Columnist J.M. Sorrell: Words that wound

UMass men’s basketball: Martin hails 2026-27 roster as ‘most complete team’ during summer session

AMHERST — College basketball is slowly appearing on the horizon, as the UMass men’s basketball team got some work in during an hour-long summer practice at the Champions Center on Monday afternoon. The focus of the practice was introductory defensive principles. The Minutemen return seven players from last year’s team. Five freshman and three transfers […]

A Belchertown librarian who became family

BELCHERTOWN — The Clapp Memorial Library is the home of Jennifer Whitehead. At least, that is what Belchertown’s youngest readers tell their parents. “They just think I live here, and sometimes it feels like I do,” said Whitehead, the town’s Youth Services Librarian. “I’m their connection to the library. They just think this is my […]

Amherst weighs cost of maintaining empty Wildwood School

AMHERST — Amherst is likely to spend more than $200,000 to maintain Wildwood School through next June, covering the costs of heating and electricity, and a full-time custodian, while making some accessibility improvements to the 1970s-era building. With the school district turning over the school to the town as of Sept. 1, Town Council will be presented with a request to appropriate $224,000 for “care and custody” of the 71 Strong St. site. The money would be drawn from what Finance Director Sean Mangano calls “inactive articles” previously authorized, but never used, for improvements at both Wildwood and Fort River schools, […]

Ware man convicted on multiple counts of child rape, sexual abuse

NORTHAMPTON — A 53-year-old man from Ware was convicted of 28 counts of rape and child sexual abuse on Monday following a four-day bench trial in Hampshire Superior Court. Hampshire Superior Court Judge Charles Groce III found Angel Ramos guilty of 13 counts of aggravated rape of a child; three counts of forcible rape of […]

Easthampton rent panel nears draft, weighs caps and exemptions

EASTHAMPTON — The city’s Rent Study Committee — a group of renters, landlords and developers — is making progress drafting an Easthampton-specific form of rent stabilization, which aims to provide relief to tenants as rents have skyrocketed. “I was lucky,” Rent Study Committee member and city tenant Carl Sailor said about a rent increase he […]