News
Lesbian bookstore revival: Bookends transforms in Florence
By EMILEE KLEIN
NORTHAMPTON — From 1978 to 1989, Northampton’s lesbian bookstore Womonfyre did more than sell books.Like many lesbian bookstores in the 1970s and ’80s, the store on Masonic Street offered newspapers and periodicals associated with the second-wave...
Easthampton’s ‘warm cool’ class of 2024 met challenges head-on
By ALEXA LEWIS
EASTHAMPTON — Standing before Easthampton High School’s Class of 2024 on Friday evening, state Rep. Daniel Carey couldn’t help but remember his own senior year at the school, which he spent serving as class secretary, stocking the shelves at Big E’s,...
Learning to change the world: Amherst fifth graders engaged with issue community engagement
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Riding a bicycle from home to Fort River School can be a scary experience, says fifth grader Logan Lakota, with obstacles such as trash cans and mailboxes along the roads and sidewalks, and approaching vehicles that can’t be always be...
Hurricanes forever: 215 Amherst Regional High School graduates celebrate accomplishments, get ready to work for the future
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — As members of the 2024 class graduate from Amherst Regional High School, they will likely face adversity and be pushed to their limits in the years ahead. But Class President Neil Cunniffe, speaking during Friday’s graduation ceremony, told...
A Look Back, June 8
By JIM BRIDGMAN
200 Years Ago ■The washing for the Round Hill School from July 1 to Oct. 1, of the present year, will be let out by contract; persons disposed to take the same are requested to apply at the Hill immediately. Wanted, as above, for the same period, 40...
Belchertown High grads eager for next steps
By EMILEE KLEIN
BELCHERTOWN — In the high school gymnasium bustling with excitement and nerves in the thick, humid air, 155 seniors attempted a formal entrance to their graduation ceremony, but the single-file step-together-step sequence that students had rehearsed...
D-Day hero: Holyoke native honored as only chaplain killed during initial days of Normandy invasion
By SAMUEL GELINAS
SOUTH HADLEY — “No greater love.”That phrase stands out prominently at the grave of the Rev. Capt. Ignatius Maternowski, a Holyoke native who died 80 years ago on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Purple Heart recipient and candidate for sainthood was the only...
Northampton budget stalls over school funding after 2 councilors force a delay in vote
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — The City Council’s effort to vote on a budget for next fiscal year will have to wait two weeks after two councilors who support giving more money to the school system raised multiple charter objections at Thursday’s meeting.“I think the...
PVPA’s class of 2024 urged to play and work as they head into the world
By SAMUEL GELINAS
NORTHAMPTON — Rather than advising his students to read a book a week the rest of their lives, or egg them on to achieve the impossible, Brent Nielsen rallied Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School graduates on Thursday to preserve one of their...
Four anti-war activists face charges in wake of protest at L3Harris
By JAMES PENTLAND
NORTHAMPTON — After some three hours of drilling, grinding and cutting Thursday afternoon, police were able to free four anti-war protesters who had blocked the gates at L3Harris by securing themselves to a pickup truck filled with concrete. The four...
Plans for large indoor sports arena in Hatfield advance
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HATFIELD — A large indoor arena featuring tennis and pickleball courts, locker rooms, a pro shop and a snack bar could break ground this summer and open sometime in 2025 on a section of Routes 5 & 10 in North Hatfield, following Planning Board...
Around Amherst: Race Amity Day celebrates togetherness
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Race Amity Day, which will include the 18th annual presentation of Youth Hero Awards and the Mill River Basketball Tournament, takes place Sunday at the Mill River Recreation Area, 95 Montague Road.The town is promoting the day under the...
A Look Back, June 7
50 Years Ago ■The Tourist and Convention Bureau’s tourist booth on the courthouse lawn opened yesterday on a daily basis, and it will be open seven days a week this summer. Brochures and maps are available at the booth, and area clubs and agencies may...
State library board extends window for Jones project to land affordable bid
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Trustees for the Jones Library and the Library Building Committee will have another six months to identify a general contractor to handle the estimated $46.1 million project to expand and renovate the 43 Amity St. building by the end of...
Anti-war protesters form concrete blockade at L3Harris in Northampton
By JAMES PENTLAND
NORTHAMPTON — Four anti-war activists secured to a pickup truck blocked the shipping and receiving gate at L3Harris, Thursday morning, to protest the company’s role in Israel’s assault on Gaza.Police responded to remove the activists and some 20...
Hampshire Regional selects Perrone as superintendent
By ALEXA LEWIS
WESTHAMPTON — After thoughtful interviews and fraught debates over the two candidates for Hampshire Regional School District’s permanent superintendent position, the district’s five school committees all voted to offer Vito J. Perrone the job on...
S. Hadley administrator accepts Pioneer principal position
By CHRIS LARABEE
NORTHFIELD — An assistant principal at Michael E. Smith Middle School has accepted the principal position Pioneer Valley Regional School. Annie Scanlan-Emigh, an educator for 17 years, is making her way up Interstate 91 to join Pioneer, where she is...
Northampton City Briefing: YMCA opens new airnasium
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — The Hampshire Regional YMCA marked the grand inauguration of its airnasium on Wednesday, the first YMCA in the Northeast to do so. The new 2,250-square-foot outdoor gymnasium, features exercise bikes, weight racks and a roof to protect...
Shutesbury ready to launch construction of new library by hiring contractor
By SCOTT MERZBACH
SHUTESBURY — Construction on a new 4,400-square-foot public library at 66 Leverett Road appears to be a go, with town officials preparing to hire a general contractor for the $8.98 million project next week.On Tuesday, the Library Building Committee...
Bring on the Chaos: Annual street festival set for Saturday in Easthampton
By Alexa Lewis
EASTHAMPTON — It’s that time of year again. Cultural Chaos will take place on Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m. in Easthampton’s Cottage Street Cultural District. Cultural Chaos is an annual street festival that celebrates the arts and culture of Cottage...
