News

Feds eye flood mitigation measures in Pioneer Valley

By CHRIS LARABEEand ALEXA LEWIS

With Massachusetts experiencing its seventh-wettest year on record in 2023 as torrential rainstorms ravaged roads, farms and homes, the federal government, the state and those here in the Pioneer Valley are turning their eyes toward future flood...

Charged UMass protesters marshal defense: Question crackdown, cite ‘bad-faith’ chancellor negotiations

By ALEXA LEWIS

BELCHERTOWN — Protesters who were arrested at the May 7 pro-Palestinian rally on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus filed out of the Eastern Hampshire District Courthouse on July 17 after pretrial proceedings to gather with supporters,...

Belchertown unveils more user-friendly website

By EMILEE KLEIN

BELCHERTOWN — A new town website is designed to offer improved usability for site visitors and municipal employees, easier navigation and timely notifications for news and events.The revamped website presents the most-used resources for residents on...

Run for, by its employees: Paragus IT completes 8-year transition to being 100% employee-owned

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

HADLEY — When the employees of Paragus Strategic IT’s Hadley office stroll into the office on a given morning, they know that they have a good reason to stay there.After implementing the first stages of a plan in 2016 to transfer ownership of the...

Herrell’s Ice Cream to open pop-up shop in North Amherst this summer

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Herrell’s Ice Cream, a mainstay on Old South Street at Thorne’s Marketplace in downtown Northampton, will be opening a pop-up shop in the North Square at the Mill District in North Amherst by the end of July, with plans to have a permanent...

Note from the publisher: Amherst Bulletin distribution change

Bulletin Readers,On Aug. 1, 2024, we are changing how the Amherst Bulletin is distributed. Effective with the Aug. 1 edition, the Bulletin will be available weekly for free pickup at nearly 60 locations throughout Amherst, Belchertown, Hadley,...

Amherst Town Council rejects candidate over tilt toward abutters

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Written and oral comments from a resident indicating she would prioritize views of abutters when decisions are made by the Planning Board, and might bring a confrontational relationship toward the University of Massachusetts, have cost her a...

High-speed police chase in Hadley ends in crash, arrest on Hampton Inn lawn

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

HADLEY — A high-speed chase in Hadley on July 10 ended with a car crash that closed part of Bay Road after an unmarked police vehicle collided with the pursued vehicle just outside the Hampton Inn.The incident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. with police...

Yankee Candle consolidation prompts loss of 100 jobs

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Newell Brands, Yankee Candle’s parent company, announced Monday that Sept. 9 will be the last day of operations at its distribution facility at 27 Yankee Candle Way.The news of an official date to end distribution operations there...

Hadley Route 9 project finish expected in spring 2026

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — The $26.2 million project to widen Route 9 from the town center east to the intersection of North and South Maple streets remains on track to be completed by spring 2026.The expected finish date for the work on the state highway is April...

Around Amherst: North Amherst Library will replace church as polling site

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The North Amherst Library, which reopened to the public earlier this year, will be the new in-person polling location for voters in Precinct 1A, beginning with the state primary in September.Acting on a request from Town Clerk Susan Audette,...

$2M in historic tax credits for Jones Library expansion off the table

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Around $2 million in historic tax credits sought for the $46.1 million expansion and renovation of the Jones Library will not be available after the project was deemed ineligible by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, whose staff are...

Pakistani scholars in UMass program revel in multi-layered learning

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Being on the University of Massachusetts campus for nearly a month, her first experience outside her native Pakistan, Mahan Aslam has found Americans courteous in not bothering her when she’s not wearing a traditional headscarf.“In the U.S.,...

Working group to examine future of money-losing Cherry Hill Golf Course in Amherst

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A working group may soon be formed to examine the future of a public golf course in North Amherst that has long relied on municipal funding to remain solvent, even though memberships, greens fees and assorted other revenues are supposed to...

Sunderland receives $195K grant to study, design multi-use trail from Whately to Amherst

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — With a $195,090 MassTrails grant, visions of people walking and biking on the Norwottuck North Shared-Use Path from Whately to Amherst are one step closer to becoming a reality.Alongside a $76,840 match from Sunderland, which is the lead...

Cost-saving push for Jones project keeps library entrance but scraps other interior preservation

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Upon completion of the $46.1 million expansion and renovation of the Jones Library in 2026, the building’s main entrance, with the formal staircase rising three floors and Philippine walnut and mahogany woodwork gracing the walls, would...

Four arrested in UMass protest crackdown take diversion program

Staff Report

BELCHERTOWN — Four people arrested during the breakup of a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Massachusetts campus in May agreed to dispositions Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in which they will enter a four-month diversion...

Hampshire College cuts 29 jobs in effort to save $2.7M in expenses

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Restructuring at Hampshire College will eliminate about 29 non-faculty staff positions, or 9% of the college’s workforce, saving about $2.7 million in operating costs, according to officials at the Amherst campus.“The changes are grounded in...

Turners Falls man charged after crashing into Deerfield house

By DOMENIC POLI

DEERFIELD — A Turners Falls man faces various charges, including his third OUI offense, after allegedly driving a vehicle into a River Road house late last month.Jason E. Tyler, 50, pleaded not guilty in Greenfield District Court on Monday to charges...

Bids sought for new K-5 elementary school in Amherst

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A municipal advertisement is seeking bids from general contractors interested in constructing the planned $97.5 million, net-zero energy elementary school building next to the existing Fort River Elementary School at 70 South East St.The...