Guest columnist Arlene Avakian: Celebrating activism that notches real wins

Area Briefs: UMass climbs to No. 24 in public university rankings

UMass climbs to No. 24 in public university rankings AMHERST — The University of Massachusetts Amherst climbed five spots to No. 24 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 rankings of top public universities, and is the only public institution in New England in the top 30. UMass is tied at No. 24 with Texas […]

State makes ‘crucial’ investments in local climate technology

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center provided tax incentives and grants to florrent and XFlow Energy to support renewable energy innovation and job creation in western Massachusetts amid reduced federal support.

Southampton's Pomeroy Meadow Road to get sidewalks, drop-off lane in plan for safer route to Norris Elementary

SOUTHAMPTON — Plans are moving forward for new infrastructure on Pomeroy Meadow Road to help give students a safer route to Norris Elementary School, including new sidewalks on both sides of the road, a student drop-off lane and crosswalks. It’s still early in the planning stage, with designs at 25% completion and construction slated for 2028. Town officials and representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) presented current plans at a public hearing Sept. 23 at Norris. “Intents of the program is to provide the infrastructure to walk and bike, and then hopefully (less) cars come and that way people […]

Guest columnist William Lambers: Reagan’s dream of nuke-free world depends on all of us

A new film called “The Brink of War” takes us back in time to the October 1986 Summit in Reykjavík, Iceland, between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The stakes were high at this summit. With the United States and the Soviet Union each having tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, there was the horrifying possibility of a war that could end civilization. Instead of war, the two leaders talked about getting rid of nukes. As President Reagan told the American people after the summit, “We are closer than ever before to agreements that could lead to a safer […]

There is a season with Molly Parr: Georgian dips for the new year

It was not the first Rosh Hashanah where I have hosted vegan-ish people with long lists of foods they stay away from, and by the end of the meal are eating everything on the table. I think it was the parsnip salt cod brandade, made with lactose-free whole milk, that broke the dam. By dessert, […]