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By SCOTT MERZBACH

Outside a new yoga studio, massage therapy center and meditation space is a busy parking lot, with people bustling into neighboring stores and restaurants to buy groceries, pick up prescriptions or get a meal.Within the confines of Resonance Hot Yoga...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — A general town bylaw creating a licensing process for large-scale battery storage in Shutesbury has been struck down by the state Attorney General’s Office, for both unreasonably regulating renewable energy and improperly regulating...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Appealing to the state Legislature to allow noncitizens who live in Shutesbury the right vote in local elections, becoming a pollinator-friendly town and providing some money to rebuild the Amherst-Pelham Regional High School track will...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — In preparation for a change in presidential administrations at the federal level, international students, faculty and staff on University of Massachusetts immigration sponsorships, who may be traveling abroad during winter break, are being...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — A $100 million fund to support the health and resilience of the Connecticut River watershed, including money that would go toward improving aging flood controls and dikes and upgrading water and sewer systems, is being sought by area...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — Late Yankee Candle founder Michael J. Kittredge II’s sprawling 60-acre estate could be in line for a $200 million development, featuring 400 owner-occupied homes for people 55 and over, with one-quarter of these homes deemed...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Massachusetts’ three resort casinos are largely having a positive impact on the economy, even as a downturn in business for restaurants and bars in and around Springfield may be attributed to the fact that visitors who are playing slot...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Continued efforts to increase the clean energy workforce for offshore wind and “climate tech” in general in Massachusetts are looking to Denmark as a possible model where, even with a smaller population than the Bay State, the wind energy...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Superior Court Associate Justice Francis E. “Frank” Flannery, appointed to the bench in 2018 after a more than 20-year career that included serving as assistant district attorney in the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, died over...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Munching on goldenrod, white woodland aster, white clover, hairy vetch, birdsfoot trefoil, burdock and dandelions, more than 120 sheep are having much of their dietary needs met by a variety of grasses and plants growing at an 11-acre,...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Drilling of geothermal wells in Lot 31 off Governors Drive is set to begin next month at the University of Massachusetts, a project that will allow two large classroom buildings under construction to be powered by renewable energy when they...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) is launching a new weekday round-trip service from Amherst to Greenfield that, for the first time, will include a stop in Leverett.The agency announced this week the start of the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — A seven-year effort to bring together progressives in western Massachusetts and more conservative residents of rural eastern Kentucky, for conversations and sometimes intense dialogues about their political and cultural differences, is...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — An open-air gazebo is being proposed to protect the town common’s historic guideboard, an artifact that dates to 1837 and continues to be refurbished and restored at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center.While the Historical Commission...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

A longtime pledge by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio to audit the state Legislature, contending this will provide more transparency and accountability to legislative proceedings, is coming before voters at the November election, after she was unable to...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

A steep drop in the number of Black students in the Class of 2028 at Amherst College compared to the preceding year’s incoming class, and less racial diversity in the first-year class, is likely a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — State education officials have recognized Shutesbury Elementary School’s success in reducing chronic absenteeism with the presentation of a signed, gold-colored basketball from the 18-time NBA champion Boston Celtics at a recent...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Music from centuries-old folk songs and contemporary and classical tunes emanates through the hallway at the Bangs Community Center on a recent morning, as some of the autoharp players hold the instrument upright against their shoulders and below...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The Campus Demonstration Policy Task Force at the University of Massachusetts has released an 11-page report with recommendations for how to best protect the First Amendment rights of campus protesters while also remaining in compliance with...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — The Blueberry Patch, a former Christmas tree farm where beef cattle were raised many years ago, is a popular place to walk, pick blueberries and enjoy nature and birding — and for years visitors have done just that, taking advantage of easy...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — Every child should be able to thrive educationally, develop socially and emotionally and benefit from inclusive practices at Leverett Elementary School, according to the school’s new principal.For Siby Adina, who began her tenure in early...