Holyoke man pleads guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material

Developer seeks $700K in CPA funds for affordable housing

HADLEY — A Hadley developer is seeking $700,000 from the town’s Community Preservation Act account to offset the cost of providing seven affordable, two-bedroom units at a 55-and-over development planned for the Village Barn Shops. The request from the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group, to help with construction of its planned three-story, 50-unit apartment building at 41 Russell St., is one of four applications, totaling just under $1 million, that the CPA Committee is reviewing. The committee is expected to act on the requests at its Sept. 14 meeting. Other projects seeking funding are for designing a multi-use path that would run […]

Chesterfield eyes new rules for battery energy storage systems

CHESTERFIELD — After the state announced new measures for the building of large-scale solar arrays set to take full effect on Oct. 1, the Planning Board is set to establish local rules for battery energy storage systems, also known as BESS. With a draft prepared, a public hearing was held Thursday night to air out […]

Speaking of Nature: Tracking a brilliant songbird

The most vivid memory that I have of seeing a Canada warbler is an old one, all the way back to the end of the 20th century. I was on a springtime hike up the mighty Mount Monadnock, one of New Hampshire’s great hiking destinations. I was still in my 20s and so I thought […]

A Look Back, Sept. 1

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H.S. golf: Brayden Fennessy fires one-under par 34, Hampshire takes down Frontier at Cherry Hill

AMHERST — The Hampshire Regional golf team opened its season with a 151-180 win over Frontier Regional in Suburban League play at Cherry Hill Golf Course on Monday. The Raiders (1-0, 1-0) got a 34 (-1) from Brayden Fennessy. The senior had three birdies and two bogeys on the nine-hole course. “You can always clean up bogeys,” Fennessy said. “It’s part of golf. Better chips, better putts. A little bit of everything.” Fennessy injured himself playing hockey last season and missed the golf postseason. He is not partaking in the winter sport this fall and has high expectations for the playoffs. […]