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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 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 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 CHRISTI PAYNE and GREG DARMS

My husband and I moved to New England from Oregon five years ago, not knowing for sure where we would end up, and fortuitously landed in Shutesbury. We could not have chosen better than this forested rural hilltown we now call home.One of the very...

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 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 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 KURSTEN HOLABIRD and MATT HOLLOWAY

May 2, 2023 is an important date for the future of Amherst. On that date, voters will go to the polls with the chance to steer our community onto a positive and progressive path by voting “yes” for a new consolidated elementary school building. (Early...

UMass wants to privatize more than 100 jobs. Imagine having to reapply to a job you’ve had for 20 years. As a 29-plus year employee at UMass and witness to the anti-union sentiment for all those years, I can confidently state that if it took 20 years...

Happy Women’s History Month! This year’s theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” (nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org). Throughout the year, the National Women’s History Alliance is highlighting storytellers, writers, journalists, playwrights...

By THOMAS DOURMASHKIN

The issue of “reparations” is about as confusing as it can be. Many issues are raised but few really have bearing on the problem.To be clear from the start, I am for reparations, but not on a local level. There is a debt, but attempts to pay it on a...

The town of Amherst is proud to be known for its support of education. That support is about to be tested, as its government asks its taxpayers to invest in two expensive capital education projects: a brand new elementary school and a renovated public...

By ALLISON MCDONALD

We are deep in the budget planning process for next fiscal year and Amherst schools are facing significant and difficult budget cuts. The uncertainty around the multiple contracts that are not yet settled, including that with the Amherst Pelham...

By D. DINA FRIEDMAN

When I was 7 and my brother was 4, we were playing in my room. My ballerina tutu was on the floor, and my brother put it on. He pranced out to show my mother, a big grin on his face. “How do I look in a dress?”My mother’s face went to red quicker...

This month I want to look at a very personal topic that we all encounter daily — food. What we eat, and don’t eat, impacts climate change. The diets of people around the world affect climate change.Increasing numbers of people in the U.S. are eating...

By ALEX KENT

The phone rang and a Walpole number came up. I shouldn’t answer numbers I don’t recognize — let it go to voicemail. But out of idle curiosity, I picked up the call and it was another wholly unsolicited inquiry from a company wanting to buy my house in...

By JONATHAN KLATE

‘Wokeness” is what folks on the political right love to declare themselves as being against these days. But, what is it, really, that they oppose?The term “woke” was derived from African American vernacular English meaning alertness to racial...