Columnist Judy Wagner: Gifts of a summer

School committees get new law to address library material challenges

BOSTON — When Andrea Fiorillo became co-chair of the Massachusetts Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibilities Committee in 2019, she remembers there being fewer than 10 challenges to library materials in Massachusetts.  By 2025, there were 229 challenged titles. Fiorillo, who is also a member of the Mass Freedom to Read Coalition, noted a […]

UMass football: Minutemen continue to fine-tune defensive identity

AMHERST — Practice No. 15 of fall camp is in the books for the UMass football team. The Minutemen finished up a somewhat chippy session at sunny McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Wednesday morning. Linebacker Tyler Martin met with the media following practice. As a redshirt junior, Martin registered 103 tackles last season. He was 31st […]

My Turn: Leadership that moves us forward

I first met Lora Wondolowski when she, as president of the Greenfield City Council, supported turning a vacant downtown parking lot into housing. We met to process our surprise that a ballot initiative had been snuck in at the last minute to block housing in favor of an abandoned parking lot, and to strategize; we had 60 days to defeat the ballot measure.  I watched Lora go to work: she collaborated with other community leaders and housing advocates, they canvassed, wrote in the paper, went on online forums and explained that a housing study had just come out from the UMass […]

South Deerfield resident accused of plotting to kill treasury secretary sentenced to six years in prison

A South Deerfield resident was sentenced to six years and one month in prison for bringing Molotov cocktails to the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Blue Cross, Cooley Dickinson assure Medicare Advantage patients of continued coverage amid network shift

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Cooley Dickinson Hospital announced a 90-day transition period starting Oct. 1 to ensure uninterrupted coverage for Medicare Advantage subscribers losing their primary care network status.