Columnist Sara Weinberger: A building overflowing with pain and heartbreak

Greenfield man gets 18 to 20 years in 2024 slaying

A Greenfield man was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Christopher Hairston.

No more lone responders: Amherst adds four firefighters, plans to increase minimum staffing levels year-round

AMHERST — An Amherst firefighter driving an engine to a fire or other emergency ensures a prompt response, but once on scene, a single responder has to wait until other members of the career, on-call or student force arrive. “You can’t effectively do anything at a fire with a single person,” said Sarah Forsaith, president of the Amherst Firefighters Local 1764. But the occasional challenge of having a solitary firefighter on board an engine should soon go away. The town is adding four firefighters and eventually increasing the minimum staffing to 10 full-time firefighter-paramedics year-round, upping this from the current seven […]

My Turn: Hiring managers must rethink roles for Gen Z

As I sit down to write, my email inbox has just received two new job rejections. Since graduating from Bryn Mawr College with a dual degree in English and history this past May, I have been on the hunt for a post-grad job, hitting the two-month mark while on a visit back to western Massachusetts. […]

Ticket price fight shaping up as referendum on details

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday proposed capping concert and sporting event ticket resale prices, pitching the measure as a way to protect consumers from price gouging and deceptive practices that have made attending live events increasingly expensive and out of the question for many fans.  But even before lawmakers begin to review the proposal, a ticket industry trade group says the legislation would leave untouched the part of the market where most ticket prices are actually set.  The plan to add consumer protections to the secondary ticket marketplace, which will be included in her upcoming closeout supplemental budget, caps […]

Amherst Recreation revenue drops as sports league enrollment declines

AMHERST — A significant drop in revenue from sports leagues run by Amherst Recreation, and a smaller fall-off in money brought in from summer camps, is prompting the municipal department to examine ways to counter the funding loss. In a state of the department report presented last Wednesday, Recreation Director Rey Harp told the Recreation […]