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H.S. girls volleyball: Smith Voc embracing high expectations after state final run

NORTHAMPTON — How does a team that reached a state championship prepare for a match the next season? For Smith Vocational volleyball, its routine typically includes creating TikTok videos before it plays its opponents on the court. Posts usually are of the team dancing as a group or making jokes together. “We usually create dancing […]

H.S. boys soccer preview: Hampshire County squads aim for progress, playoff success

Area boys soccer teams are back in action as the 2026 season is humming right along with a handful of teams out to great starts, while others look to kick into gear as October nears. Northampton is mowing down the competition with a 6-0 record while Hampshire (3-0-2) and Gateway (2-0-3) are the other local […]

Comerford urges Northampton to rally for overhaul of state school funding formula

NORTHAMPTON — With the state preparing for a rare reexamination of how it pays for public education, state Sen. Jo Comerford is calling on Northampton residents and officials to make their voices heard, pushing for changes to a funding formula she says shortchanges many western Massachusetts communities. The senator addressed inequities in formulas that dictate […]

Northampton Jazz Festival 2026: Lakecia Benjamin headlines 15th year spotlighting women bandleaders

The Northampton Jazz Festival returns for its 15th year this Friday and Saturday at venues in downtown Northampton — and female bandleaders will be in the spotlight. “They’re still sometimes overlooked or not considered, but they’re great musicians and they are making huge strides in the jazz world, and we want to embrace that. … […]

Columnist Carrie N. Baker: American rape culture fuels tales of female vengeance

From the Hulu series Furious to recent novels like “Honey and A Certain Hunger,” popular culture is increasingly portraying women taking revenge on men who assault them. After a decade of institutions repeatedly refusing to deliver justice, no wonder fiction is giving women what reality won’t. The impunity America grants to powerful men is truly […]