Western Mass housing advocates say 46% shelter decline masks barriers for families

My Turn: Denied by Medicare Advantage? The odds say appeal

If you had a nine in ten chance of winning something, wouldn’t you would go for it? Those are odds worth taking. What if it was not only something you wanted, but something you needed, like medically necessary services in a skilled nursing facility? This is the situation many older adults and people with disabilities find […]

My Turn: Get out of my head!

Sometimes I feel like a character in a story I had no part in writing. Everyone around me seems to be inside the same story. To get necessities, I go to a store or shop online with my plastic money. It is recorded, like everyone’s money, as digits in a machine so ever-present it seems […]

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 […]

The e-bike boom: Electric bicycles are giving riders new freedom while fueling safety concerns

Electric bikes are becoming increasingly popular in western Massachusetts, prompting state lawmakers to push for comprehensive regulations to ensure safety and reduce crashes.

Athol Area YMCA names Seth Kelly as its new CEO

ATHOL – After a lengthy search, the board of directors of the Athol Area YMCA has chosen Seth Kelly to be the organization’s next chief executive officer. Kelly will officially take the reins from interim CEO Jim Scherer on Aug. 17. A release announcing Kelly’s appointment states his background includes “education, youth development, community-based programming […]