News
Shutesbury considers gazebo, plexiglass as ways to protect historic guideboard currently under repair
By SCOTT MERZBACH
SHUTESBURY — An open-air gazebo is being proposed to protect the town common’s historic guideboard, an artifact that dates to 1837 and continues to be refurbished and restored at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center.While the Historical Commission...
Western Mass farmers battle ‘pumpkin plague’
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERIand SAMUEL GELINAS
Some squash, pumpkin and potato farmers in the Pioneer Valley are bearing the burden of a soil-based disease described by one farmer as being “like the plague” for these and potentially many more species.Walking through a barren pumpkin patch late...
Culture quest: Crocker Farm librarian named Wallace Teaching Award winner
By SCOTT MERZBACH
“We were trying to find someone who represents the multitudes of who we are as a school community. … Whatever Waleska brings to the building, it’s vast.”Principal Derek SheaAMHERST — Art from Indigenous tribes, Hawaii, Nepal, Mexico and Chile, among...
New super pitches merging Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools in face of shortfall
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A significant deficit anticipated in the fiscal year 2026 budget for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, amid continued enrollment declines in grades 7-12, is prompting Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman to propose consolidating all secondary...
Amherst Media director departs after 17 years
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Amherst Media Executive Director Jim Lescault is out at the cable access nonprofit after almost 17 years in the role, though those associated with the organization, and Lescault himself, are tight-lipped about his departure.While confirming...
UMass, Amherst Survival Center to open food pantry on campus in fall of 2025
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A pantry for University of Massachusetts students and employees who are experiencing food insecurity, representing a long-term partnership between the university and the Amherst Survival Center, will open next fall at the former Newman...
Chamber, UMass event veteran Page named to lead downtown business boosters
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A Pelham resident with experience in economic development, event management and advocating for businesses in roles at both the University of Massachusetts and the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce becomes the Amherst Business Improvement...
Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School seeks 100-student expansion
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — After recently acquiring an 80,000-square-foot building on Venture Way for a second campus, the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion School is seeking a 100-student increase in enrollment.Despite several parents speaking against the enrollment...
UMass Police investigating 5 Peeping Tom incidents on campus
Staff report
AMHERST — University of Massachusetts Police are investigating five reports from residents at two Orchard Hill dormitories about a man who has looked at and possibly recorded female students while showering.Police issued an alert this week after...
Granby moves to tighten leash, nuisance laws for animals
By EMILEE KLEIN
GRANBY — A new animal control bylaw approved by the Select Board would impose stricter leash and nuisance laws for all domestic and personally owned animals, from dogs and cats to ferrets and horses.The decision to revamp the law came in the wake of...
Around Amherst: Bids again sought for Jones Library project
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A general contractor to undertake the expansion and renovation of the Jones Library building is again being sought by the town, with a bid advertisement recently posted for an estimated construction cost of $36 million.The legal ad comes...
Tenants face fines for party in Amherst that drew 500 partygoers
AMHERST — More than 500 partygoers gathered in the backyard of a North Amherst home, with a DJ booth set up and underage people consuming alcohol on Friday night, led to police officers issuing $300 tickets to the five tenants for violating the town’s...
UMass puts rural emphasis in early college program
By SAM DRYSDALE
The program meant to give students a head start on their college enrollment is expanding to five high schools in western Massachusetts, including Easthampton High School, Granby High School and Hopkins Academy in Hadley,University of Massachusetts...
Goats at ServiceNet group home in Deerfield prove to be therapeutic for residents
By MADISON SCHOFIELD
Larry, Moe and Curly are settling in at ServiceNet’s group home and are embracing their role not as a comedic trio, but as therapy professionals.The three Alpine goats, named after The Three Stooges, are providing residents with emotional support and...
Arts Briefs: Vinyl and theater in Northampton, art contests in Ware and Belchertown, and more
Turning trash containers into art BELCHERTOWN — If making visual art (rather than just appreciating it at gallery shows) is your thing, this call for artists may be for you. Artists are invited to submit proposals for designs to decorate three...
Making planning personal: Brestrup to retire after two decades with Amherst Planning Department, including about 9 as director
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Several mixed-use buildings in downtown Amherst constructed over the past decade are enhancing the town’s tax base, providing both housing options for families and individuals and revenue needed to support municipal services and public...
Major League breakthrough: Amherst’s Melissa Ludtke relates overcoming obstacles to access in ‘Locker Room Talk’
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — In the waning days of Major League Baseball’s 1977 regular season, Sports Illustrated writer Melissa Ludtke, who grew up in Amherst, received a clubhouse pass from the New York Yankees, giving her permission to be with the players before and...
Culture quest: Wallace Teaching Award winner WaleskaSantiago-Centeno leverages the power of the library to bring the traditions and arts of people the world over to her students
By SCOTT MERZBACH
“We were trying to find someone who represents the multitudes of who we are as a school community. … Whatever Waleska brings to the building, it’s vast.” — Principal Derek Shea AMHERST — Art from Indigenous tribes, Hawaii, Nepal, Mexico and Chile,...
PVTA pilot to expand bus service on Amherst-Sunderland line to Hadley malls
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A year-long trial by University of Massachusetts Transit and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority is expanding weekend bus service on Route 31, bringing riders on the Amherst-to-Sunderland buses directly to the shopping malls in Hadley.The...
Responses to Hadley survey condemned: Committee counters claims that illegal immigration tied to new approaches to housing
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — As a town committee examines the possibility of creating a new zoning district that would bring a mix of housing options and possible adaptive reuse of commercial properties, its members are pushing back on recent responses to townwide...