DPU opens probe into volatile Massachusetts energy bills

Northampton firefighters, police mark 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks with bell ceremony

NORTHAMPTON — Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon claimed 2,977 lives, including 343 firefighters and 71 police officers, city public safety officials gathered outside the fire station to honor those killed in the line of duty. Before firefighter Hugh Parker rang four sets of five bell […]

Eyes on the road: License plate cameras spark privacy concerns

Sometimes, it feels hard to escape technology these days. That may feel particularly relevant to those concerned about cameras set up on the side of the road in different Hampshire County communities, constantly capturing drivers’ locations, license plates and vehicle details. The AI-powered cameras known as automatic license plate readers (ALPRs), often operated by police […]

Coming home to compassion: Richard Gere returns to UMass for ‘Wisdom of Happiness’ film screening

AMHERST — Actor and humanitarian Richard Gere is perhaps best known for playing characters with dubious morals, like Billy Flynn in “Chicago” or Julian Kay in “American Gigolo.” But on Wednesday night, he returned to the University of Massachusetts Amherst — his alma mater — to screen a movie that encourages compassion and cooperation for the betterment of humanity. About 2,000 people filled Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall for a free screening of the movie “Wisdom of Happiness,” for which Gere was an executive producer. The movie stars the Dalai Lama speaking about his philosophies on happiness, compassion and building a […]

Whately, Hatfield officials drafting agreement for shared police chief

The Whately and Hatfield selectboards have formed a working group to explore a multi-phase plan to share a police chief and potentially regionalize their police services to address staffing shortages and budget concerns.

History retold: 'The Hull/Hawley Plays' bring two forgotten Northampton lives to light

Bathsheba Hull and Major Joseph Hawley III came from two very different walks of life —one was a formerly enslaved widow, and the other was a political figure with family ties to theologian Jonathan Edwards. Both of them dealt with life-upending struggles, and both are central figures in a new show of site-specific plays about […]