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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...

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...

hrerleGardeners know how cold it is by looking at rhododendron leaves. If they are tightly furled, you know it is cold. I have two bushes in front of the house and the leaves were tightly wound during the cold spell last week. I also had ice on the...

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...

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...

By STEVE PFARRER

David Ruggles and Frederick Douglass, two of the most notable Black men to come to Northampton in the first part of the 19th century, left behind a strong legacy as committed abolitionists, writers, and speakers. Ruggles also lived in Florence in the...

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...

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....

By STEVE PFARRER

It’s no secret that the U.S. railroad system, which a century ago had the largest passenger service in the world, looks very different today.Though the nation’s freight system is still significant, passenger service has long since been eclipsed by...

Roe v. Wade marks 50 years Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the consequential decision by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade to protect the constitutional right to abortion for all pregnant people. As readers probably are aware,...

By Michael Weiler

Since the COVID pandemic began, UMass’s 1,400 service staff workers have done extraordinary, even heroic work. To recognize them, an anonymous donor has pledged $7 million dollars to construct a pavilion on UMass land, dedicated to service staff....

Bill Belichick, Patriots football coach, says making mistakes and corrections is part of every game on all levels: playing, coaching, decision making, overall strategy, everything. Obviously, errors also occur outside sports. The list is endless....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...