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By BOB FLAHERTY

Outgoing executive editor Jim Hicks of the Massachusetts Review has yet to warm up to his new surroundings.400 Venture Way looks like one of those ultra-tech monoliths that have “Solutions” as part of its name. Surrounded by a sea of blacktop and...

By JULIAN MENDOZA

Making his way from Springfield to Greenfield during his annual walk to raise money for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, local radio personality Christopher “Monte” Belmonte looks to increase the visibility of one of the country’s greatest...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The University of Massachusetts is simplifying its message for prospective in-state students and their families: If you make under $75,000, you can come to any one of the system’s campuses for free.There’s been a surge in state funding for...

By MARA MELLITS

Earlier this year, a nationwide outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in cows caused panic for dairy farmers everywhere. Now, Massachusetts has become the only state to test all of its dairy herds, from 95 farms, and achieve 100% negative...

By CAROLYN BROWN

Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Center for the Book, the state branch of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, announced the winners of its 24th annual Massachusetts Book Awards — and six authors from the Pioneer Valley were on the...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Months after two residents gathered more than 220 signatures, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will take a look at how it can improve the intersection of Routes 5 and 10, North Main Street and Mill Village...

By PAIGE HANSON

During his sophomore year of college in November 2021, Charley Blacker wanted to start an organization that was unique and new to the University of Massachusetts Amherst community: a group dedicated to promoting local musicians through playlists,...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

AMHERST — On the 10th floor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Center, Samuel Noel, a welder by trade, works as a dishwasher — his first job in the United States.Noel, a Haitian immigrant who moved to Greenfield’s Days Inn shelter on...

By IAN RHODEWALT

 While it is true that President Joe Biden gave a historically disastrous debate performance, and the fallout in the following week put his chances of winning r-election in distinct jeopardy, we should not forget that he has been funding, abetting,...

By LEAH VERESS

Alice Colman recalls the day a routine fennel harvest turned into a wake-up call. As she stood in her field, carefully examining a plant’s feathery leaves, she felt herself growing increasingly frustrated with the crop’s appearance. When she kneeled...

By STEVE PFARRER

After generating some local news in 2022 when scenes were filmed in a number of locations around the Valley, “Janet Planet,” the debut film by celebrated playwright Annie Baker, made its deThursday.The movie, first screened last summer at the...

By STEVE PFARRER

When Stan Sherer was growing up in the Bronx in New York City in the 1950s, an uncle paid a visit to his family one day and brought along some World War II-era darkroom equipment.Sherer didn’t know it just then, but he was about to find his life’s...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

The state Senate unanimously passed an amendment to its annual spending plan that would prohibit municipalities and private companies from taking the entire equity of a home in the event of a tax lien foreclosure, a piece of legislation that, if...

By STEVE PFARRER

Just in time to coincide with Children’s Book Week, a national event established in 1905, the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) has created a children’s literary showcase here in the Valley.The Mass Kids Lit Fest, a new book festival taking...

By STEVE PFARRER

It’s been another good year for Valley writers.Twelve area authors (and author/illustrators) have had new work long-listed for the 2024 Massachusetts Book Awards, presented annually by the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) in five categories:...

By XINYI YANG

Three Hampshire County students are among 60 young people statewide who will advise Gov. Maura Healey and her administrative team on issues important to young people as members of the newly minted Youth Advisory Council.The young people, ages 16-21,...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Massachusetts State Police have begun implementing a program to improve interactions with people on the autism spectrum, building upon legislation that won Senate approval in January and remains before a House committee.Participating drivers...

By MICKEY RATHBUN

Most of us humans assume that other creatures experience the world through their senses of sound, taste, smell and touch, the same way we do. But we couldn’t be more wrong, as science writer Ed Yong explains in his fascinating new book, “An Immense...

By STEVE PFARRER

Augusta Savage rose to prominence as a sculptor and educator when she moved to New York City in the 1920s, where she soon became a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance.But Savage, who was also a determined advocate for equal rights for African...

By DIANE BRONCACCIO

The groundhog predicted an early end to winter: did that also mean an earlier start to maple sugaring? Apparently so, according to several maple sugarers in the region.“This is the earliest we’ve ever started,” remarked Chip Williams of the...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey’s proposal to give cities and towns new tax-hike authority would provide “game-changers” at the local level, especially for less-populated areas, one mayor said Tuesday.A bill Healey filed last month would offer...