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By JAMES PENTLAND

AMHERST — Tony Creamer began his career in luthiery upstairs at 49 South Pleasant St. in 1969, and he’ll be ending it there, too, when he closes the Fretted Instrument Workshop on April 1. “I will have completed 53 years in business,” he said last...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A Connecticut man who shot and tried to kidnap a Hadley farmer in 2022 was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison and three years’ probation after admitting guilt in the case.Marc A. Veturis, 29, pleaded guilty before Hampshire...

By JAMES PENTLAND

AMHERST — UMass plans to triple early college enrollment over the next five years, giving 2,000 high school students a head start on their college educations, university President Marty Meehan said Tuesday in his annual “state of the university”...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Area organizations are welcoming grant awards that will boost the supply of fresh, local food available to those in need and provide support for local farmers.“We’re really thrilled to have been selected,” said Lev BenEzra, executive...

By JAMES PENTLAND

Forgotten and gathering dust in the attic of a North Adams apartment building for more than a century, a mural that’s a part of eastern European Jewish immigrant history may soon see the light of day again.If it does, it will be thanks largely to the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Local leaders are reacting favorably to legislation filed last week by Gov. Maura Healey that would give municipalities the authority to increase local option taxes on meals, lodging and motor vehicles.The state’s Democratic legislative...

By JAMES PENTLAND

BELCHERTOWN — State utility regulators have given a green light to municipal aggregation in Belchertown, allowing residents and businesses to act as a bulk buyer of electricity supply.Aggregation typically helps to keep electricity rates down and can...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A long-running case against two men accused of conspiring to defraud the University of Massachusetts through an environmental remediation company in which they both had an interest ended Wednesday with the men admitting to sufficient...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — An Amherst man was sentenced Thursday to six to seven years in state prison after pleading guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to rape of a child and five other charges.Kemal Banatte, 44, will serve five years on probation after he...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A Hadley woman charged with animal cruelty in 2022 after nine cows and 22 goats were seized from the Amherst farm where she was keeping them will spend five years on probation after pleading guilty Friday to three counts in the 35-count...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — An Amherst man who tried to kidnap a toddler from a downtown home during a break-in in March 2021 was sentenced Monday to eight to 10 years in state prison.At a change-of-plea hearing before Judge James Manitsas in Hampshire Superior...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — As farmers continue to recover from July’s floods with the aid of community support, two government-sponsored funds are gearing up to issue their first checks.With donations pushing the Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund beyond $2...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Food producers Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton and Antonellis Farm in Deerfield are among 165 recipients of $26.3 million in food security grants announced Thursday by Gov. Maura Healey.Farms and other organizations applied for the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — A 30-year-old man serving a prison sentence in Oregon for child pornography offenses is facing similar charges in Hampshire County.Blake Lassiter appeared before Judge Jane Mulqueen in Hampshire Superior Court last Friday. He faces 11...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WILLIAMSBURG — After seeing some of the area’s widespread flooding from a helicopter as she flew from Hanscom Field in Bedford to Northampton, Gov. Maura Healey stopped in Williamsburg Wednesday morning to learn more about flood-related damages...

By JAMES PENTLAND

HADLEY — As forecasters extended flood warnings for the Connecticut River Valley until Thursday evening, lawmakers and state officials heard from farmers who have lost crops to the deluge.“This looks bad,” Allan Zuchowski said, surveying a muddy lake...

By JAMES PENTLAND

AMHERST — What if all you needed to generate electricity was thin film material, microscopic fibers and air?Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have proved it can be done, and now they’re showing that many different kinds of materials can...

By JAMES PENTLAND

GRANBY — Town and school budgets and other major expenditures will be presented to voters for approval when the second half of the annual Town Meeting gets underway Monday, June 5.What isn’t on the warrant this year but could be in the near future...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Fruit farmers across the region are assessing damage to their crops in the wake of a hard frost May 18 that has affected many, including grape, apple and blueberry growers.Ian Modestow, co-owner of Hatfield’s Black Birch Vineyard with...

By JAMES PENTLAND

Seventy feet off the ground, looking out over the treetops of the DAR State Forest, gusty winds were keeping Sean Cadigan and John Celona inside the fire tower.The two men, who are the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s tower repair and...

By JAMES PENTLAND

BELCHERTOWN — In a move that caught at least two of its members off guard, the Select Board last week chose a 25-year department head to be town administrator after members deemed the three finalists recommended by a search panel were not a good fit...