Commentary
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...
Stephen Armstrong: House Speakership
Two years ago, a crowd of hysterical insurrectionists stormed the Capitol to block the counting of electoral votes. Taking their cue from Trump, 147 distempered Republicans voted to throw a valid election into Never-Never Land. Five police officers...
Elizabeth Vierling: Consistency needed when vetting development
I would like to compliment the Amherst Planning Board and staff on their discussion at the Jan. 4, 2023 meeting of the development by ServiceNet of transitional housing on Belchertown Road. The staff and board engaged in consideration of landscaping...
Guest columnist Robin Jaffin: Instead of a pavilion, give UMass service workers bonuses
By Robin Jaffin
While I was walking with my dog around the property and trails that surround the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Renaissance Studies building on the UMass campus, I noticed a Bobcat tractor ripping out the perennial beds behind the former Dakin home. I...
Local and Green with Darcy Dumont: Climate action in the new year: A tale of two cities
There are three things towns need in order to take bold climate action: staff, money and commitment.Adequate staffing is needed in operating budgets to actually implement climate action plans at a meaningful pace. Climate action requires planning,...
Gavin J. Grant: Town needs less armed police
I’m writing in response to Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone’s comment — in reporter Scott Merzbach’s story “Police staffing woes hit department morale” (Gazette, Dec. 26) — that “The most dangerous thing for a community is a police department...
Scottie Faerber: Grateful for Cooley Dickinson Hospital
“Kindness is the beginning of healing.” The words of my transport worker at Cooley Dickinson Hospital as he delivered me to my husband’s car after a 3-day stay for treatment and a minor surgical procedure. We are so blessed in the valley to have such...
Amanda Alix: Two sides to Shutesbury Library story
I was present at the meeting on which the recent Amherst Bulletin and Gazette article, “Officials may limit access to library site,” is based and find it so full of inaccuracies that it should be retracted. To wit: The subtitle, “Encounter between...
Guest columnist Claire Morenon: Resolutions in the face of climate change
By CLAIRE MORENON
Many of us take a break from work and spend time gathering with loved ones at this time of year, providing an opportunity for reflection and contemplation alongside the merriment. As this year closes and we look ahead, we ask: What world will each of...
A Sideways Glance with Richard Bogartz: How’s this for Amherst’s new name? Emily
By RICHARD S. BOGARTZ
Happy New Year! For years I’ve quietly favored changing our town’s name. Recently I encountered and signed a petition (https://www.change.org/p/rename-the-town-of-amherst-massachusetts) titled “Rename the town of Amherst Massachusetts” started by...
Michael Diamond: Town needs to finish Amethyst Brook bridge
The rebuilding of the main bridge at Amethyst Brook has been stalled for many months. The main bridge, leading to all paths, was destroyed during an epic storm in 2017, during which trees and 500-pound ice boulders were swept down stream, crushing the...
Columnist Russ Vernon-Jones: A meaningful step in an unfinished journey
It’s hard to know what to make of the UN climate conference, COP27, in Egypt last month. Coming into the “conference of the parties,” the delegates found encouragement in the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, who has pledged to...
Guest columnist Gary Bernhard: The spirit of party
By GARY BERNHARD
We live in an age of profound political division. The two major parties are so far apart that they spend most of their time excoriating each other instead of working through their differences to develop legislation that benefits all the people, the...
