AMHERST — State Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose’s push to develop and deploy clean energy technologies continues to move forward through what he considers priority legislation, known to its supporters as the “Energy Jobs Bill.”
During his testimony for the bill, which was recently heard by the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, Goldstein-Rose said that new manufacturing jobs could make the state the center of the clean energy industry.
“With our world-class colleges and universities, as well as an existing high-tech industry, the commonwealth has the opportunity to make itself the leader in new clean energy economy,” Goldstein-Rose said.
H3473, or an act relative to creating energy jobs, includes carbon pricing, which adds a fee to fossil fuels, but returns this fee to consumers in the form of dividends, providing an incentive for people to invest in cleaner energy. The bill also revises and repeals regulations, such as the net metering cap, and creates the Massachusetts Clean Energy Trust to finance clean energy projects.
In Goldstein-Rose’s vision, the state would create battery testing facilities, including one in Western Massachusetts, to conduct research needed before new technologies can be adopted. An amendment filed by Goldstein-Rose includes $50,000 for a feasibility study and commission related to a battery testing facility in the region.
The 68th annual Amherst League of Women Voters book sale will be held this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and Aug. 4 to 6, at Fort River School, 70 South East St.
The sale, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, will include books, DVDs, compact discs and vinyl records.
As a major fundraiser for the League, the event helps finance voter service programs and publications.
An expansion of Amherst Coffee into space previously occupied by the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce in the Amherst Cinema building will force a two-week closure of the restaurant.
In advance of the closing, Amherst Coffee is holding a celebration of adding space Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The event will include coffee, whiskey and wine, music and reflections.
During its 12 years in business, Amherst Coffee has only been closed two days each year.
The Amherst Survival Center is holding a series of activities focused on raising awareness about diabetes, including free screenings at a walk-in health clinic, beginning Monday.
Executive Director Mindy Domb said in a statement that the center is trying to bridge the gap between health and food insecurity.
“Nationally, individuals facing food insecurity can suffer from diet-related and nutrition-related diseases, such as diabetes, at a higher rate than those who are food secure,” Domb said.
The center, at 138 Sunderland Road, will have the screenings Monday, Tuesday and Aug. 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A workshop on diabetes and nutrition, provided by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, will be offered Aug. 4 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
The Friends of the Jones Libraries is holding a Literary Feast at Judie’s Restaurant, 51 North Pleasant St., beginning at 5 p.m. on Aug. 9.
The event includes reading from “Tender at the Bone,” the memoirs of food writer Ruth Reichl.
A portion of the night’s sales will go to benefit the summer reading clubs at the Jones and the North Amherst and Munson Memorial libraries, and other programs that are funded by the Friends.
An Amherst native recently participated in the Iron Man Triathlon in Lake Placid, New York to raise money for mutiple myeloma research.
Jeffrey Gould, a 1981 graduate of Amherst Regional High School who now lives in Skillman, New Jersey, completed a 2.4-mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and the marathon at 9:15 p.m. July 23, after starting the event at 7 a.m.
WEDNESDAY: Planning Board, 7 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
