Commentary
Guest columnist Jeff Lee: Amherst and Hadley far apart in property tax burden
By JEFF LEE
The state Division of Local Services (DLS) maintains a wealth of economic data on Massachusetts cities and towns. In particular, the DLS tracks the average value of a single-family home in each community, and the average annual property tax levied on...
Columnist Joanna Buoniconti: The voice that I earned
The smell of harsh antiseptic stings my nostrils — even through my mask. Every six months it’s the same routine for the physical therapy re-evaluation, which is a requirement for me to receive insurance authorization approval for the treatment of my...
Darcy DuMont column: Moving from gas to induction cook stoves
Thank the Lord we in Massachusetts don’t suffer most of the culture wars that rage elsewhere in this crazy country. Recently, along the lines of “They’re taking our hamburgers away!”, conservatives raised the specter that, “They’re taking our gas...
Kathleen Traphagen: Support the teachers in Amherst-Pelham association
As an Amherst resident and Amherst Regional Public Schools parent, I attended the Amherst-Pelham Education Association forum on Feb. 2. I wish everyone in town could have been there.I heard the stories of many educators. They are hurting. They are...
Michael Hutton-Woodland: Roe v. Wade marks 50 years
Roe v. Wade marks 50 years Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the consequential decision by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade to protect the constitutional right to abortion for all pregnant people. As readers probably are aware,...
UMass service workers pavilion a ‘bad idea’
By Michael Weiler
Since the COVID pandemic began, UMass’s 1,400 service staff workers have done extraordinary, even heroic work. To recognize them, an anonymous donor has pledged $7 million dollars to construct a pavilion on UMass land, dedicated to service staff....
A Sideways Glance with Richard Bogartz: Error is ordinary, natural, and ubiquitous
Bill Belichick, Patriots football coach, says making mistakes and corrections is part of every game on all levels: playing, coaching, decision making, overall strategy, everything. Obviously, errors also occur outside sports. The list is endless....
John Kinchla: Municipal electric companies and energy costs
Recent reporting on utility rate increases has overlooked an important exception to this trend. Municipal light plants (MLP), which are municipally owned electric companies, have been able to control costs without excessive price increases....
Jonathan Klate: What Biden should say
Here is what I would like President Biden to say in response to the discovery of classified documents under his control from his tenure as vice president at a residence and a think tank, beyond his stated and appropriate intent to cooperate with an...
Martha Terry: Encourages input on short-term rentals bylaw
I am writing to alert South Hadley citizens of a public hearing to be conducted by the Planning Board regarding the proposed short-term rental zoning bylaw and proposed short-term rental general bylaw. A virtual public hearing will be held on Monday,...
Linda Young: Short-term rentals at what cost?
South Hadley residents, what do you want your town to look like come this summer? On Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. the Planning Board is hosting a Zoom meeting to hear your thoughts on short-term rentals, possibly by right. What does this mean? The home next to...
Deborah Lee Leonard: Lessons from the past
The elementary school project that would have been completed in 2019 had a total estimated cost of $67.2 million, of which the town would have paid $33.2 million with a grant from the MSBA of $34 million. The current elementary school project, if it...
Dave King: Our forests need help
Kate Lindroos’ column “In the fight against logging, conspiracy takes the (profitable) reins,” (Gazette, Jan. 18) points out how the International Panel on Climate Change acknowledges that forest management can help mitigate climate-related risks to...
Irv Rhodes: Black people don’t need ‘safe spaces to talk’
Almost every time we plan or discuss AHRA (African Heritage Reparations Assembly) listening sessions or forums, some of our members inevitably say that we must provide “a safe space for Black people to speak,” or some variation on that theme. This...
Lorna Ritz: Fire in the neighborhood
Every evening I go for a sunset walk. On Saturday, I put my jacket and gloves on, but when I went out my front door, my eyes were telling me something too extraordinary to take in. The house across the street from me was on fire. I ran for the phone...
Kevin Collins: Money does not grow on trees
On Jan. 30, 2017, Rita K. Burke and 91 other Town Meeting members voted to overturn the results of a fair and legal election in which the voters of Amherst accepted a 5% override for two co-located schools. According to your article on last week’s...
Columnist Johanna Neumann: Saying ‘farewell’ to fluorescents
How many Americans does it take to change a light bulb? To change one bulb now should only take one of us. However, to change all our bulbs in the coming years will require millions of us — and the best way to initiate that action is through the...
Mary Hayden Hall: People and the planet
Every human life is precious. And that is why it is so very tragic that so many people subsist in unbearable conditions. Just yesterday, I listened to a story on public radio about Nigeria, where it seems most everyone is trying to leave the country....
Carol Johnson: Grateful pols support for Jones project
In her Jan. 6 letter to the editor, Rita Burke refers to the Jones Library as being the 22nd largest public library in Massachusetts as reason to forego state and federal funding for renovation and expansion. In fact, the Jones Library is not the 22nd...
Columnist Tolley Jones: Claiming ownership
Two hundred and twenty-two years, seven months, and seven days ago, my ancestor Lucia, an enslaved woman and mother of two small girls, decided to risk capture, beatings, death, and being sold away from her children to escape her enslaver — her abuser...
