Mark William Bracken: How unclaimed property can help your favorite nonprofit

National Nonprofit Day was celebrated just a few weeks ago on Aug. 17. Many people chose to acknowledge the day by volunteering at their favorite nonprofit or donating to an organization in their area. If you are looking for a unique way to contribute...

Paul M. Craig: America and the world in troubled waters

Why is the entire world in such turmoil? In America, students and other campus disrupters make demands that would get them summarily shot or “disappeared” in many nations, some to our south. Nonetheless, these demonstrators embody the decline and...

Columnist John Sheirer: Harris’s record is clear

By JOHN SHEIRER

Yesterday, when I was walking our cute, smart dog Libby through our neighborhood, a gaggle of strangers rounded the corner and approached us. “Hey, what are your policies for this neighborhood!” they shouted. “When are you going to tell us where you...

Guest columnist Sarah Manteiga: Japanese knotweed is the problem, not the solution

By SARAH MANTEIGA

A question for Shutesbury Rights of Wetlands Initiative: Why try to reinvent the wheel? European countries have battled Japanese knotweed for decades longer; why stand in the way by not learning from their mistakes?Shutesbury Rights of Wetlands...

Guest columnist Kelley Bryant: Empowering tomorrow’s innovators — Advancing gender, racial diversity and leadership in STEM

By KELLEY BRYANT

Massachusetts is leading the charge in innovation with incubators supporting startups, drug manufacturers developing lifesaving treatments, and technology companies using AI for solutions in various sectors. Women in government are promoting...

Guest columnist Rabbi David Seidenberg: Project Shema — Truth, not travesty

By RABBI DAVID SEIDENBERG

A petition made the rounds in the past two weeks to stop a training about antisemitism from taking place at Northampton High School. That training, led by Project Shema, happened on Tuesday.“Shema” means “listening” in Hebrew, and Project Shema’s...

Column: Absence of Palestinian voice at DNC a missed opportunity

By SARA WEINBERGER and JEFF GOLD

We were initially swept up in the wave of enthusiasm that took hold when Vice President Kamala Harris became presidential candidate Kamala Harris. She was a breath of fresh air, who rekindled hope that she and Tim Walz could reignite the Democratic...

Timmon Wallis: Be strong, Kamala, not macho

Madame Vice President, I know you want to appear “strong” and “tough” so that, especially as a woman, you do not appear to be “weak.” But being strong is not the same as being macho! Being strong is also about inner strength — knowing what is right,...

Guest columnist Jon McCabe: NIMBY obstruction threatens public good

By JON MCCABE

 Journalist Ezra Klein interviewed Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii recently about the negative impact of Not-in-My-Back-Yardism regarding support for local public goods/services such as housing, schools, and yes, libraries. Schatz focused on how NIMBYism...

Guest columnist Rosalie P. Porter: Don’t abandon effective MCAS

By ROSALIE P. PORTER

 The recent guest column “MCAS test requirement just bad policy and practice” [Aug. 27] presents forceful arguments for voting to abolish the statewide test of basic skills for all 10th grade students as a requirement for high school graduation. The...

Guest columnist Rev. Peter Kakos: The last hope for a lasting peace in Palestine

By THE REV. PETER KAKOS

 Many remember the victorious results of the world’s South Africa boycott movement of the 1980s. Ever-mounting pressure forced the apartheid leadership’s hand, leading to a national change of course, enabling it to find a way to achieve integrity for...

Guest columnist Rob Okun: The 50-year-old ‘new’ masculinity

By ROB OKUN

 Since the presidential campaign shake-up in July, the national conversation about manhood is abuzz with talk of a “new” masculinity, embodied by good, decent men like Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff. What’s actually new, though, is what’s now coming into...

Lawrence Pareles: Kamala Harris embodies the American story

After hearing her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, I’m excited and hopeful that Kamala Harris can become our next president.This will be one of the most important elections in our history, and I look forward to having her lead...

David Ball: Gaza and Ukraine are completely different issues

An Aug. 29 letter to the editor in the Gazette asks, “What is the common denominator of both of these awful areas of destruction and carnage?” [“Gaza and Ukraine — stop both wars now”]. American weapons, says the writer. Correct. But he overlooks the...

Judson Brown: Presidential debate should address ‘forever chemicals’

If I had the opportunity to question the candidates for president during their debate, the first question I’d ask is what are you going to do about PFAS chemicals, otherwise known as “forever chemicals.”It seems that every day lately we are reading...

Mary Hall: Russians must end war in Ukraine themselves

While I appreciate that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s talking points have gained some currency in the Valley, it still remains that the simplest, fastest way to end the harms in Ukraine is for Russia to cease and desist from its aggressions...

Robert Pollin: Disappointed in story on antisemitism training at high school

I was deeply disappointed with the Gazette’s one-sided coverage of the dispute over the antisemitism training workshop for Northampton High School teachers, administrators and staff scheduled for Sept. 3 [“Petition asks NHS to cancel training,” Aug....

Columnist J.M. Sorrell: Growing signs of antisemitism in the open

By J.M. SORRELL

I would love to write about other topics, and yet the breadth and forms keep expanding. Zionism is increasingly described as a genocidal movement meant to destroy others, yet the actual undertaking was created by Jews with progressive ideals of...

Adam Schwartz: What does Bangladesh have to do with Jones Library?

I take exception to Jones Library trustee Farah Ameen’s recent guest column [“Bring back hope to Amherst,” Gazette, Aug. Aug. 29]. She implies that we should ignore how the board of trustees for the Jones Library squanders our limited resources...

Anita Sarro: Hope is alive and well in Amherst

Jones Library trustee and guest columnist Farah Ameen labels those who disagree with her a “vocal minority,” denigrates their concerns as “first world” problems and misinformation, and blames their advocacy for a loss of hope [“Bring back hope to...