Comerford backs Senate energy affordability bill with $14B in projected savings

Recognizing a 'force multiplier': Southampton COA director honored among 2026 class of Commonwealth Heroines

SOUTHAMPTON — Every community needs a Kate DiSanto. Whether it’s through her work as director of the Council on Aging, as a parent or just as a friendly face, Southampton wouldn’t be the same without her. That is why she has been honored as one of 147 women statewide — and four in Hampshire County — in the 2026 class of Commonwealth Heroines. The state program, run through the Commission on the Status of Women, recognizes dozens of women each year who make their community a better place to live. “It’s an honor, honestly,” DiSanto said. “I’m so grateful for the […]

A legacy of service: Hadley fire chief calls it a career

HADLEY — On the busiest days, around 100,000 vehicles pass through or stop in Hadley, significantly increasing the size of the town that has about 5,300 year-round residents. Yet until 2005, when Michael Spanknebel became Hadley’s first full-time firefighter, the Hadley Fire Department depended exclusively on on-call firefighting staff, those who could respond to emergencies from their workplaces or homes. In the 21 years since, and his 13 years as fire chief, the department has become more professional. By the end of this summer, it will return to having at least two full-time firefighters on each shift, with one shift having […]

Multi-agency search underway for man missing in Meadows area of Northampton

NORTHAMPTON — Police are using helicopters, a dive team and rescue dogs in an effort to find 36-year-old Jonathon Maxwell, who went missing this weekend and was last located in the Meadows area. Less than two days since Maxwell’s sister contacted Northampton Police at about 9 p.m. Friday, informing officers that she had used the […]

Hadley Public Library to showcase rare Declaration of Independence engraving

HADLEY — A 200-year-old engraving of the Declaration of Independence will be publicly displayed at the Hadley Public Library on Saturday as part of a special exhibit marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. The exhibit, which will also feature a second engraving of the Declaration of Independence, an illustrated 1845 Herman Phelps broadside, […]

UMass Amherst lands $2.1 million to expand life sciences research tools

AMHERST — An advanced optical tweezers system, which will allow University of Massachusetts scientists to measure and visualize the tiny forces that power living cells, is coming to the Institute for Applied Life Sciences building next year, as part of more than $2.1 million in grants awarded by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. With $1.63 […]