Speaking of Nature: Reaping the rewards: How to build a successful birdhouse for bluebirds and wrens

My Turn: What it takes to sustain a public library

Municipal government asks a great deal of those who serve it. In a year like this one, that reality is especially visible. Budgets are tight. Choices are constrained. Every increase in one place carries a consequence somewhere else. There are no easy adjustments left to make. It is in that context that I want to […]

My Turn: Confessions of a Crossplayer

It was a sign of the times. On a Saturday evening long ago, four of us first-year law school classmates decided mid-Scrabble game that a misspelled word summarily costing you a turn was cruel and unusual and denied due process. So we instituted a new rule: you could play any letters in any order provided you could offer a semi-plausible definition of your alleged word.   Now, a half-century later, there’s Crossplay, the one-on-one, online New York Times Scrabble-like game where, without penalty, you can put down letters until the technology confirms an actual word. Then for edification you can look it up.   In Crossplay most traditional Scrabble rules apply. So, no names or proper nouns.   But during an early game I conjured state Sen. Jo Comerford and my […]

Bulletin Board: Franklin County Crush sweeps doubleheader at Murphy Park

The Franklin County Crush U-10 squad swept a doubleheader on Sunday at Murphy Park. In game one, the Crush defeated Berkshire Force, 13-1. Dani Zraunig (three runs) and Tayanna N’Dissi (four RBI) both tripled for the Crush. Penelope Gioules added a double with three runs scored. Makenna Ward struck out seven in the circle. Zraunig […]

'The pride and joy of what we accomplish here': The Academy at Charlemont celebrates seven graduates

The seven graduates of The Academy at Charlemont were praised for their cohesiveness and the relationships they formed with each other.

Amherst College professor speaks to preserving 'the infrastructure of democracy' in Charlemont Forum program

Amherst College Professor Austin Sarat says democracy is essential for a just society, but it is being eroded by a lack of economic well-being, political polarization and a decline in trust in the government, and must be preserved by investing in the common good and encouraging empathy and open dialogue.