For whom the bale tolls: Jae Silverman’s grassroots mission crops up in Conway

Leverett resident aims to bring the Pledge of Allegiance to Town Meetings

LEVERETT — A longtime resident intends to mount an effort to get the Pledge of Allegiance read before all Town Meetings, an idea that received a cool reception from the Select Board this week. Donald Robinson, of Jackson Hill Road, told the board Tuesday that he will circulate a petition to get signatures from 10 […]

Unveiling a treasury of classical art: Clark Art Institute displays 150 antique works from Aso Tavitian collection

Through Feb. 21, Williamstown’s Clark Art Institute is displaying 150 pristine works of antiquity, many never before shown publicly, bequeathed to the museum by the philanthropist and collector Aso Tavitian (1940–2020). There were audible gasps from several reporters when they first entered the galleries, given the dramatic atmosphere of perfectly preserved oils from centuries past. […]

Around Amherst: Banned Books Week front and center

AMHERST — Amherst officials and Jones Library staff are marking Banned Books Week with both a proclamation and a brief video, encouraging people to read children’s, teen and adult books that have been challenged in libraries, schools and bookstores. On Monday evening on the steps of Town Hall, members of the Town Council and trustees […]

Cooley Dickinson Hospital goes offline due to Mass General Brigham network outage

NORTHAMPTON — Most patient care continued as normal on Thursday at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, despite a network outage that disrupted computer systems across the Mass General Brigham system, including the Northampton hospital. The outage, which started around noon, was not linked to a cyber attack, but the disruption caused some computers and devices to go […]

Guest columnist Jeff Gold: On the aftermath of Oct. 7 anniversary: American Jewish identity and its discontents

The crisis that has emerged within the American Jewish community since Oct. 7, 2023 is nothing short of profound. Although the roots of this crisis can be traced back at least to 1948, its most evident touchstones have been the potentially fracturing disagreements emerging during the past three years over events in Israel-Palestine. I don’t seek to rehash these disagreements here — the meaning and consequences of Zionism for both Jews and its victims; the rise of antisemitism and its weaponization; the murderous rampage by Hamas on Oct. 7; the resultant genocidal assault of Gaza; and the passive and active “acceptance” […]