AG Campbell visits Northampton High, announces $50K grant to support cellphone ban

South Hadley holds off on data center moratorium as officials weigh effects on utilities, tax base

SOUTH HADLEY — A push for a data center moratorium has stalled for now as town officials weigh how such facilities could affect local utilities and economic development. South Hadley began considering legal language for a data center moratorium or ban after Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order Sept. 8 that requires local approval […]

Guest columnist Shane L. Dillon: I worked for Richard Neal. I'm knocking on doors for Nadia Milleron

A note from a western Mass. neighbor: As a sophomore at Amherst College in 2023, I studied James Baldwin. Through our professor’s academic relationships, we were the first students at any educational level in the world to access his high school newspaper articles. His writing became fundamental to my life, especially his philosophy: to truly […]

Amherst deploys extra ambulances to handle Halloween crowds

AMHERST — Four Amherst Fire Department ambulances will be staffed and four out-of-town standby ambulances will be present in town Saturday night, part of an effort to reduce dependence on mutual aid on Halloween. A year after a four-hour period on Halloween saw 30 patients transported by ambulance from Amherst to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in […]

Yes for Amherst Schools Committee donates leftover funds to Amethyst Brook

AMHERST — Participatory projects that teach civic engagement and organizing for students of all ages are being supported through a donation to the newly formed Amethyst Brook Parent Guardian Organization. With Amethyst Brook Elementary School open this fall, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, the Yes for Amherst Schools Committee gave its remaining $2,839.10 to the PGO. That money remained from the committee’s advocacy in advance of the May 2023 Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion override, which passed with 82% support. Under campaign finance laws, such funds must be donated to another candidate’s campaign or political action committee, or a nonprofit. For the Yes […]

'Building big': Amherst celebrates a school designed for the future

AMHERST — The new Amethyst Brook Elementary School is about $100 million worth of steel, brick and mortar. It’s a haven to cultivate learning for the town’s young people, and a place of recreation for residents of all ages who will have access to fields and a cafetorium. It’s also a milestone, the town’s first […]