News
UMass search panel names 2 chancellor finalists
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Two higher education leaders from the Midwest are finalists to succeed Kumble R. Subbaswamy as chancellor at the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts In an email to the campus community Wednesday, search committee Chairman...
Book Bag: ‘The House in the Pines’ by Ana Reyes; ‘The Perfect Tree’ by Corinne Demas
By STEVE PFARRER
The House in the PinesBy Ana Reyes; Dutton There are so many mystery novels in the world today that it can be tough to make your book stand out. But take one that’s built around around psychological suspense and the elusiveness of memory, rather than...
Bill would make free school meals program permanent
By SAM DRYSDALE
BOSTON — After agreeing last summer to a $110 million one-year extension of a pandemic-era program, lawmakers, advocates and families are calling for the state to make school meals free for all Massachusetts students permanently.Supporters of the...
Amherst Cinema, union agree on new contract
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A union contract that will extend through June 2025 has been reached between the Amherst Cinema and the union representing the nonprofit arts and education center’s box office and concession stand workers.Both Amherst Cinema Workers United...
Stand-alone battery array in Amherst gets go-ahead with revamped containment measures
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A series of conditions aimed at protecting groundwater and a buffer zone for bordering vegetated wetlands will allow Amherst’s first stand-alone battery storage to move forward.The Conservation Commission at its Jan. 11 meeting unanimously...
Around Amherst: Former library collections curator getting Historical Society’s Conch Shell Award
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A former special collections curator at the Jones Library, who served patrons there for more than seven years, is being recognized by the Amherst Historical Society and Museum at its annual Founders Day celebration, being held virtually on...
Sunderland Public Library recognized for stellar service
By CHRIS LARABEE
SUNDERLAND — For its continued dedication to serving patrons, including adapting operations on the fly in response to the pandemic, the town’s public library has been awarded a 2022 Star Library rating by Library Journal, a prestigious librarian...
Dancing donors: Amherst students donate half of dance proceeds to Survival Center
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A winter dance to provide an evening of fun for teenagers is an event Amherst Regional Middle School’s current eighth graders promised their peers last school year.In organizing the recent Snow Ball, the dance became not only a way for...
‘A transformative presence’: John Bracey, a pioneer in Black studies at UMass, dies at 81
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — John Bracey, a pioneer in Black studies and founding member of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, died over the weekend at 81, according to the university.Chancellor Kumble R....
Fieldstone housing project taking shape at UMass
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Close to the middle of the University of Massachusetts campus, a large building to feature 623 beds for undergraduate students continues to take shape for the fall semester.But unlike the nearby dormitories, including the towers and low...
Town officials seek local real estate transfer fee in Amherst
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Amherst is asking the area’s legislative delegation in Boston to file special legislation that would allow the town to impose real estate transfer fees on residential transactions, with money generated from this supporting affordable...
Foresters, conservationists oppose Healey logging moratorium
By CHRIS LARABEE
While campaigning, one of Gov. Maura Healey’s climate priorities was to place a moratorium on commercial logging on state-owned forest land, a move that foresters and environmental advocates say would be detrimental to forest health, the state’s...
‘The door opener’: Longtime University Museum of Contemporary Art Director Loretta Yarlow to step down
By STEVE PFARRER
After nearly 18 years at the helm of the largest art gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Loretta Yarlow will step down from the University Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA) at the end of June.Yarlow, who came to the Valley from New...
Hickory Ridge trees coming down for Amherst solar project
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A wide variety of about 200 trees are being removed on the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course property this week to get 26 acres of the town-owned site prepared for installation of a 6.44-megawatt solar array and 3,500-kilowatt battery...
First residents move into affordable housing complex in Sunderland
By CHRIS LARABEE
SUNDERLAND — The first tenants are moving into Sanderson Place as Franklin County’s first new affordable housing complex in years opened its doors on Thursday.Located at 120 North Main St. and featuring 33 wheelchair-accessible apartments, Sanderson...
Community responders making their mark
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Making sure that children of undocumented immigrants get to school, providing rides for people to urgent medical appointments and interacting with people living on the streets and in the woods are among tasks a new municipal department has...
Amherst’s community responders getting early evaluation
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Amherst’s Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service is still in its infancy, but an evaluation of the unarmed responders program, including the calls it is handling, is expected to soon get underway.The Town Council voted 11-1 last...
Come on back: The Mead Art Museum, closed to the public since March 2020, reopens Jan. 31 for all visitors
By STEVE PFARRER
The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, which has been closed to the public for nearly three years, has reopened with two new exhibits in place.The museum shut its doors for all in March 2020 when COVID-19 arrived, and though it eventually reopened...
Tilton Library Building Committee lays out rough timeline for renovation
By CHRIS LARABEE
SOUTH DEERFIELD — In its first virtual meeting since forming, the Tilton Library Building Committee and its architect laid out an estimated timeline for the $12.3 million expansion and renovation project’s design and construction, with a projected...
Kestrel Land Trust proposes new loop trail in Hadley
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — A new loop trail overlooking the historic Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum property that will allow walkers to take in a view of the farm fields along the Connecticut River is being proposed by Kestrel Land Trust for its Dyer Conservation...
