Guest columnist Krystal Kittle: Bill to boost early screening key for dementia caregivers

Former Easthampton school aide sentenced for sexually assaulting students

NORTHAMPTON — A former Easthampton Public Schools paraeducator has been sentenced to five to seven years in state prison for sexually assaulting two 7-year-old students at Mountain View School. Troy Gray, 60, of Easthampton, assaulted the students between 2022 and 2023 while working as an aide in two of the school’s classrooms. Hampshire Superior Court […]

3-D-printed creations and new computers: IT program grows at Granby Junior Senior High School

GRANBY — Sen. Jake Oliveira reached below the humming 3-D printers and picked up Granby Junior Senior High School students’ latest creation. Two hexagonal web wings sandwiched a jack-o-lantern pod to create a Halloween TIE fighter, a seasonal play on the famous “Star Wars” spaceship. As Oliveira, D-Ludlow, and Rep. Homar Gómez, D-Easthampton, examined the figurine, the other design students in the room broke from their 3-D printing projects to admire the work. The state legislators saw and touched the results of their fight for Fair Share funding during an Oct. 8 visit to Granby Public Schools. In May 2025, the […]

Columnist Rev. Andrea Ayvazian: Steadfast, supportive ants a model for us all

I have never been very interested in ants. They were small and innocuous, they all looked the same, and I never wondered about their hills, colonies, queens or movements.  Until recently. Now I am in awe of ants. I want to be more like them and I want my community to be more like their colonies. Ants […]

Hatfield to explore switching health insurance providers as cost-saving measure

HATFIELD — Potential savings of around $220,000 are prompting the Select Board to explore moving town employees’ health insurance from the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust to the state’s Group Insurance Commission. The Select Board Thursday voted 3-0 to have the town’s Insurance Advisory Committee and the Public Employee Committee examine the possible change in […]

Affordability, accountability dominate Healey-Minogue finale

BOSTON – Gov. Maura Healey and Republican challenger Mike Minogue clashed over rising energy costs, abortion rights and accountability for misconduct in state government Thursday night, as the candidates met for their second and final gubernatorial debate before Election Day. Among the sharpest exchanges came when Minogue pressed Healey over her administration’s handling of former […]