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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A 500-acre section of forested land connected to Mount Toby in Sunderland, west of Route 63, is being returned to the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band as a gift from W.D. Cowls Inc.

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

NORTHAMPTON — Possible rapid loss of both forests and farms in the Connecticut River Valley, as Massachusetts expedites the process for getting renewable energy projects online, is among concerns being addressed for the region’s rural communities in the new climate and energy state law, according to the local legislators who helped craft the legislation.

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 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

AMHERST — Amherst’s efforts to ensure there is housing for people of all income levels, including through a revised housing production plan and various rezoning initiatives, is underway.

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 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 SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A New Hampshire timber company has closed on a massive land buy of nearly 2,400 acres in seven communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties, acquiring five parcels for more than $20 million from Amherst-based W.D. Cowls Inc.

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 — A possible reconstruction of the War Memorial Pool bathhouse, a centerpiece of a larger overhaul of downtown’s Community Field, is in line to get an additional $500,000 from the town’s Community Preservation Act account.

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 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 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 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 — Work crews with CTA Construction Managers LLC of Waltham will begin constructing Amherst’s $97.5 million elementary school on South East Street during the week of Jan. 13, with occupancy of the building for students and staff remaining on track for the fall of 2026.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Friends of the Jones Libraries are making a $500,000 donation to the expansion and renovation of the 43 Amity St. building, drawing the money from what is known as the Woodbury Fund.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — An illustrated strip of her life story shows her cats, the cello she practices, and an imaginative dragon, but commences with a depiction of woods.

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.