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By JIM LESCAULT

 In my 17 years as executive director of Amherst Media, I committed and honored the promotion of free speech for all. This ensured community access to equipment and training in communication technologies; the documentation and conservation of...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Municipal building inspectors and town police officers will soon have a mechanism for ensuring problem properties that affect the quality of life in Amherst neighborhoods, such as residences holding frequent loud parties with underage...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Town officials are exploring development of the former VFW site on Main Street into a new 40-bed homeless shelter with associated services and a four-story, 30-unit single-room occupancy apartment complex.At a recent presentation to update...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority will go fare-free beginning Nov. 1, part of a statewide “Try Transit” initiative that provides funding to allow transit authorities to waive fees for riders.PVTA said that no fares or passes will be...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A new bullying reporting system is on the websites for the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools, providing an improved process for notifying school officials about possible incidents and ensuring prompt investigations....

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The Annual Trivia Bee, a long-running fundraiser for the Amherst Education Foundation that has typically been staged in school auditoriums, is moving to a downtown location in its 30th year.Scheduled for Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m., the event that...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Hundreds of people gathered in the back yard at a North Pleasant Street fraternity house, where loud music was playing and some underage guests were found urinating on a neighboring property, led to enforcement actions by Amherst Police late...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — In recognition of what elected trustees say is her exemplary work overseeing the Jones Library system, and the planned expansion and renovation project at the main branch, Director Sharon Sharry is earning a significant salary boost.Trustees...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Better understanding of how certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often simply called PFAS and known as “forever chemicals,” negatively affect public health and cause assorted maladies, is leading to state and federal laws and...

Ballot Question 1 — to allow the state auditor to audit the Legislature — sounded simple and reasonable enough at first. Then I read the Majority Report in the red “Information for Voters” booklet — a real eye-opener. While the current state auditor...

 Why this obsession with Hamas? I must admit I was confused by the column “Victory for Hamas, tragedy for the Palestinians” that appeared in the Sept. 23 Gazette. Although the increasingly popular elected authority Hamas, through its military wing the...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Thanks to Gazette reporter Alexa Lewis for the excellent front-page article on shortages of blood in our region, and thanks to the Easthampton Fire Department for their community blood drive in partnership with the Baystate Health Blood Donor Program...