My Turn: What it takes to sustain a public library

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

One of those delightful chores that signals the beginning of spring is the task of building nest boxes for the birds in my yard. For the past 21 years, I have deployed several nest boxes in the hopes of attracting bluebirds to my yard. This works because I live in an open area with a […]

Staging Shakespeare in the vineyard: Valley Players bring a sold-out, storm-tossed ‘The Tempest’ to Hatfield

It was an otherwise cool and pleasant Thursday evening in Amherst, but inside Room 101 at the Bangs Community Center, a simulated storm repeatedly threw a half-dozen sailors across a ship’s deck. As the vessel neared a wreck, tempers flared. One man shouted at the boatswain, calling him a “bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog,” while another […]

On the Run with John Stifler: The joy of running and recalling a behind-the-scenes star

It was going to happen eventually. Sooner or later I would finish last again in a race. I accomplished that feat last month in the Tuesday night Northampton Cross-Country 5K. I finished last in some races my freshman year in college, when I was new to competitive running. Since then, I always finished ahead of […]

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 […]