New Westhampton administrator embraces fiscal challenges following failed tax override attempts

Blackbird Marketplace set to replace Tailgate Picnic in South Hadley

SOUTH HADLEY — Construction has begun at the former Tailgate Picnic location to turn the former deli into a new lunch cafe called Blackbird Marketplace. The new restaurant at 7 College St. will continue the tailgate tradition of grab-and-go lunch sandwiches and coffee, but expand its options to breakfast sandwiches, salads, smoothies and baked goods. […]

Ready for anything: Easthampton firefighters juggle medical calls, training and mutual aid as demand climbs

EASTHAMPTON — It’s 7:30 in the morning on a Tuesday. Eight Easthampton firefighters just arrived at the fire house in the Public Safety Complex. They are starting their day-long shift and will have to be ready for anything in the next 24 hours. Each morning starts with mandatory checks of all vehicles, making sure that each […]

Guest columnist Barbara A. Rouillard: Anything but 'small potatoes'

My best friend Gini, like me, was a public school teacher. After every mass shooting, where the shooter either killed himself or had the police do it — death by cop, she used to say, “You couldn’t cut out the middleman… Why did you have to take some of us with you?” J. D. Vance […]

Leverett to hold informational sessions to gauge interest in creating a cultural district

LEVERETT — Informational sessions on creating a cultural district will be held at Town Hall twice this month. Both meetings, Tuesday and again on Oct. 20, begin at 6 p.m. with artists, musicians, authors and other cultural workers in town invited to offer their ideas and to help the Select Board gauge community interest in […]

Panel to review proposal to designate East Amherst village center a historic district

AMHERST — Even with skepticism from some members of the Town Council about whether a new Local Historic District should be created in the East Amherst village center, a subcommittee will review the proposal this fall. By an 11-1 vote last week, councilors agreed to refer the topic to the Community Resources Committee, which will […]