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By CHRIS LARABEE

If you take a look at the spreadsheets on Mason Smith and Tyler Wolkowicz’s computer screens, you might think they’re undertaking an extensive math project.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee is putting forward a $37.08 million fiscal year 2026 budget that would limit some anticipated staffing cuts at the middle and high schools, a proposal that would significantly increase assessments for the four member towns.

By CHRIS LARABEE

WASHINGTON — As federal dollars continue to be frozen for projects across the nation, a Pioneer Valley farm has joined a federal lawsuit demanding the government lift the “unlawful and indefinite freeze of congressional appropriated funds,” according to documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — As farmers prepare to head out to the fields for the season, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle sent a letter to the new U.S. agriculture secretary expressing concerns over uncertain federal funding and other actions taken by the federal government.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Mold and mildew that may be developing at the Amherst Regional Middle School, possibly related to the poor condition of the roof that could be fixed as part of the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s accelerated repair program, will be examined by school district officials.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Hayley Bolton, who for the past six years has led senior centers in Amherst and Bernardston, is poised to become Shutesbury’s town administrator in April.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

April Fool’s Day will also be the opening day for the Amherst Oyster Bar, the long-planned restaurant in Amherst center that will replace Judie’s Restaurant.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A series of fee increases for school-related activities, which cover participation in athletics and parking at the high school, are being considered by the Amherst Regional School Committee.

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — When preparing the fiscal year 2026 revenue sheets, town officials discovered an omission on residents’ tax bills.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Life-threatening dangers are posed any time a migratory bird approaches a building, unaware that it could be on course to strike a window.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A $2.5 million loan being sought by the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School should provide the funding to create 14 classrooms inside a second campus building at 300 Venture Way, allowing an expansion of enrollment and possibly new initiatives as student applications to the school surge.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Three straight years of deficits at the Amherst Cinema, considered an unsustainable trend for the independent, nonprofit arts and education center, is prompting leadership to return the facility to its original three-screen site that opened in 2006, and to reduce the number of weekly showtimes.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A shift in culture has occurred at Crocker Farm School over the past decade, where even those students having a challenging time in their classrooms and in interactions with their peers are not sent to the main office.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A proposed $23.31 million fiscal year 2026 operating budget will maintain existing staffing and services at the public schools and in municipal departments, while supporting the continued transition to a town-operated Advanced Life Support ambulance.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Annual pre-St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Amherst, where numerous college-age people dressed in green began consuming alcohol early Saturday morning, led to 29 arrests and 23 medical transports to the hospital, according to information supplied by town and University of Massachusetts officials.

By CAROLYN BROWN

A character from the 1970s/1980s sitcom “Three’s Company” is bringing people in western Mass (and beyond) together for fun and good vibes.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A recent incident at an Amherst school, in which one parent was confronted by other parents in an apparent threatening and harassing manner, is prompting Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman to send a message to families about the importance of being respectful toward each other and developing a Caregiver Code of Conduct.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — When the final buzzer sounded to signal the end of the UMass men’s basketball team’s regular season, which ended in a 74-51 loss to Loyola Chicago on Saturday afternoon at Mullins Center, the arena’s staff immediately began tearing up the floorboards of Jack Leaman Court to get ready for the Minutemen’s hockey game at 7:30 p.m.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Improving pedestrian access and parking near Kendrick Park, the site of a downtown playground, and preparatory work on a housing development at the former VFW site on Main Street that will include space serving homeless individuals, are projects being recommended for Community Development Block Grant funding.

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — A dozen residents from the Plain Road East and Mill Village Road neighborhood are expressing concerns about the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter’s proposed building.

By EMILEE KLEIN

GRANBY — While volunteering at a tiny snack pantry for Granby Junior Senior High School students in 2017, Judy DeLong noticed a student wearing a sweatshirt with a wet, wrinkled and frayed collar.