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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Entirely knit with black yarn surrounding a foam interior, an enderman, the tall, thin blob seen in the Minecraft video game, is being turned into a three-dimensional form inside a classroom at Amherst Regional High School.

By CAROLYN BROWN

The Oxbow, an area in Northampton created by a branch of the Connecticut River, has seen plenty of changes since artist Thomas Cole made it the focus of a well-known 1836 painting. A new book by Northampton author Jonathan Moldover, “The Oxbow Since Thomas Cole” seeks to shed light on its history and evolution throughout the centuries.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

April Fool’s Day will also be the opening day for the Amherst Oyster Bar, the long-planned restaurant in Amherst center that will replace Judie’s Restaurant.

By CHRIS LARABEE

If you take a look at the spreadsheets on Mason Smith and Tyler Wolkowicz’s computer screens, you might think they’re undertaking an extensive math project.

By RICHARD MCCARTHY

Nan Bernstein lives in Tyringham, a town in the Berkshires, 29 miles west of the Gazette offices as the crow flies. She grew up in York, Pennsylvania, in the 1950s and ‘60s. Her grandfather was a tailor and her father owned and operated a small clothing factory.

Suzanne Symanski of Hatfield says her family loves a corned beef and cabbage one pot meal around Saint Patrick’s Day. “It’s easy to prepare and delicious served with a nice rye bread. Great leftovers, too.”

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — As a former Girl Scout, Celia Overby hoped her 6-year-old daughter would find a sense of self, responsibility and community with a local troop just as she did during her childhood, but no troop in the area was accepting new scouts her daughter’s age.

By Alexander MacDougall

NORTHAMPTON — Locked in contract negotiations for more than a year, Baystate Health’s visiting nurses and their allies are taking their message public.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A recent incident at an Amherst school, in which one parent was confronted by other parents in an apparent threatening and harassing manner, is prompting Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman to send a message to families about the importance of being respectful toward each other and developing a Caregiver Code of Conduct.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Members of the state’s Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism held its fifth meeting this week in the western part of the commonwealth, hearing testimony from local experts and residents, including several from Northampton, on their experience dealing with antisemitism.

By ALEXA LEWIS

Despite a recent increase in precipitation, the Connecticut River Valley region has been designated as experiencing critical drought conditions, which will continue to persist until sustained precipitation over a much longer period of time is able to restore water table levels.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — In advance of a final fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools being brought forward for an anticipated School Committee vote Friday, a three-member subcommittee is recommending preserving almost all student-facing positions at the high school and middle school by restoring $696,000 in possible cuts.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HATFIELD — A member of the Hatfield Housing Authority who’s been absent from every meeting since September, not up to date on mandated state training, and whose behavior has concerned colleagues could be removed from the panel by the Select Board, pending a hearing later this month.

By JANIE HAR

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to rehire thousands, if not tens of thousands, of probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies, blasting their tactics Thursday as he slowed the new president’s dramatic downsizing of the federal government.

By GARRETT COTE

When the NCAA Division 3 Women’s Basketball bracket was released on March 3, Smith College was thrilled to be hosting yet another opening weekend, just as it had done the previous three tournaments. But despite earning the right to play first and second round games at home, the Pioneers were given an extremely rigorous path to a potential third straight Final Four.

By OLIN ROSE-BARDAWIL

In the face of chaos and deterioration at the federal level, one can very easily feel powerless. For the average citizen who is opposed to Elon Musk’s careless destruction of federal agencies or Donald Trump’s recklessness with foreign policy, there are few ways to directly effect change. Sure, they can write to their representative or hold protests — as many in the area have been doing — but these efforts, while important, can only go so far.

By JOHN PAINE