Déjà vu vu: Northampton City Council fails to pass budget for second straight year

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — In a repeat of last year’s outcome, the City Council on Wednesday failed to approve Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra’s budget for next fiscal year, owing in large part to the council president’s legal inability to cast the deciding vote.

Planting for the planet: Northampton High’s Environmental Club plants pollinator garden outside school

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — In a small patch of land between Northampton High School and the Hope Northampton church, members of the school’s Environmental Club are hard at work planting several native species of fauna such as the swamp milkweed, the blue-stemmed goldenrod and the clustered mountain mint.

Residents petition Amherst to help curb ICE actions in town

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst residents are petitioning the Town Council to push back on Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions that might lead to immigrants being held against their will and possibly being deported from the United States.

Decision looms in Worthington on how to plug $120K gap for next fiscal year

By SAMUEL GELINAS

WORTHINGTON — In the words of Select Board Chair Charlie Rose, annual Town Meeting this month went “surprisingly well,” despite a looming deficit that may require a Proposition 2½ override request in the near future.

Student loans: Payments have restarted; here’s how to manage the impact to your credit score

By CORA LEWIS and ADRIANA MORGA

NEW YORK — Millions of Americans are seeing their credit scores drop now that the U.S. government has resumed referring missed student loan payments for debt collection. But there are things you can do to help your score rebound.

Along Route 202: Dwight Day returns to Belchertown; Four-town food drive coming up; New trash carts roll out in South Hadley

By EMILEE KLEIN

BELCHERTOWN — Dwight Day returns for a second year to celebrate Belchertown’s historic village with conservation and wildlife activities, a cemetery tour and a portrayal of Emily Dickinson’s friendship with famous Dwight author Josiah Gilbert Holland.

Making News in Business, June 20

BOSTON — During the annual meeting of the Northeastern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NEASDA), Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Commissioner Ashley Randle, was elected as the president of the organization.

A Look Back, June 19

By JIM BRIDGMAN

Residents of about 60 streets in Northampton can expect to receive letters from the city later this year asking how they would feel if the names of their streets were changed. The problem, city officials say, is that about 60 city streets have names which duplicate or sound very similar to other city street names. For example, the city has a Bridge Street and a Bridge Road, a Clark Street and a Clark Avenue, and a Barrett Street and a Barrett Place.

Amherst man gets 9-11 years in state prison after admitting to six separate crimes

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — An Amherst man has pleaded guilty to 11 charges stemming from a spate of crimes committed between 2017 and 2019, including forcible rape of a child, unlawful possession of a firearm and breaking and entering in the nighttime.

Jones Library’s next chapter begins: Expansion, renovation underway following emotional groundbreaking ceremony

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A sense of community and belonging at the Jones Library and the lasting memories at the building are as important to Emily Wang and her family as the books they regularly access there.

Read not guilty in officer death

By MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE

Marine vet gets 24 months of supervised release in stolen valor case, must pay nearly $300K in restitution

By DOMENIC POLI

SPRINGFIELD — A U.S. Marine Corps veteran was sentenced on Tuesday to 24 months of supervised release for stealing benefit payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and submitting a false Purple Heart application through his congressional representative.

Cellphones in schools compared to ‘electronic cocaine’

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — “Electronic cocaine.” “A youth behavioral health crisis on steroids.” “Nothing’s more aggravating to me as a parent.”

Green River Festival to welcome 40-plus bands, bring back local beer in 39th year

By SHERYL HUNTER

GREENFIELD — There will be music, music and more music when the 39th annual Green River Festival returns to the Franklin County Fairgrounds this weekend.

Area briefs: Cedar Chest, Grow Food partner battle hunger; Cinema to premier all-women, genderqueer festival; Kids Yoga at Granby Library; Valley Players production kicks off Friday

NORTHAMPTON — For the fourth straight year, Grow Food Northampton and Cedar Chest, the anchor store in Thornes Marketplace in downtown Northampton, are partnering to fight hunger in the city.

Amherst probes rising E. coli levels at Puffer’s Pond

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Just after Memorial Day, the first round of testing to determine the E. coli levels at Puffer’s Pond revealed the bacteria in the water exceeded acceptable state standards, requiring the temporary closing of the site for swimming.

Former South Deerfield resident sentenced to probation, must pay nearly $14K in Medicaid fraud case

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Brenda Bialecki, 60, formerly of South Deerfield, was sentenced to two years probation and must pay $13,600 in restitution after she pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon to single counts of Medicaid false claims, larceny over $1,200 and Medicaid kickbacks.

Three regional fairs secure state funding for infrastructure work

By SAMUEL GELINAS

Three multi-generational traditions in Hampshire County are being maintained with the help of tens of thousands in funds from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).

Photo: Downtown beautification in Amherst