Sports Briefs: SuperHero Run & Fall Fair coming to Northampton on October 4

Amherst fears loss of tax revenue from UMass housing deal

AMHERST — A partnership between the University of Massachusetts and a private developer to rehabilitate existing dormitories and build new on-campus student housing is raising concerns for town officials that such projects will be exempt from paying local property taxes. At the Town Council’s Sept. 14 meeting, District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen told colleagues that […]

'The embodiment of joy': Billy Robinson remembered as the life of every room

BELCHERTOWN — “Miss you buddy.” Randy Wood sent that short message to his best friend William “Billy” Robinson. Such texts were rare for Wood, and Robinson kept teasing him about it. It did not matter that they called nearly every day, hung out often, or even spoke through the Ring camera on Wood’s front porch. […]

Northampton to form 10-member data center study committee

NORTHAMPTON — As the city weighs whether to implement a year-long moratorium on the development of commercial data centers, the City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to form a 10-person committee tasked with studying the impacts a data center would have on the city. The decision came as the proliferation of artificial intelligence data centers […]

Amherst gets free access to Hampshire College pool

AMHERST — Even as Hampshire College is nearing the end of its operations, Amherst Recreation is using the campus swimming pool for a variety of programs. With the usual indoor swimming pool for the aquatics program closed until at least October, due to the ongoing roof replacement at Amherst Regional Middle School, Town Manager Paul […]

Columnist Rev. Andrea Ayvazian: Contempt divides, dignity unites

I did not quite understand what I was signing up for.  I had complained to trusted colleagues that I was distressed by the divisiveness, polarization, and hurtful language that I have been experiencing in Northampton, a city I love and have called home for 45 years. In response to my hand-wringing, colleagues encouraged me to attend a […]