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By LUNA GREENWOOD

As someone who has lived all over the world, I can tell you with some authority that Hadley is truly a gem of a community. The last dozen years as the children’s librarian in Hadley have been the best years of my life. It has been a privilege and a...

By ANDY MORRIS-FRIEDMAN

This Fourth of July really got off with a bang. Most importantly it’s the anniversary (OK, maybe not most importantly) of my own marriage to my long-suffering wife. Each year I give her flowers with a sympathy card saying, “Stuck with me for another...

By DAN WINSLOW

The good news is that Massachusetts state law prioritizes the development of solar energy facilities by zoning protections that limit undue interference by local governments. The better news is that Massachusetts has more than enough potential solar...

By SARAH MATTHEWS

An opinion piece was recently published in this paper by an executive at FirstLight Power, the company that owns the Turners Falls Dam and Northfield Pumped Storage Hydropower Station [“Setting the record straight on flows and fish passage...

By RICHIE DAVIS

Coming together immediately after the pivotal 2016 election, 60 residents of Leverett — where nearly three-quarters of voters rejected Donald Trump for president — gathered to consider how to respond to the obvious chasm in political and cultural...

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

In the wee hours of the morning of April 14, when it was forecast to be a record-crushing 95 degrees, I met my intern Erica in the parking lot of the Big Y in Palmer. Together, we carpooled to Somerset, on Massachusetts’ south coast for a 9 a.m....

By LAWRENCE PARELES

I am writing to offer a new and innovative solution to address the housing crisis, particularly in college towns and cities: encouraging and assisting colleges and universities with building more dormitories to accommodate their students. With the...

By JILL BUCHANAN

Massachusetts is moving faster than just about anywhere in the country to implement a clean energy economy, with the intention of adding as many as 2.5 million solar panels across the state in the next 20 years. While we need to act promptly, the...

By ARLENE AVAKIAN

World War II veterans, on the 50th anniversary commemorations of their war in 1993, remembered and articulated, many for the first time, what they had experienced. Unlike the Vietnam vets, WWII vets were honored when they came home, but what they had...

By DANIEL A. BROWN

In 1977, as I was about to depart for my first trip to Israel, I went to a party in New York City and met a young Israeli boy. “Hello, my name is Raffi,” he said. “I’ve lived through three wars.”Naturally, I was taken aback; as a rule, American kids...

By ALLEN WOODS

Memorial Day always immerses me in a pool of mixed feelings, like those inspired by the national anthem soon after the Vietnam War. Then, the song was used as a club in the culture war, which boiled down the complex issues surrounding the war into the...

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

“How do you keep from despairing?” a friend recently asked me, knowing that I focus consistently on the climate crisis. It was a heartfelt question. He had started to put more attention on the climate emergency and was encountering the bad news that...

By U.S. REP. JIM MCGOVERN

House Republicans recently brought to the floor H.R. 5 — a bill I call the “politics over parents” act, which would supercharge book bans like the ones Gov. Ron DeSantis has imposed on Florida and bring them to states across America, including here to...

By RANDY KEHLER

My partner Betsy and I have often been referred to, usually derisively, as “tax resisters,” or “tax refusers,” which implies that we are people who refuse to pay all taxes, across the board. In fact, we’ve always paid all of our state and local taxes....

By WESTON DRIPPS

I feel compelled to offer a few key facts relevant to the April 7 guest column, “Amherst College’s tree problem” [Gazette] that didn’t make it into the article. The piece suggested that sustainability isn’t top of mind when it comes to the college’s...

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

I was principal of the Fort River School in Amherst for 18 years. I’m passionate about education and about solving the climate crisis. The proposed new school in Amherst is a major step forward in both. I’m asking all of you who are voters in Amherst...

By REBECCA FRICKE and MEG GAGE

Classrooms infused with daylight and fresh air, small group learning spaces, a positive learning environment for children of all backgrounds and abilities. This is our vision for the new Amherst elementary school building, and we hope you will join us...

By CAMILLE CAMMACK

Imagine you are a wiggly, bright-eyed kindergartner sitting in a circle with 24 classmates. You have just been encouraged by your teacher to look them in the eye and greet them “properly” saying, “Hello, I’m using my right hand to shake your right...

By BRITT CROW-MILLER

As an Amherst resident living in a residential neighborhood where all but a few properties are owned directly by Amherst College, I am deeply concerned with how Amherst College manages its off-campus property when it comes to trees.The Amherst College...

By MARIETTA PRITCHARD

Last July, I visited our new doctor for what I thought was an annual checkup. I brought with me an annoying problem I’d been having, and he made a referral for me to see a specialist, who has taken care of the problem. After that July visit — a...