News

Around Amherst: Council president seeks more Fair Share, PILOT funding

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Better funding for roads and education, along with restructuring the payment in lieu of taxes program for state-owned property in Amherst to better account for the impacts of the University of Massachusetts, are among requests Amherst...

Amherst council proposal to curb public comment sets off residents

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A proposal to limit public comment at Town Council meetings to 30 minutes and restrict access for nonresidents is drawing fire from some who say the change is a “bad look,” unnecessary and a way to silence marginalized communities.“This not...

College binge drinking on ‘borgs’ leads to record visits to Cooley Dickinson Hospital

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — It’s the kind of record that a community doesn’t want to see their local hospital break, but that’s exactly what happened Saturday when alcohol consumption among college-age people contributed to a record number of ambulance arrivals over a...

UMass students: ‘Everyone’ was drinking from borgs

By MADDIE FABIAN

AMHERST — Another “Blarney Blowout,” the annual unsanctioned St. Patrick’s-inspired party, has come and gone at UMass Amherst. Each year, the celebration that kicks off spring break is filled with rowdy drinking, but this year nearly 30 students were...

Amherst Police Chief Livingstone stepping down in May

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone will retire in May after nearly 14 years leading a department he joined upon graduating from Granby High School in 1977.“This has been just an incredible journey over the last 46 years,” Livingstone...

Unions to school committees: Ditch mediation and return to negotiating table

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A speech language pathologist at the regional high school says an unsettled employee contract is the latest in a litany of frustrations she and her colleagues have had to grapple with this academic year — a comment echoed by many of the 75...

Hadley Media launches survey in advance of cable renewal

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A once-a-decade cable renewal process is getting underway with a community survey being put together by Hadley Media.Hadley Media Director Alex LaMarche on Tuesday announced that residents’ input on the Charter Spectrum service is being...

Arts Briefs: Four Sundays program returns to Northampton, UMass alumna wins major opera competition, and more

Four Sundays (and a few Saturdays and weekdays)NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Arts Council’s “Four Sundays” program, which has gone through a bit of an evolution in the last few years, is back again in yet another format.The original program, “Four...

Around Amherst: Resolution establishes town’s first COVID-19 Memorial Day

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst marked its first COVID-19 Memorial Day this week following the adoption of resolution to remember victims and survivors of the virus.The Town Council recently adopted a proclamation submitted by community members and...

Leverett’s old library building in town center remains in limbo

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — A municipal building in town center that for 87 years served as the town’s library, and for the past two decades has been a repository for historic objects held by the Leverett Historical Society, continues to have an uncertain...

Man, cats removed from Hadley home with no heat, running water

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — More than a dozen cats are being removed and relocated to area animal shelters after living in a Hadley home with no electricity, heat or running water.The owner of the home at 64 North Maple St., Ronald Nester, has also moved to an area...

Investigators crack 44-year-old cold case, identify ‘Granby Girl’

By JAMES PENTLAND

GRANBY — Recent advances in DNA technology and dogged police work have confirmed the identity of a woman who had been known only as “Granby Girl” since her extensively decomposed body was found in the woods off Amherst Road in November 1978.The woman,...

Around Amherst: Drive for food co-op grows toward 1,000-member goal

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A long-planned effort to bring a cooperative grocery store to town remains in the planning stages, with 900 member-owners already signed up.To get to the next stage of development, and the 1,000 member-owner plateau, the Common Share Food...

Amherst planners seek ways to increase housing density

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Several mixed-use buildings featuring numerous apartments have opened or are being built throughout Amherst, a construction trend that is not abating even as a required street level retail component is not always immediately filled.“Right...

Debt-exclusion override vote for new Amherst elementary school set for May 2

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Town residents can now circle May 2 their calendars. That’s the long-awaited day when voters will decide the fate of a $98 million elementary school project in a Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion vote.Town Council on Monday voted unanimously to...

Amherst resident alleges discrimination in building code enforcement

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — In a complaint filed with the town Human Rights Commission last week, an Amherst resident contends that municipal officials discriminated against a Black-owned business by requiring accessibility to its performance stage, even though there...

Record warmth in January raises concerns of environmental impacts

By CHRIS LARABEE

With last month marking the warmest January on record for Massachusetts and New England, updated data from the University of Massachusetts is also putting the region on pace for one of its warmest winters ever.The average temperature in Massachusetts...

Hadley’s proposed $20.48M budget would add 2 firefighters, police officer

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Two firefighter/EMTs, a full-time police officer and staff support for various municipal committees and town offices are among new positions included in the $20.48 million fiscal 2024 budget proposed by Town Administrator Carolyn Brennan.The...

Earth Matters: How farmlands can support wildlife, not just people

By LEE HALASZ and KARI BLOOD

This winter has been one of the warmest on record in Massachusetts, and around the nation, extreme weather events are in the headlines on a regular basis. Scientists agree that our rapidly warming planet is now feeling the effects of the climate...

Hadley planning meeting gets testy over affordable housing payment

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A $66,000 contribution to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund is being made by the developer of a housing subdivision in North Hadley, even though his attorney contends that the town’s system of extracting such payments in exchange for...