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By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Older adults with dementia or memory loss, along with their care partners, are invited to participate in a new monthly memory cafe opening at the Hadley Senior Center.Connections Cafe, which is free for both residents and people from around...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — An initial phase of stabilizing the early 19th-century Phelps Farm, a farmhouse that became part of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum in 2022, could depend on support from the town’s Community Preservation Act account.The...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Significant local and regional interest in an Amherst Town Council resolution advocating for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war is prompting the meeting to discuss, debate and possibly vote on the matter to be moved to the Amherst Regional...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Even with Amherst officials signaling a commitment to increase the town’s financial obligation to the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, around 20 staff members, including classroom teachers and paraeducators, could be eliminated at the middle...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst’s public schools, municipal government and town libraries are in line to get spending boosts in next year’s budgets that go beyond initial projections, potentially staving off recently announced cuts that could be made to elementary...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Appeals for more documentation of a historic performance space in a downtown building, possibly used by an Amherst College fraternity in the 19th century, are being made before the three-story brick structure is razed.The rear ell at 45...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A large gateway sign to greet visitors to the Amherst College campus coming from points west and north, better announcing the college’s presence at the southern edge of downtown, is again being proposed for installation by college officials...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — With the Conservation Commission and Board of Health registering objections to the proposed poured-in-place rubber surface of a playground at the town’s new elementary school, the design team is asking the Elementary School Building...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A town website focused on the municipal work related to addressing climate change and making Amherst more sustainable recently went live.“It’s pretty much a one-stop opportunity to access information on what has been done, what is being...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A contractor to demolish the former VFW building at 457 Main St. is being sought by the town, the next step in redeveloping the site for supportive affordable housing and a permanent homeless shelter.The town recently posted a bid soliciting...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The Town Council could vote as early as Feb. 26 on adopting a “Resolution for a Cease-fire in Gaza,” a measure that not only calls for a cease-fire, but the release of hostages and detainees on both sides, ensuring humanitarian aid enters...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A year after 300 people came out to celebrate the Lunar New Year at Spring Festival with music, dance and food, a similar event to commemorate 2024 — the Year of the Dragon — takes place Saturday.The get-together, running from 10:30 a.m. to...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Annual events that draw in excess of 1,000 spectators, like the Country in the Country concert and spring and fall festivals for area college students, will continue to be held at the Young Men’s Club, pending approval of one-day liquor...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Even with continued concerns over having just a small pool of applicants to be Amherst’s next police chief, a search committee is forging ahead with interviews.Five candidates, culled from 11 who submitted letters of interest in the job,...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — An 85-unit mixed-use project is being proposed for the corner of Amity Street and University Drive, but the potential development may depend on variance requests coming before the Zoning Board of Appeals later this month.UDrive Amity LLC,...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A proposed $21.7 million operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024 maintains all municipal and school programs and current staffing levels, according to a presentation by Hadley’s financial team last week.“There’s no...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — As subdivision roads in one housing development are nearing acceptance as town ways, roads in another subdivision, completed by the same developer several years earlier, are in increasingly poor condition, frustrating homeowners who continue...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Plans for the redevelopment of a Route 9 Subaru dealership, including a new 31,568-square-foot showroom and service area and a reconfigured parking lot, are being filed with town planners.As the Steve Lewis Subaru at 315 Russell St.,...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — A historic guideboard on the Shutesbury Town Common since 1837, helping travelers navigate to Massachusetts communities both near and far, is temporarily absent from the green as a restoration project begins.The wooden guideboard was...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A new climate-controlled storage building rising on commercial- and industrial-zoned farmland, affecting the vista of the Holyoke Range for those biking and walking on the nearby Norwottuck Rail Trail, is putting a 2021 Planning Board...