, but some mysteries remain
By DOMENIC POLI
GREENFIELD — It took nearly 35 years, but the human remains found just off Route 78 in Warwick in 1989 have been identified as belonging to Constance (Holminski) Bassignani, who was 65 years old at the time of her murder.The Northwestern District...
A Look Back, May 3
50 Years Ago■An enthusiastic crowd of 75 to 100 people took part in a ballroom dancing revival at the Hotel Northampton Sunday night. Edward Brandt of 28 Columbus Ave., who with his wife Caroline instructed the group, said Monday that those attending...
Debt-burdened students, grads rally for relief
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Responsible for $135,000 in student debt, Amherst resident Ian Rhodewalt observes that during the yearslong federal pause in making loan repayments during the pandemic, he and his family were able to get a vehicle, to replace a broken-down...
ValleyBike to roll again by end of May in eight communities throughout Valley
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — After nearly a year of inactivity, the ValleyBike Share program is poised to roll again throughout the Pioneer Valley.After Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra teased an announcement regarding ValleyBike on Monday, the city announced Thursday it...
Amherst College store opens downtown in former Hastings space
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A new retail store carrying assorted Amherst College merchandise, as well as school supplies, tech accessories and snacks, is open at 45 South Pleasant St., as demolition of a building immediately to the south, and removal of an attached ell...
3-unit, 10-bed house in backyard called too much for Amherst historic district
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Construction of a three-unit, 10-bedroom home behind an existing home at 98 Fearing St., in the North Prospect-Lincoln-Sunset Local Historic District is inappropriate for the neighborhood, according to a panel that reviews projects and...
