Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Erika Zekos of Amherst

Guest columnist John Berkowitz: End the Ukraine war now or risk nuclear war 

Thanks for your coverage of the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I agree with many experts who think the war in Ukraine is the most dangerous potential flashpoint of international conflict that could escalate into nuclear war between the U.S./NATO and Russia. The U.S. continues providing Ukraine with billions of dollars of military, financial and intelligence assistance, including for its increased long-range drone attacks on Russia.  Russia is now responding by taking off its gloves of relative restraint, and going for an outright military victory by intensely bombing the major port facilities and transportation infrastructure of Odesa […]

Striking a ‘Sparc’: Frontman Harley Fant and his middle-school bandmates bring '80s and '90s rock covers to West Springfield alongside family-fronted Recent History

Twelve-year-old Harlan “Harley” Fant — a guitarist, bassist and vocalist from Leeds — is already confident enough to correct his veteran musician father on guitar chords. Now, his newly formed youth rock band, Sparc, is taking to the stage to show the public exactly how far that musical mentorship has come. Specializing in ’80s and […]

Massachusetts cracks down on kratom, following lead of local communities

Deerfield joined other Massachusetts municipalities in banning kratom products, just days before an emergency order came from the state's Department of Public Health.

Smith College grad awarded prestigious international fellowship in France

Earlier this year, Villa Albertine, a cultural institution that works through the French Embassy in the United States, selected 30 American post-graduate students from 3,400 applications to take part in the inaugural class of the Lafayette Fellowship, which funds a one-year master’s program in France in STEM, the humanities, social sciences and the arts. One […]

Rock On with Joan Axelrod-Contrada: 'But you do': When the weight of caregiving met the grace of a volunteer community

It was love at first sight. Or at least first click. A black-and-white beagle mix caught my eye on a dog rescue website. The caption read, “This medium-sized mutt thinks he’s a lap dog.” I applied to adopt him on the spot and decided my new pup needed a theme song. The obvious choices didn’t […]