Former warehouse space at The BrickYard in Easthampton to become 15 below-market units

A street divided: As Picture Main Street project nears, supporters and opponents clash over cost, congestion and the future of downtown Northampton

NORTHAMPTON — An ideological battle is raging between Northampton residents who believe the $43.3 million downtown overhaul known as Picture Main Street will poison the city, and those who see it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in downtown infrastructure. Caught in the crossfire: Main Street business owners.  Picture Main Street has drawn controversy from […]

Hadley CPA panel rejects $700K request for affordable units at senior housing project

HADLEY — A committee has rejected a request for $700,000 from the Community Preservation Act account to help build seven affordable apartments at a 55-and-over housing development. The CPA Committee, which reviews applications for funding for affordable housing, recreation, open space and historical preservation projects, at its Sept. 14 meeting voted 7-0, with one abstention, […]

Patriotic festivities and 167th Belchertown Fair arrive this weekend

BELCHERTOWN — Patriotic pride promises to populate this weekend in Belchertown with the town’s United States 250th celebration, the return of a fireworks show and a stars-and-stripes-themed Belchertown Fair. The festivities begin Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill Recreation Area, 59 State St., with the Red, White & Belchertown event. The evening highlights Belchertown’s past, present and future by delving into the town’s history and creating a 25-year time capsule. The night ends with the town’s first firework show since 2013. “We wanted people to be able to reflect on the country, but also the community and where they […]

Curiosities fair returns to Market Street in Northampton on Oct. 3

Perhaps you’ve been to flea markets, art markets, or antiques markets, but what about an “oddities market?” Market Street Market: A Curiosities Fair, billed as “a one-day marketplace of the macabre and the mystical,” will return to Northampton for its second year on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Market Street […]

'The past is not set in stone': New art show reimagines Medusa's story

Medusa did not get a good deal. As the Roman poet Ovid tells it, Medusa, a Gorgon in Greek mythology, was sexually assaulted by a god inside the goddess Minerva’s temple. Minerva gave her snakes for hair — as punishment, the source text says. Medusa could turn people to stone by looking at them. She […]