From pass-through to hot spot: Easthampton’s Cottage Street a hub for food, shops and culture

Blackbird Marketplace set to replace Tailgate Picnic in South Hadley

SOUTH HADLEY — Construction has begun at the former Tailgate Picnic location to turn the former deli into a new lunch cafe called Blackbird Marketplace. The new restaurant at 7 College St. will continue the tailgate tradition of grab-and-go lunch sandwiches and coffee, but expand its options to breakfast sandwiches, salads, smoothies and baked goods. […]

New Westhampton administrator embraces fiscal challenges following failed tax override attempts

WESTHAMPTON — Patrick Grigsby is settling in as Westhampton’s new town administrator, having taken the helm as chief of town operations earlier this summer. But the job is not the only thing that’s new for him. Grigsby, 28, started in the new role in August after moving with his wife from Texas for the job. In […]

Ready for anything: Easthampton firefighters juggle medical calls, training and mutual aid as demand climbs

EASTHAMPTON — It’s 7:30 in the morning on a Tuesday. Eight Easthampton firefighters just arrived at the fire house in the Public Safety Complex. They are starting their day-long shift and will have to be ready for anything in the next 24 hours. Each morning starts with mandatory checks of all vehicles, making sure that each […]

Guest columnist Barbara A. Rouillard: Anything but 'small potatoes'

My best friend Gini, like me, was a public school teacher. After every mass shooting, where the shooter either killed himself or had the police do it — death by cop, she used to say, “You couldn’t cut out the middleman… Why did you have to take some of us with you?” J. D. Vance […]

Leverett to hold informational sessions to gauge interest in creating a cultural district

LEVERETT — Informational sessions on creating a cultural district will be held at Town Hall twice this month. Both meetings, Tuesday and again on Oct. 20, begin at 6 p.m. with artists, musicians, authors and other cultural workers in town invited to offer their ideas and to help the Select Board gauge community interest in […]