Commentary

Doug Yourga and Jeanne Horrigan: Amherst Senior Center needs help

We serve as volunteers on behalf of the elderly population of the town of Amherst. We represent the interests of more than 5,500 senior citizens and concerned members of their families through the Friends of the Amherst Senior Center and the Amherst...

Guest columnist Maria José Botelho: Obituaries hold time still on others’ lives

By MARIA JOSÉ BOTELHO

I’m grateful to find out that there’s another faithful reader (and writer) of obituaries in our community [“There’s just a lot of life in the obits” by Marietta Pritchard, Gazette, Jan. 3].I have been reading obituaries since I could read in English...

Guest columnist Marietta Pritchard: There’s just a lot of life in the obits

By MARIETTA PRITCHARD

Have I mentioned that I read the obituaries in the Gazette every morning before I start my day? Does this sound depressing? I don’t find it so. It somehow anchors things for me.I can learn about people in my community and about how they or their...

Columnist Darcy Dumont: Towns taking lead on climate action

By DARCY DUMONT

Action on climate has been accelerating in the last year in Massachusetts municipalities. I wrote about leading municipalities in this column back in March 2021, and in other columns focusing on Northampton and on Ithaca, New York.Much has happened...

Guest columnist John Varner: Opposing Leverett megaproject only common sense

By JOHN VARNER

While it is true that racism has been behind some zoning restrictions, racism is not the only reason zoning restrictions exist.Is all zoning racist? This is certainly what some real estate people want you to think, based on nearly a full page of...

Patricia Crosby: Support nuclear disarmament policy resolutions

In these very uncertain times, full of conflict and violence but also resolution and hope, the Mount Toby Monthly Meeting of Friends strongly endorses a set of policy solutions regarding nuclear disarmament that have been proposed by the grassroots...

David Ahlfeld: Cease-fire and negotiation needed in Ukraine

Cease-fire and negotiation are the best way forward in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Recent columns in the Gazette have argued against a cease-fire by citing the need to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine and to avoid rewarding...

Gerald Weiss and Jenifer McKenna: U.S. must act to stop killing of children  

Killing thousands of children will not make Israel safer. We call on the U.S. government to stop sending Israel the means to continue that killing.Gerald Weiss and Jenifer McKennaAmherst 

Jan Norris: Republicans are not ‘out of touch’

A recent letter writer claimed the Republicans are “out of touch.” [”State Republicans out of touch,” Gazette, Dec. 17]. Huh? Has the writer looked at the state of our country over the last three years under Democrat control? Has anything improved for...

Bennett Hazlip: Donated trees a boost for Amherst 

If you bought a Christmas tree last year, you know that the price of a tree has risen significantly. Rising prices aren’t limited to Christmas trees, either — the price of trees from nurseries has been steadily rising for years.For municipal tree...

Guest columnist Marietta Pritchard: There’s just a lot of life in the obits

By MARIETTA PRITCHARD

Have I mentioned that I read the obituaries in the Gazette every morning before I start my day? Does this sound depressing? I don’t find it so. It somehow anchors things for me.I can learn about people in my community and about how they or their...

Columnist John Sheirer: Why Trump will lose again

By JOHN SHEIRER

Four years ago, my column in this newspaper predicted that Donald Trump would lose the 2020 presidential election. Readers who opposed Trump told me, “I wish I had your optimism,” or “That’s what you said in 2016,” or “His crazies have gotten worse...

Hollie Kalkstein: No military answers in Gaza

In the Bible story of King Solomon and two women claiming to be the mother of one baby, wisdom shines when Solomon asks for a sword to cut the baby in two. One mother relinquishes her claim so that the baby may live. Solomon knows the baby must belong...

Brian Cooper: Train travel not so great

My eyes rolled a bit when I read about how wonderful and convenient it is that we can take an Amtrak train between Northampton and New York City (“More Aboard!” Gazette, Dec. 27). It certainly is convenient for the city dweller without a family car,...

Philip Carter: Leverett housing column missed details 

In a Dec. 29 guest column, writer Michael Seward suggests that opposition to the proposed housing development in Leverett is racist and immoral (“Leverett housing a counter to injustice”). However, he neglects to describe the project being proposed.It...

Guest columnist Michael Seward: Leverett housing a counter to injustice

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...

Guest columnist Eric Cochrane: Welcome to neighborhood in Leverett

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...

Margaret Mastrangelo: ‘No’ vote on ladder truck shortsighted 

I was disappointed by the recent vote in Hadley not to fund a much-needed, new ladder firetruck to replace the one which is 23 years old. Our existing ladder truck has a 75-foot ladder that is too short to safely fight fires that occur in buildings...

Sean Valentine: Voter choice does not exist in a vacuum

Recently I have read many an article from many an erudite legal scholar saying that the 14th Amendment should not bar Mr. Trump from running for office. Many argue that the "democratic" thing to do is to allow voters to decide. If we feel he isn't...

Wendi Weinberg: Contemplating what is possible

I happen to be living in a time when now I know what deep fear feels like. It is possible that 2024 could be our last election … if a want-to-be dictator takes over the White House and disassembles the structure of governing I’ve known all my...