By Line search: By SCOTT MERZBACH
By SCOTT MERZBACH
PELHAM — A preliminary report showing how the 12 communities in the Quabbin Reservoir watershed might be able to get potable water from the resource falls short of a comprehensive study being sought by legislators representing the Quabbin region.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Unless state aid increases, other sources of funding are found or member towns can contribute more, a fiscal year 2026 budget that eliminates around 17 positions may be the best-case scenario for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, according to information presented at a “Four Towns Meeting” Saturday.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A significant majority of elementary school teachers, paraprofessionals and clerical staff are disavowing a recent statement, released by the executive board for the Amherst-Pelham Education Association, offering support to Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman in the face of allegations made by 12 administrators whose identities have not been made public.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — Approvals from the Select Board and School Committee to use a portion of land along Route 9 next to Hopkins Academy could set the stage for the construction of up to four outdoor pickleball courts and a full-size basketball court.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Revised regulations on the sale of tobacco products in Amherst drafted by the Board of Health, including restricting oral nicotine pouches to adults-only tobacco stores, is winning both praise and criticism from the public, with advocates for curtailing access to tobacco calling for the town to bolster the rules by adopting a nicotine-free generation measure.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — A possible reconfiguration of the intersection of Bay Road and South Maple Street, identified by the state’s Department of Transportation as an appropriate location for an all-way stop, will not be pursued by the Select Board.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — An Amherst man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on Wednesday to distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Massachusetts.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Organizers of the “Cambodians in Amherst: A History of the Khmer Community” exhibit in 2024 at the Strong House are earning the Amherst Historical Society’s annual Arthur F. Kinney Conch Shell award.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — Hadley officials are endorsing the complete build-out of the Mass Central Rail Trail, a 104-mile long trail that would link 26 communities across the state, extending the 11-mile Norwottuck Rail Trail that already connects the town with Northampton, Amherst and Belchertown.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A $2.5 million donation from Amherst College will support the Amherst and regional schools, the town’s emergency services, and infrastructure work downtown over the next three years, as well as one of two municipal building projects the town is undertaking.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — The town’s Planning Board is asking the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to resume its work plan that could lead to creating a so-called smart growth zoning district along the Route 9 corridor.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Amherst is facing a much larger than anticipated increase in health insurance costs for fiscal year 2026, with a projected jump of almost 20%, at the top range allowed for the town’s insurer, the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — After more than a decade of rental housing oversight in Amherst being complaint-driven, with no regular evaluations of the habitability of rental properties, a more rigorous process that will lead to all apartments being inspected every five years starts July 1.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Printed the day after an early morning fire gutted an Amherst College fraternity house, a headline in the Feb. 3, 1975 Daily Hampshire Gazette quoted the Amherst fire chief describing the incident as the “worst Amherst blaze in 15 years.”
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A briefly considered White House federal funding freeze order and other possible changes in how federal money is disbursed, including for grants related to diversity, equity and inclusion projects, is prompting University of Massachusetts leaders to keep researchers regularly updated about possible funding shortfalls and disruptions to their ongoing work.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — The use of a fuel known as “renewable diesel” being at the central heating plant at the University of Massachusetts on the coldest days of the year, in place of liquefied natural gas and ultra-low-sulfur diesel, is raising worries for some faculty members and other campus leaders about compromising the UMass Carbon Zero plan unveiled on Earth Day 2022.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A letter being drafted by members of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee to the Amherst Town Council is challenging the idea that the school officials’ annual budget requests have been fiscally irresponsible, while at the same time seeking ways to gain more financial support in the face of up to 24 staff reductions projected for next year.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — A geothermal project to provide renewable energy to Hopkins Academy and improve the heating and cooling for the 1950s era building by replacing the existing boilers could cost around $9.5 million, with the schools picking up about $5.5 million of this cost, based on a report presented by consultants this week.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Senior citizens active with the Council on Aging are renewing appeals for town assistance to modernize and improve the Bangs Community Center.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman’s work to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and to combat a status quo in the schools that has been harmful to students, is winning praise from some in the community.
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has fined a South Amherst landscaping and construction company for various hazardous waste and wetlands violations at its facility.
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