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By SAMUEL GELINAS

HATFIELD — “Drive safely, drive slowly, and support public works.”

There has been, since Ivan the Terrible, in Russia a philosophy of brutalism. Its justification might be understood in terms of two approaches to taking a band-aid off of a wound: A slow removal produces somewhat less pain over a longer period of time than follows from ripping it off quickly. In this way, I imagine state-sponsored brutality is not supposed to be about being cruel per se, and there may be a certain reasoning around it. While Russians are targeting civilians in Ukraine to hurt or kill, the theory would go that this is to hasten an end to the war, after which survivors will go on to have many children.

By COLIN A. YOUNG

The House approved a significant overhaul of marijuana oversight in Massachusetts on Wednesday, passing a bill that would downsize and reorient the scandal-hounded Cannabis Control Commission that has kept tabs on the legal industry since it launched almost eight years ago.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Even with several residential developments in the pipeline or under construction in Amherst, including some aimed at providing homes for low- and moderate-income individuals and families, the town is looking at creating new opportunities for addressing a continued housing shortage.

HOLYOKE — OneHolyoke CDC will host a lunchtime event, “Building & Sustaining Livable Communities” featuring U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, on Monday, June 16, at 12 p.m., at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke.

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — Eighty-six residents approved all but one of the 25 articles on Tuesday’s Annual Town Meeting warrant, rejecting a petition that would have added a “Marijuana Product Light Manufacturer” to the town’s table of use regulations.

By ELLA ADAMS

BOSTON – Massachusetts is mired in a work zone safety “crisis,” and allowing state transportation vehicles to utilize blue lights at sites on high-speed roadways would slow down drivers and save lives, the state’s top highway official told lawmakers on Tuesday.

By Lily Reavis

GRANBY — Hundreds of family members, friends, former teachers, and loved ones filled the Granby Junior Senior High School gymnasium on Saturday morning to celebrate the school’s Class of 2025.

By Lily ReAvis

WESTHAMPTON — Hampshire Regional High School graduated 103 seniors Friday evening in its 53rd annual commencement ceremony, an unexpectedly indoor event that celebrated the class’s school spirit, perseverance, and unity despite differences.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — After concluding her valedictory remarks reflecting on the last weeks of senior year, Daniella Sherman suggested taking a final high school selfie, which she did by taking out her cellphone and posing alongside her five fellow valedictorians and the full 190-member class on stage at the Tillis Performance Hall at the Bromery Center for the Arts.

By CAROLYN BROWN

EASTHAMPTON — As thunder rumbled outside, 93 Easthampton High School seniors prepared to take the next step into adulthood.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

NORTHAMPTON — Students of the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School made their way onto stage for the last act of their high school performance on Thursday — a graduation equally theatrical and ceremonial.

By RYAN AMES

The first batch of UMass hockey recruits were announced this past week as three names are confirmed to be joining the Minutemen for the 2025-26 season.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — The City Council on Thursday postponed a vote on the $145 million city budget for the 2026 fiscal year, in the hopes of avoiding the more contentious budget process that took place the previous year.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Only steps away from where ambulances will be bringing patients to Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s expanded Emergency Department are two dedicated resuscitation rooms.

By RYAN AMES

A new era has arrived for the 2025 New England Collegiate Baseball League’s Valley Blue Sox as first-year head coach Endy Morales has come back to his roots to manage the team he starred for from 2016-2019. The Holyoke product picked up his first victory of the season on Tuesday in the team’s 1-0 shutout against the back-to-back NECBL champion Newport Gulls at Mackenzie Stadium.

By EMILEE KLEIN

BELCHERTOWN — The 90-degree weather heated the sea of camping chairs and umbrellas that covered Belchertown High School’s Stadium Field Thursday evening, and people were doing their best to keep cool.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

WORTHINGTON — The 32 articles on Saturday’s annual Town Meeting will set the stage for the town to find a path out of a potential Proposition 2½ override request in approximately 35 days.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Anyone planning an overnight road trip through Northampton within the next week should begin preparations to take a detour.