Commentary
Richard S. Bogartz: What the ghosts of Warsaw Ghetto know
By RICHARD S. BOGARTZ I had intended to continue my four-part series on President Joe Biden, but I must interrupt that project even though Part 2 is almost complete because, even though I don’t believe in ghosts, I keep encountering ghosts who insist...
Susan Tracy: Support Ukraine funding
When Congress returns next week, funding for military aid to Ukraine will be on the table in the House. However, if Speaker Mike Johnson brings Ukraine aid up for a vote which will pass, the MAGA Republicans have threatened his tenure as...
Don Michak: Dig deeper after scandalous court ruling in Soldiers' Home case
The fact that the former superintendent and medical director of the Soldier’s Home in Holyoke got off with mere $90 fines is not merely “disgusting,” as the woman who lost her father to COVID told the Gazette, but also a major statewide scandal that...
Jena Schwartz: Things I have not said
I continue to be consumed by the Israel-Hamas war. I read, watch, write, pray, dream, agonize, and do my best to engage in intentional and nuanced conversations about it. And yet there remain things I have not said.Or things I have said by omission.Or...
Dave King: Cease-fire resolution passed in the UN!
For those of us concerned about the ongoing mayhem in Palestine, these past months have been agonizing. How can one live in security without thinking of others being shelled, shot and tortured? How can one eat a bite of food without thinking of our...
Letter: Unlocking the potential of public higher education
In response to the recent article about the Amherst Town Council’s resolution supporting the Cherish Act, [”Despite doubts, Amherst Town Council backs bill boosting higher ed spending,” Gazette, March 8], the council’s endorsement of the Cherish Act...
Guest column: What peace must mean, at council and for Mideast
By JOHN VARNER
Freedom without responsibility is anarchy.Sadly, Amherst has been getting repeated lessons that illustrate this maxim. The most recent incident: The Town Council’s attempt to get involved in global politics by passing a resolution on the horrendous...
Guest columnist Shalini Bahl-Milne: Beyond empathy — A compassionate approach to polarizing issues in Amherst
By SHALINI BAHL-MILNE
The recent Amherst Town Council meeting exposed deep rifts within our community over a resolution concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These divisions highlight the formidable challenges we face when approaching complex issues: We often...
Mickey Rathbun and Chris Benfey: Amherst schools must be top priority
We were heartbroken to hear Talib Sadiq, principal of ARHS and interim principal of ARMS, describe the woeful physical state of the middle school building at the March 6 School Committee meeting. He reported that the building’s roof leaked so badly...
Paul Kaplan: Timothy Leary Memories
Dear Gazette: I always enjoy Richard McCarthy’s columns, and his recent one on Timothy Leary was no exception [“Leary’s unlikely arc to turn on, tune in, drop out,” Gazette, March 1]. When I was enjoying the “Summer of Love” in San Francisco’s...
Brendan Kuntz: Thank you Tara Jacobs
Governor’s Council is a forgotten elected office every election cycle until an underdog wins. District 8 Councilor Tara Jacobs beat out four other men because she appealed to rural western Massachusetts voter sentiment. She just stood up again for us...
Hollie Kalkstein: Must accept ‘collateral damage of peace’
To be a Jew right now, and the child of a Holocaust survivor, compels me to speak. Israeli children do not out-value Palestinian children across a boundary that hems them in.Why is the collateral damage of war accepted but the collateral damage of...
Darcy Dumont: ‘Ranchrofit’ II makes makes house net-zero energy abode
This column will give you more ideas about that carbon emission-reducing retrofit you’ve been thinking about doing. Last month, I introduced my coming “ranchrofit” project in the Orchard Valley neighborhood of Amherst, and thoughts about how to...
Guest columnist Matteo Pangallo: Why we must fully fund our schools
By MATTEO PANGALLO
The Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee demonstrated leadership, forward thinking, and sound judgment in proposing a budget that actually faces reality and calls on the towns of the district to meet the full costs of providing our children with...
Guest columnist Dr. David Gottsegen: Age issue not so key as question of marbles
DR. DAVID GOTTSEGEN
A poll published in The New York Times on Sunday, March 3, found that nearly half of voters now strongly agree that Joe Biden is “too old” to be president, more than twice the number of voters who strongly agree that Donald Trump is “too old.” People...
Guest columnist Martha Hanner: Spirit of philanthropy can uplift so many others
By MARTHA HANNER
In response to the guest opinion, “When giving is only false charity” [Gazette, Feb. 27], may I offer an inspiring example of tzedakah, the Jewish tradition of giving as a moral obligation, done with gratitude and humility.Julius Rosenwald (1862-1939)...
Jack Tullos: UMass gets a Big MAC
With all due deference to Gerald R. Ford, the uber-long UMass FBS independent football experiment/nightmare seems over. The 2025 season will find the Minuteman team still competing in an FBS conference, the Mid-American Conference, but the MAC...
Annette Pfannebecker: Support the Sunlight Act
It is disheartening to hear that our state Legislature is one of the least transparent in the nation. While we see our House and Senate representatives do so much for the districts they serve, writing and passing important legislation, there are also...
Alex Bowman: What is going on over at UMass Athletics?
The decision to move to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) was driven by the misguided notion that UMass football is the darling of the school. It’s not. College football simply doesn’t have the same cultural significance here in the Northeast.I was at...
Tom Roeper: Cease-fire opportunities
What can a cease-fire bring? History has some surprising examples — for instance, the assistance of the Red Cross in the Korean War armistice. In addition, let me tell you the story of my great-uncle Curt Bondy, whose stories enriched my life.He was...
