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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A push by the state Legislature to reduce single-use plastics across the state, cutting down on the use of straws, carryout bags and utensils and at the same time increasing recycling and composting, is winning support from fifth graders at Fort River School.

By DARCY DUMONT

Though much could be said about the Trump administration’s retreat from climate action and the disappearance of funding to state and local governments, there is still a lot we can do on a local level without needing any government action or funding.

By GRACE CHAI

Over 30 years ago, Lucimara Galo immigrated to the United States from Brazil in hopes of a better life. Now, she helps others improve the quality of theirs.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A youth empowerment initiative for Amherst students attending the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, in which they will also learn entrepreneurial skills, will take place for two weeks in July.

By GARY MICHAEL TARTAKOV

The two most important things for us to know about antisemitism today are, first, that it is not universal, and second, that it is not what Israel is fighting in Gaza. Whatever the U.S. government’s reasons for supporting the ongoing massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and more limited assaults on the West Bank, it seems clear that many Americans, not only Jews, believe that the government of Israel is doing what it must, to protect Israel from a world of Jew-hating antagonists, threatening its very existence.

By EMILEE KLEIN

NORTHAMPTON — Heat intensifies Evan Rudzik’s traffic enforcement shifts: his muscles get fatigued faster, his breath feels heavier and his sweat causes his florescent uniform to stick to his back and legs.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A proposed demolition of a two-story commercial building in downtown Amherst, to allow for development of a new mixed-use project, will be considered by the Historical Commission on Monday.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Concerns over possible cuts in federal financial support to the University of Massachusetts, and tax legislation being considered by Congress, is leading campus officials to call for various belt-tightening measures, including spending reductions of 3% and 5% in all academic and administrative departments.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Local scientists warn that the proposed federal cuts to the United States Geological Survey’s Ecosystem Mission Area — a federal research program that studies the country’s natural resources — outlined in the White House’s fiscal year 2026 budget could not only degrade national ecosystems, but the industries and people that rely on them.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Graduate student Josie Pilchik’s career plans dissolved with just one email.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A timeline is being proposed so that all families with elementary-age students will know by the end of 2025 which school their children will be attending the following fall.

By CAROLYN BROWN

Florence-based author and illustrator Grace Lin is known for books like “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” (for which she received a Newbery Honor in 2010), “The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon,” “The Ugly Vegetables,” and “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” (for which she received a Caldecott Honor in 2019). Now, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst is celebrating Lin’s work with a career retrospective.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Outdoor swim season is underway in Amherst, with the full-size pool at Mill River Recreation Area opening in early June and both War Memorial Pool and the wading pool at Mill River scheduled to be ready for swimmers this week.

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

Every Palestinian life and every Jewish life is precious.

By TOBIAS BASKIN

“What do you teach?” I am asked when I say that I am a professor at UMass. I teach plant physiology. But the question misses the core of what I do: run a research lab. Few ask me: “What do you research?” or “Why is a college professor doing research?”

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.

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.

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.

By CAROLYN BROWN

In Silverthorne Theater Company’s latest production, Jordan Harrison’s “The Amateurs,” a deft cast nimbly weaves their way through a complicated but comedic script with COVID-era resonance.

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

This week marks National Pollinator Week. This annual celebration in support of pollinator health reminds Americans how essential bees are to our environment and our lives, and what action we can take to protect these remarkable winged insects.