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By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — Rehabilitation of the discontinued portion of Rattlesnake Gutter Road, which has become the town’s most popular place for walking, hiking and bicycling, and improving the historic Moore’s Corner Schoolhouse, are among more than $500,000 in...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Repair and removal of existing dams in Hampshire and Franklin counties, along with improvements to Holyoke’s levee control system and repairs to the pump station, are being supported by more than $1.04 million from the state’s Executive...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The idea of moving seventh and eighth graders to Amherst Regional High School, potentially turning the Amherst Regional Middle School building into an innovation center, is being greeted with cautious optimism by members of the Regional...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

PELHAM — Several initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the town’s sustainability are among 10 articles to be taken up by voters at a special Town Meeting Tuesday.The fall session will be called to order at 7 p.m. at the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Employees with the Amherst Cinema Workers United are pushing for salary changes to the existing contract with management of the nonprofit cinema so that the 13 members of the front-of-house staff, who oversee the box office and concessions...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Municipal building inspectors and town police officers will soon have a mechanism for ensuring problem properties that affect the quality of life in Amherst neighborhoods, such as residences holding frequent loud parties with underage...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A referendum question on the state’s November election ballot seeking to eliminate the requirement that public high school students pass the MCAS test to graduate is being endorsed by the Amherst Regional School Committee.The committee on...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A process for identifying a permanent town administrator is getting underway in Hadley, with the first step likely hiring a company to oversee the search.During a Select Board meeting on Monday that also included a hearing on increasing the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority will go fare-free beginning Nov. 1, part of a statewide “Try Transit” initiative that provides funding to allow transit authorities to waive fees for riders.PVTA said that no fares or passes will be...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Better understanding of how certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often simply called PFAS and known as “forever chemicals,” negatively affect public health and cause assorted maladies, is leading to state and federal laws and...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — In recognition of what elected trustees say is her exemplary work overseeing the Jones Library system, and the planned expansion and renovation project at the main branch, Director Sharon Sharry is earning a significant salary boost.Trustees...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Hundreds of people gathered in the back yard at a North Pleasant Street fraternity house, where loud music was playing and some underage guests were found urinating on a neighboring property, led to enforcement actions by Amherst Police late...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — As a federal review of the expansion and renovation of the Jones Library gets underway, town officials are asking the Massachusetts Historical Commission to confirm that the $46.1 million project will have an adverse effect on historic...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — A seven-year effort to bring together progressives in western Massachusetts and more conservative residents of rural eastern Kentucky, for conversations and sometimes intense dialogues about their political and cultural differences, is...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Reducing or modifying what Amherst spends on its capital improvement program, adjusting the town’s contribution to Other Post Employment Benefits and taking a closer look at the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service operations...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — The Planning Board will not make a recommendation to special Town Meeting this fall about a proposal to significantly expand the senior housing overlay district, to include a 30-acre property near the corner of Rocky Hill Road and North Maple...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Concern for the well being of immigrants to the United States, and how those who have come to the country may be affected by a second Donald Trump administration, will be discussed as part of a Tashlich ceremony Sunday afternoon.Being held...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A general contractor to undertake the expansion and renovation of the Jones Library building is again being sought by the town, with a bid advertisement recently posted for an estimated construction cost of $36 million.The legal ad comes...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A new bullying reporting system is on the websites for the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools, providing an improved process for notifying school officials about possible incidents and ensuring prompt investigations....

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A 38-year career as a municipal assessor will come to a close in January for Daniel H. Zdonek Jr., who has been Hadley’s assessor since July 1990.The Easthampton resident who worked for the city for four years prior to coming to Hadley...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Town officials are exploring development of the former VFW site on Main Street into a new 40-bed homeless shelter with associated services and a four-story, 30-unit single-room occupancy apartment complex.At a recent presentation to update...