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By CAROLYN BROWN

Fans of the Disney musical “Newsies” generally know the titular group of characters as boys, but a local theater company’s upcoming production is expanding the show to include female and nonbinary characters.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Responding to Massachusetts Historical Commission concerns about aspects of the planned expansion and renovation of the Jones Library, library officials are recommending a new slate roof be installed on the historic portion of the building, and that a book drop cut into the front facade be removed from the plans.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Weekly massage client Debra Morin went all in on a two-for-one holiday season promotion in 2023 at Elements Massage studio.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

NORTHAMPTON — When he was growing up, Daniel Nye says the presence of World War II vets had been “pretty ubiquitous.” Now he says, “they seem to have disappeared.”

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — An overlay zoning district for some or all existing apartment complexes in Amherst, which if created would make it easier for developers to bring more housing density to those properties, could be considered by the Planning Board.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A former farmstand and ice cream shop at 10 Rocky Hill Road, closed for most of the past 33 years, and the 1.4 acres of land on which the vacant 2,445-square foot building sits, are heading to a foreclosure auction in January.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Adding sidewalks to road projects, improving connections to bike paths and making other safety enhancements for pedestrians and bicyclists could be supported in Hadley through the state’s Complete Streets Funding Program.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Companies, rather than families or individuals, acquired an average of more than 10 single-family homes each year from long-term residents over a recent five-year period, according to information presented to the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust.

By GARRETT COTE

Jamila Wideman has added another chapter to an already illustrious basketball career, as the WNBA’s Washington Mystics announced Wideman as the organization’s general manager late last month.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Moments before a Danvers resident appeared ready to end his own life on the morning of Jan. 1, a Shutesbury police sergeant located the man’s vehicle parked off Route 202 and engaged in a conversation that convinced him to remain alive, and then be brought to a hospital for needed physical and mental help.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Anthony Quinones rarely ever sits down during games. The competitive nature that ripples through his veins simply doesn’t allow him to.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Nearly half of residents completing a survey focused on ways Amherst can produce more housing, especially for low- and moderate-income families and individuals, say they intend to leave town over the next five years, with a majority citing the high cost of buying or renting residential properties.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The town is accepting proposals for $850,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding available to support the mission of social service agencies and complete capital projects benefiting low- and moderate-income families and neighborhoods.

By EMILEE KLEIN

Pam Victor had exhausted every fundraising idea she could imagine to raise $115,000 for Happier Valley Comedy’s new theater, and after a year and a half of balancing this job with her other roles teaching, performing and running the improv comedy nonprofit, she was starting to wonder whether her dream theater would be a reality.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A final 2025-2026 school calendar that likely will see public schools open before Labor Day could be brought before the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional school committees later this winter.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

BOSTON — Pro-immigrant nonprofits, organizers, and politicians from across the state are bracing for a second Trump presidency as they seek to protect the state’s undocumented population — and a letter recently addressed to Gov. Maura Healey may give glimpses into the reality of challenges ahead, which may include lawsuits and jail time for those disregarding federal immigration laws.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Water damage caused by frozen pipes at a fraternity and sorority at the University of Massachusetts left both homes temporarily uninhabitable, with the possibility that those living at the fraternity house may not be able to move in before classes resume for the spring semester, according to the Amherst Fire Department.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Embracing change through an equity lens, putting new protocols in place that don’t rely only on past practices, and improving communication while also speaking hard truths are at the heart of Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman’s approach to improving education for students in the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional schools.

By CAROLYN BROWN

Finding love is all about finding someone on your wavelength. A radio show at the University of Massachusetts Amherst wants to help the local queer community make romantic connections, one guest DJ at a time.

By CAROLYN BROWN

Most people don’t see local bars as venues for classical music, but a concert series at The Drake in Amherst is helping redefine and expand where classical music belongs.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Before the Jones Library’s expansion and renovation gets underway, the Massachusetts Historical Commission is requesting that library officials reconsider use of synthetic shingles in replacing the existing slate roof, and to not cut into the front of the 1928 building for installing a book drop.