Incumbent Tara Jacobs seeks third term on Governor’s Council

Supreme Court to weigh whether oil companies can be forced to pay for climate change

The Supreme Court opened its new term Monday by hearing arguments on whether the oil and gas industry may be forced to pay damages for the scorching heat waves, wildfires and droughts that are blamed on climate change. It’s a momentous question the justices have put off deciding for nearly a decade — and may […]

Northampton City Council OKs new sign regs

NORTHAMPTON — Following a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that messages written on signs are protected as free speech, the City Council, after years of review, has created new regulations on the display of signs in the city. After councilors spent more than an hour deliberating over details, weighing businesses’ freedom to advertise over potential nuisance caused by illuminated signage, the council voted on Oct. 1 to limit the number of ground signs a business can display to six and to require illuminated signs to turn off at 11 p.m. The ordinance categorizes signs by size, type and location. It allows residents, […]

Hilltown microtransit reaping rewards

CHESTERFIELD — Microtransit is paying off as every $1 invested in Hilltown microtransit balloons to $23 in economic return, according to a new study by the Donohue Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. That’s $4 million of economic growth in the area from 2022 through 2025 driven by three Hillside Easy Ride vans. Meanwhile, […]

UMass hockey sputters out the gate, gets swept by Colorado College in season-opening series

The No. 18 UMass hockey team came home from Colorado College empty-handed after being swept by the Tigers to open its 2026-27 slate. The Minutemen scored just one goal on the weekend against Colorado College–now ranked at No. 15–losing the first game 2-0 last Friday, before falling 6-1 on Saturday in the series finale. Tigers […]

Columnist Joanna Buoniconti: An unexpected week in the intensive care unit

Around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, I entered into my bedroom after a full week of being in emergency rooms and bouncing between intensive care units. I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath. And, believe me, I’m still processing those words as I type them. This day […]