News
FRCOG leaders meet with local, state officials to talk transportation challenges
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI
GREENFIELD — Seeking state support for local transportation infrastructure upgrades, Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) officials took Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt and other state and local...
State gripped by solar slowdown: Worst year in decade for installations
By EMILEE KLEIN
Massachusetts’ solar development just had its worst year in more than a decade in terms of new installations, but Greenfield Solar partner Claire Chang says her firm that does jobs throughout the Pioneer Valley hasn’t experienced the same downturn.As...
PHOTOS: Maple Month marches on
Montague and Gill Notebook: March 19, 2024
March 23: Great Falls Coffeehouse series begins MONTAGUE — The Franklin County Musicians Cooperative will kick off the Great Falls Coffeehouse series on Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. at the Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A. Doors open at 6:30...
Talking up state’s farmland protection program: Farmers on board, but effort faces housing headwinds
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — The owners of a Shelburne farm have permanently protected 100 acres through the Agricultural Preservation Restriction program, ensuring that the fertile land won’t be turned into a large, upscale housing estate or put to other uses.“That’s...
Mahar proposes budget increase of 4.96%
By DOMENIC POLI
ORANGE — The initial proposal for Ralph C. Mahar Regional School’s fiscal year 2025 budget entails a 4.96% hike in expenses over the current year, though revisions will be made based on input from the School Committee and other stakeholders.Michele...
Greenfield standout draws attention to Gaza hospitals
GREENFIELD — With less than one-third of Gaza’s hospitals still functioning, local activists convened outside Baystate Franklin Medical Center on Monday to draw attention to the dangerous conditions faced by health care workers and their patients.The...
Thanks in part to Turners Falls shelter, state spay/neuter voucher program reaches milestone
By DOMENIC POLI
TURNERS FALLS — The state Department of Agricultural Resources recently announced it has cared for at least 20,000 animals through its spay/neuter voucher program since 2012, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter estimates...
Orange to ask residents for $1M loan for water tower
By DOMENIC POLI
ORANGE — The Selectboard intends to add to the Annual Town Meeting warrant an article asking to borrow $1 million to subsidize a water tower needed at the Orange Industrial Park.The engineering firm Weston & Sampson has designed a potable water...
Senate tries again on early ed bill aimed at helping more Massachusetts families
By SAM DRYSDALE
BOSTON — More Massachusetts families would become eligible for subsidized child care and “transformational” grants that kept the early education system afloat during the pandemic under a bill the Senate unanimously passed late last week.It’s the...
Shutesbury library lands $10K accessibility grant
By SCOTT MERZBACH
SHUTESBURY — A project to improve accessibility for patrons at the current Shutesbury library and the new library building that will break ground in June is being supported by a $10,000 grant from the American Library Association.Library Director Mary...
Conservation restriction protects 47 acres in Shelburne
By BELLA LEVAVI
SHELBURNE — Roughly 47 acres on the east side of Reynolds and Patten roads are being protected under a conservation restriction held by the Franklin Land Trust.The land, formerly part of the “old Dean Farm” acquired by Catherine “Kiki” Smith and...
Gill and Montague Notebook: March 18, 2024
Astronaut Coleman to speak at NMH commencement GILL — Cady Coleman, a former NASA astronaut and an advocate for inclusion in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM), will be the keynote speaker at Northfield Mount...
PHOTO: Pups and pinecones
Greenfield City Council to consider cease-fire resolution Monday
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI
GREENFIELD — City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday amid activists’ growing push for the council to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.The single-topic meeting, which comes after numerous residents carrying signs and...
Greenfield Notebook: March 18, 2024
‘Pot O’ Gold Party’ for teens set for March 20 GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Public Library invites teens in middle and high school to a “Pot O’ Gold Party” on Wednesday, March 20, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.Attendees will make Lucky Charms bracelets,...
Public hearing planned on short-term rentals in Buckland
By DIANE BRONCACCIO
BUCKLAND — Residents will be able to weigh in on a proposed bylaw later this month that would allow short-term rentals while ensuring public safety, maintaining neighborhood character and preventing possible nuisances for abutters.By the end of 2022,...
North County Notebook: March 16, 2024
Town caucus set for MondayBERNARDSTON — The town caucus will be held Monday, March 18, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 38 Church St. The purpose of the caucus is to nominate candidates for the various positions to be filled during the May 6 town election....
Civil Service exit, airport funding approved in Montague
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI
MONTAGUE — Town Meeting members approved several significant articles, from the Police Department’s departure from the Civil Service system to an allocation of $152,261 to meet a revenue shortfall at Turners Falls Municipal Airport, at Thursday’s...
Greenfield man gets life sentence for child sexual assault
By DOMENIC POLI
GREENFIELD — A Greenfield man will spend at least the next two decades in prison after a Franklin County Superior Court jury found him guilty of 33 charges, including 21 involving child sexual abuse.Miguel Rivera, 47, was sentenced on Friday to life...