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On Tuesday, voters in Holyoke will make some important decisions when they head to the polls on Election Day. There is a robust and impressive field of candidates locked in 14 races for seats on the City Council and School Committee.But no elected...

A gathering considering climate change and invasive species last week at the University of Massachusetts Amherst sounded a warning about threats to New England.About 100 experts gathered during the first regional invasive species and climate change...

Pregnant workers in Massachusetts finally have the legal protection against discrimination that they have long deserved, in large part due to the advocacy by MotherWoman in Hadley and former state representative Ellen Story of Amherst.Gov. Charlie...

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ ruling earlier this month on projects in Hadley and Amherst left each town facing a decision.The state awarded Hadley a $3.9 million construction grant to help pay for replacing the Goodwin Memorial...

The Legislature reached a reasonable compromise on the law regulating recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, and we urge Gov. Charlie Baker to sign the measure.The compromise bill approved by the Legislature this week leaves intact much of Question...

Both hands on the wheel, with attention fully on the driving is a good idea. Distracted driving? Dangerous idea.Distracted driving resulted in some 3,500 deaths in 2015, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That same year,...

The potential scaling back of Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus routes serving the Five Colleges is troubling because hundreds of people would lose public transportation vital to their studies and livelihoods.We urge the PVTA advisory board, which...

We hope that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in an upcoming gerrymandering case comes down on the side of democracy.The Supreme Court this fall will take up the issue of political parties manipulating state voting maps to gain advantage in Congress...

Fans of passenger rail service in Northampton were glad to hear last week that the city is on track for improved service. Within the year, a larger two-sided platform will be built at the city’s railroad station off Pleasant Street, and beginning in...

Kudos to the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District for its leadership in eliminating the indefensible practice known as “lunch shaming.”Across the country, students with a school meal debt have been publicly shamed with alternate food — often a cold...

Last week’ s vandalism of the bronze owl sculpture on Main Street in Northampton struck a deep nerve in a community that values public art in many forms. The attack left an emotional scar as well as physical damage to a memorial for Eva Trager and...

Amherst and Sunderland have made commendable commitments to improve recreational opportunities in those communities.A partnership between a neighborhood group and the town resulted in reviving Markert’s Pond, which is part of the 5-acre Pondview...

As communities confront the opioid epidemic in their homes, on the streets and in treatment centers, a new program aims to widen the prevention effort to middle schools through a public-private partnership.Attorney General Maura Healey this month...

A jury sent an important message last month when it convicted Jesse Carrillo of involuntary manslaughter after the heroin he supplied to fellow University of Massachusetts student Eric Sinacori led to the 20-year-old’s death by overdose in...

A statewide bill that would ban the use of Native American mascots in public schools is generating strong opinions on both sides of the issue. That’s no surprise, based on the lengthy debate by the Gill-Montague School Committee before it got rid of...

High school graduations are bittersweet times of looking back at accomplishments reached and friendships made, while considering the uncertainties of the journey ahead, whether the chosen path is school, the military or employment.They are also a time...

Kudos to the Easthampton Police Department for its addition of Gino, a 17-month-old Belgian Malinois, and to Officer Andrew Beaulieu for rearranging his life to handle the department’s latest crime-stopper.The new K-9 unit paid off quickly when Gino,...

If the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School doesn’t want to be accused of acting like a publicly funded institution for the select, it should stop acting like one.Clearly, the school in Hadley provides a valuable alternative education for...

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker took the right action in swiftly joining an alliance of political, academic and business leaders pledging to move the nation toward meeting the commitments made as part of the Paris Climate Agreement.The day after...

While the state Legislature ponders exactly how legalized recreational marijuana will be sold in Massachusetts, a promising new idea has emerged about how to spend the revenue expected from taxing the pot sales.A bill under consideration by the Labor...

The United Way of Hampshire County’s departing executive director, Jim Ayres, leaves a legacy of stability and collaboration among agencies assisting our less fortunate neighbors.Ayres is not venturing far. His last day at the local agency is June 9,...