MIT students help small Plainfield tackle big solar questions

Following a teen's death in Hatfield, 'Jesse's Law' makes its way to Beacon Hill

BOSTON — More than three years after 19-year-old Northampton High School graduate Jesse Johansmeyer was fatally struck by a pickup truck and left to die leaving a bonfire party in Hatfield, his mother testified before legislators Friday morning in support of a proposed bill that would legally compel bystanders to call 911 in the event of […]

A leap of faith: What's it like to paraglide off Mount Tom?

“I know it’s not normal to run off a cliff, but all you have to do is look out and run like hell.”  That was my last pep talk from expert paraglider John Gallagher moments before we sprinted off the 1,200-foot-high cliffside on Mount Tom’s peak for a tandem flight on a glorious summer afternoon in […]

Single-payer health bill hits milestone after 30 years

A legislative committee has ruled favorably on a Medicare for All bill for the first time in the measure’s 30-year history in Massachusetts, marking a major milestone for the state’s single-payer healthcare movement. About a week before the current legislative session ended on Friday, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing advanced a redrafted version […]

Hampshire Regional's $19.8M budget finalized after member towns approve dues

WESTHAMPTON — Hampshire Regional High School’s $19.8 million budget for the upcoming school year is now official, after each member town approved its share of dues at town meetings this spring. The budget cuts $280,000 in services, including two full-time positions. The budget represents a roughly $1.5 million jump from last year’s spending of $18.2 […]

Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion preps to open second Hadley campus for K-1 grades

HADLEY — A second campus for the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Public Charter School, where kindergarten and first-grade classes will be located, is opening in late August. Principal Kathleen Wang told school trustees at a meeting Thursday that the 300 Venture Way site will have six new classrooms, all of which are 1,200 square feet […]