Guest columnist James Lomastro: RFK Jr. gets right what Massachusetts gets wrong

Columnist Carrie N. Baker: A groundbreaking UN resolution calls forced pregnancy what it is: reproductive violence

It took until July 7, 2026, for the world’s leading human rights body to call forcing someone to be pregnant — or forcing them not to be — what it is: reproductive violence. In a landmark resolution adopted unanimously, the UN Human Rights Council formally recognized “reproductive violence” as a specific, systemic form of gender-based […]

A Look Back, July 23

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Pool event in Amherst spotlights accessibility, Paralympic pride

AMHERST — At the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Tory Dixon took 30 seconds off her best 400-meter freestyle time, claiming one of her two bronze medals at that year’s swimming competitions. Dixon still vividly remembers standing on the podium as the British national anthem played for the gold medalist, taking pride in her accomplishments. “Sports did so much for me,” says Dixon, speaking during a Disability Pride Month presentation at Mill River Recreation Area Monday afternoon. “It was a lot of work, but it was fun.” Her husband, Juan Dixon, is a similarly successful Paralympian, earning medals in […]

Award-winning play, 'Unreconciled,' comes to the Academy this weekend, tackles clergy sexual abuse with conviction and compassion

Date: April 13, 2007 To: Jaybird <Jay Sefton> From: Dad <Joe Sefton> Subject: the bastard. Link: Priest Defrocked Over Abuse Cases Jaybird, just saw this in the Inquirer. Please call me. Love, Dad “Holy s—,” Jay Sefton thought. His father — a lifelong Havertown boy, a diehard Catholic and Philadelphia Phillies fan, a chain-smoking Army vet and a veteran claims adjuster — knew how to email a link to an article. But besides that: No one had ever called what happened to him abuse. After growing up in a working-class, hard-drinking town where feelings were expressed with four-letter words, Sefton, the [&hellip;]

Kiln it at 20: Hilltown 6 Pottery Tour fires up for its second decade of craft this weekend

Twenty years ago, Cummington potter Christy Knox had a vision: a pottery tour hosted by local artists in the Hilltowns. The inspiration struck after two of her friends had returned from a tour in Minnesota and raved about the experience. Meanwhile, Knox and her friend and fellow pottery, Constance Talbot, had recently taken part at [&hellip;]