News
Earth Matters: Learning a sense of wonder: The importance of outdoor experiences in the natural world in our youth
By TED WATT
It was January, with two feet of cold crisp powder on the ground. The day was bright and sunny. The 5th and 6th grades at our small rural, hill-town school had been studying life sciences. Educators and students were focusing on animals and the many varied ways they are adapted, both physically and behaviorally, to living in their environment. We decided to take advantage of the perfect winter day and headed out to see what we could learn about how animals live in winter from the signs and tracks they left behind.
Amherst draft housing plan calls for between 265-715 new units in five years
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A draft housing production plan with a series of strategies to ensure there are sufficient housing options in Amherst for people with a range of income levels is suggesting Amherst produce 265 to 715 new housing units by 2030.
Amherst grants more time for comments on environmental review for Jones Library project
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Amherst officials are extending by an additional 15 days the public comment period for the Environmental Review Record associated with the Jones Library expansion and renovation project.
Amherst drawing up plans for area north of UMass campus that could triple the number of apartments currently there
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A section of North Pleasant Street north of the University of Massachusetts campus, incorporating the Puffton Village, Presidential, Townehouse and Brandywine apartment complexes, will be examined by Planning Department staff as an appropriate area to significantly increase housing density.
Belchertown residents worry $3.3M override request is too high
By EMILEE KLEIN
BELCHERTOWN — Residents at a public listening session last Thursday voiced their disappointment over the Select Board’s decision to advance a request for a $3.3 million Proposition 2½ general override to annual Town Meeting this spring, claiming the figure is too high for voters to stomach and puts school funding in jeopardy.
Five UMass Amherst students have visas, student status revoked
By SHELBY BROCK
AMHERST — Five international students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have had their visas revoked and their student statuses terminated by the federal government, Chancellor Javier Reyes announced in a letter to the campus community on Friday.
Is Amherst’s town center uptown or downtown?
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Those attending a recent ribbon-cutting for the new UMass Downtown retail store and event space in Amherst center were invited to an afterparty at the Uptown Tap & Grille, which despite having a seemingly different geographical designation, is a neighboring business in the same building.
Around Amherst: First Global Village Festival on Town Common Saturday
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Amherst Global Village Festival, an event to celebrate cultural diversity and promote inclusivity in the community, will be held for the first time at the Amherst Regional Middle School, 170 Chestnut St., on Saturday.
USDA yanks $3.4M in aid to state food banks
By SCOTT MERZBACH
NORTHAMPTON — A decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to terminate a $3.4 million allocation to Massachusetts for purchase of 121,830 cases of food items, including eggs, chicken, milk, fruit, pasta, beans and salmon for food banks across the state is being criticized by representatives of food security organizations and the Healey-Driscoll administration.
Hadley officials worry about $19.6M price tag for new DPW
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — Concerns about the possible impact to property taxes for homeowners of even a smaller Department of Public Works headquarters is giving town officials pause about bringing the full project to voters at annual Town Meeting on May 1.
UMass diverting money to new fund that will cover federal funding losses
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Money targeted for both strategic investments and deferred maintenance on the University of Massachusetts campus is being temporarily diverted to a new account that will ensure research continues uninterrupted, should federal grants and contracts be paused or ended.
Weather on the spot: Amherst Regional’s Computer Science Club installs new station atop football field’s press box
By SCOTT MERZBACH
At Ella Wang’s former middle school, a device would take regular readings of wind speed, precipitation, temperature and humidity — all information that would be useful to her and her teammates before Amherst Regional High School’s girls cross country meets.
Belchertown rolls out welcome mat for businesses
By EMILEE KLEIN
BELCHERTOWN — When Town Manager Steve Williams goes on the road to advertise Belchertown as a viable, business-friendly community, business owners admit to him that they never considered the town as a potential home for their company.
Boosting a shared mission: $300K influx will expand work of Tapestry, Craig’s Doors
By SAMUEL GELINAS
NORTHAMPTON — Homelessness and substance abuse are often two sides of the same coin — and a grant distribution of $150,000, matched by three municipalities, signals a focused effort to combat both in 14 Hampshire County communities.
Feedback mixed for 3-building, 140 housing units near Atkins Corner in Amherst
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A proposal to develop three four-story, mixed-use buildings on Hampshire College land near Atkins Corner is receiving mostly praise from members of the Planning Board, even as some residents who live nearby worry about the height of the buildings and the possibility that the apartments will be occupied by college students, rather than families.
Ready to roll on roads: Amherst priority list tees up $4.55M to rebuild some of town’s worst stretches
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — “Rough road” signs along West Bay Road, at the edge of the Hampshire College campus near the Eric Carle Museum, warn drivers about the worsening condition of the travel lanes, which feature broken pavement, ruts and cracks, and an endless series of potholes that have been patched, repatched and patched again.
Federal workers, supporters demonstrate to save US Fish and Wildlife’s Northeast headquarters
By EMILEE KLEIN
HADLEY — U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employee Jackie Stephens starts her day at the Cronin Aquatic Resource Center in Sunderland by checking her email to see if she’s been fired.
Families raise concerns about assault, other incidents at Fort River School in Amherst
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Some Fort River School families and staff are faulting district leadership for failing to address a physical and verbal assault of a parent in the school’s lobby on Feb. 10, along with other incidents of bullying and harassment by parents, that have occurred over the course of the school year.
Belchertown to float estimated $2.4M override for school, town budgets
By EMILEE KLEIN
BELCHERTOWN — After a month of parent protest and debate among town leaders, the Select Board narrowly approved putting a Proposition 2½ general override question on the ballot to fund level-services budgets for both the schools and the town.
Hadley officials worry about costs to transition to town-run ambulance service; fire chief makes case for idea
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — Even as some members of the Hadley Fire Department are training to become paramedics and others are preparing for a transition to a fully town-run Advanced Life Support ambulance service, those serving on the Select Board and Finance Committee are cautioning that this effort may not be realistic.
