Area Briefs: Taste of Northampton preps for another year

Guest columnist John Peeler: Pray for Trump

Pray for Trump. Wait! What? He is in so many ways the worst disaster ever to befall this country. Why should we pray for him? And it’s true. The corruption of Donald Trump, his family and his closest associates goes far beyond anything ever seen here, reminiscent of a Third World dictatorship, but on a […]

New 'undercover' bullying prevention coming to Northampton Schools

NORTHAMPTON — A new “undercover” anti-bullying program focused on forming peer support groups to discreetly support bullied students will be implemented districtwide this school year, Superintendent of Schools Annie Azarloza announced this week. The program, referred to as the “Undercover Anti-Bullying Team Approach,” aims to reinforce the district’s current anti-bullying protocol with a strategy described […]

Guest columnist John Berkowitz: End the Ukraine war now or risk nuclear war 

Thanks for your coverage of the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I agree with many experts who think the war in Ukraine is the most dangerous potential flashpoint of international conflict that could escalate into nuclear war between the U.S./NATO and Russia. The U.S. continues providing Ukraine with billions of dollars of military, financial and intelligence assistance, including for its increased long-range drone attacks on Russia.  Russia is now responding by taking off its gloves of relative restraint, and going for an outright military victory by intensely bombing the major port facilities and transportation infrastructure of Odesa […]

Striking a ‘Sparc’: Frontman Harley Fant and his middle-school bandmates bring '80s and '90s rock covers to West Springfield alongside family-fronted Recent History

Twelve-year-old Harlan “Harley” Fant — a guitarist, bassist and vocalist from Leeds — is already confident enough to correct his veteran musician father on guitar chords. Now, his newly formed youth rock band, Sparc, is taking to the stage to show the public exactly how far that musical mentorship has come. Specializing in ’80s and […]

Massachusetts cracks down on kratom, following lead of local communities

Deerfield joined other Massachusetts municipalities in banning kratom products, just days before an emergency order came from the state's Department of Public Health.