Easthampton becomes second Hampshire County community to ban crypto kiosks amid rising fraud

Northampton officials flag revenue concerns as cannabis, hotel and building permit income decline

NORTHAMPTON — The city exceeded its revenue projections by less than 1% last spring — the final quarter of fiscal year 2026 covering a three-month period from April through June — though some of the city’s key revenue streams are seeing a year-by-year decline. Some of the quarter’s more drastically depreciating revenue streams include taxes collected on cannabis sales, hotels and motels, and building and plumbing inspections, according to Finance Director Charlene Nardi, who gave a presentation to the City Council at its Sept. 17 meeting. “The city is still financially healthy,” Nardi said in an interview with the Gazette Friday. […]

Healey joins Minogue in push for gas tax relief

BOSTON — Days after her opponent called for suspension of the gas tax, Gov. Maura Healey proposed a two-month gas tax holiday Tuesday, saying she’ll put election-season legislation before lawmakers to accomplish her goal. The proposal to suspend Massachusetts’ 24-cent-per-gallon tax could set up a difficult fight over a tax that Beacon Hill lawmakers have […]

Speaking of Nature: Nikonus and Iso — The gods of photography

Special thanks to Donald H. for asking a great question. Here is the answer: Throughout human history, intelligent and curious people who struggled to understand the world in which they lived invented gods to explain things. A prime example of this would be the natural phenomenon that we call thunder. Today we know that lightning […]

Guest columnist Nick Bromell: Left, right, center — words that belong in the dustbin of history

Zohran Mamdani’s election last November triggered an instant backlash of op-eds decrying the rise of a “radical left” within the ranks of the Democratic Party. Abdul El-Sayed’s recent victory in Michigan provoked a similar response, with self-anointed experts warning direly that the successes of the Party’s “insurgent left” are paving the way for disastrous Republican […]

Guest columnist Mariel E. Addis: Life in these times

If you know me personally, you know I have a penchant for puns and dad jokes. Most are mediocre at best, but every once in a while, thank God, I knock one out of the park. Also, if you know me personally, you probably know I can be an emotional basket case, crying at the drop of a hat when something “deep” touches my soul. My weekly estrogen injections obviously don’t help, but I was more or less that way before I ever started my transition to female, and that estrogen makes things, well, more fun. Still, I’d rather deal with […]