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By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

The number of calls to Northampton Fire Rescue has nearly doubled over the last decade, leading the city to expand department staffing in next year’s fiscal budget, which begins July 1.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — The city on Thursday closed a portion of the sidewalk in its central downtown after engineering consultants found that the section posed “an immediate risk of collapse.”

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Ever since moving to Florence 18 years ago, JoJo Howlett has had only one choice for where she fills her car with gas — the Citgo gas station in the village’s center, owned by Bob Gougeon and his family.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has called for a public debate between her and the other two mayoral candidates in this year’s municipal election, proposing multiple public forums to be held before preliminary elections in September.

By OLIN ROSE-BARDAWIL

Two weeks ago marked 600 days since the war in Gaza began. Six hundred days and nearly 100,000 casualties later, many have woken up to the clear immorality of Israel’s assault on Gaza. However, there are still many Americans who cling to a few talking points that allow them to justify the brutality — talking points which, over 600 days in, seem just as tired and trite as the war itself.

The street fair Cultural Chaos, one of Easthampton’s biggest annual events, will return this year on Saturday, June 14, from 12 to 5 p.m. on Cottage Street in Easthampton.

Testimony I submitted to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary, June 3, 2025 in support of H.2052/S.1178: An Act to Reduce Mass Incarceration. Twenty-five years ago, when I began the Real Cost of Prisons Project, I naively thought if people understood the real costs of mass incarceration to people imprisoned, their loved ones and their communities and the hundreds of millions of dollars we pay yearly to keep people caged, they would see that this state-run, outrageously costly system harms, not helps, everyone involved.

NORTHAMPTON — A No Kings rally is being held on the steps of Northampton City Hall Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Count the city among those advocating for universal health care in the state of Massachusetts.

By LOLI VIANA

There comes a time when even the most well-intentioned frameworks outlive their usefulness. When the structures that once protected us begin to hold us back. Northampton prides itself on its fiscal prudence over the last decade, but the current budgeting framework — once necessary and right — is no longer serving our city. The refusal to acknowledge this shift and the reluctance to move toward a more needs-based approach are now causing real harm. It’s undermining our city’s ability to meet its most fundamental responsibility: to serve its people.

By DOUGLAS J. AMY

One of the main things that separates Republican politicians from Democratic ones these days is that the Democrats seem to still care whether people live or die. Not so much the Republicans. The fact is that the way Donald Trump and the Republicans are slashing vital government programs will inevitably result in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans — and many more abroad.

I was glad to see another article about the upcoming Northampton elections. It is important for residents to know who is running and what choices we have. However, as a former trustee at Forbes Library, I was very disappointed to again see no mention of the library. Forbes Library serves the entire community. Many people do not realize that the board of trustees, the governing board of the library, is elected. The board is responsible for hiring and evaluating the director and for the oversight of the library budget and policies. It is important that people know who is running for a position on the board. There are seven trustees and this year four seats will be decided in November’s election. I hope more information about the Forbes Library Board of Trustees election will be forthcoming.

It’s no secret that western Massachusetts, like anywhere, is facing a profound political crisis. The Trump administration is tearing up the fabric of our society as ICE stalks our streets. With everything from Medicare to the Department of Education under siege, the very foundations of our lives are at stake. With simultaneous cuts to public services and disproportionate funding at the state level, we are confronting a precarious, dire moment.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — The City Council on Thursday postponed a vote on the $145 million city budget for the 2026 fiscal year, in the hopes of avoiding the more contentious budget process that took place the previous year.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Only steps away from where ambulances will be bringing patients to Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s expanded Emergency Department are two dedicated resuscitation rooms.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — At a parent’s home by the Montview Conservation Area, Brant Jones gathers the group of 14 high school students who have assembled that morning before they embark on their planned four-day adventure.

By CAROLYN BROWN

Lewis Carol’s story of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is more than 150 years old, but a group of local teen performers is reimagining it with a modern twist.

I was appalled at the thoughtless way in which Smith College handled the reversal of Evelyn Harris’ honorary degree. As pointed out by Bob Cilman and Julia van IJken in their recent letter, the college reviewed and approved Evelyn’s speech, which likely was written in the mindset of a musician, interpreting “covers.” Evelyn is not an academic and was not looking to plagiarize as the blaring headlines claimed. I’m sure she assumed the pre-approval of her speech took that nuance into account. Regardless of the decision, it should have been made privately between Evelyn and the college as there was clearly misunderstanding on both sides.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A University of Massachusetts student majoring in sociology, Prachi Dayal regularly interacts with survivors of domestic violence as a legal intern at Safe Passage in Northampton, talking to these individuals and ensuring they and their families get the help they need.

The Northampton Jazz Festival will screen “Brownie Speaks,” a documentary about the life of jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, at 33 Hawley on Thursday, June 12, at 8 p.m.

I object to the unfounded accusations against retired Rev. Peter Kakos, made by a recent letter writer in these pages. I stand out regularly with Rev. Kakos and have come to know him as a man of God, for whom God is love. We stand out calling for an end to U.S. arms shipments to Israel as it carries out attacks against Gaza that have leveled the landscape. The people of Gaza have been forsaken in a most terrible way. Right now, before the whole world, a mass starvation is taking place due to the restriction of aid by the Israeli government. Recently, it was reported that 14,000 babies are in danger of dying in the next few days. These are war crimes. It is not antisemitic to protest war crimes, it is in fact, standing up for peace, justice, a better world and to remind our community that the light of life and God are in all living beings, including Palestinians.