An honor for 'Mr. and Mrs. Plainfield': Town names park after Ed and Sandy Morann

UMass football: Minutemen ramping up offseason work

AMHERST — The UMass football team moved into the more contact-oriented part of the preseason in the last week. With the road opener against Rutgers fast approaching, the Minutemen are progressing as planned. “I think we are right where we are supposed to be,” UMass coach Joe Harasymiak said. “We had a great first scrimmage. […]

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 […]

Former Granby Police lieutenant barred from Massachusetts law enforcement after misconduct findings

GRANBY — A former police lieutenant who worked for the Granby Police Department for 25 years has promised to never work in Massachusetts law enforcement again following an agreement he signed with the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission last month. Gary Poehler, who was employed by Granby from March 2000 to April 2025, […]

Hampshire, Franklin County farms share millions in state grants for new equipment

With a boost from two Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources grant programs, farmers across the region are investing in equipment ranging from no-till planting tools and irrigation systems to walk-in coolers and compost-handling equipment, improving efficiency and sustainability as they face an unpredictable future. The two funding sources, the Farm Readiness Grant and the Farm […]

Beacon Hill Roll Call, Aug. 10-14

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local representatives’ votes on roll calls from recent sessions. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. MEDAL OF FIDELITY LICENSE PLATE (H 5624): House 157-0 approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would authorize the creation of a license plate honoring Medal of Fidelity recipients and their families. This medal is provided to the next of kin of a Massachusetts service member or veteran whose death was a result of service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder; a service-connected traumatic brain injury; or a service-connected disease or injury […]