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By ALEXA LEWIS

AMHERST — As rural western Massachusetts watches its populations steadily age, reliable, accessible health care only becomes more important. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, workforce shortages in the industry have been more pronounced than before,...

By ALEXA LEWIS

Mass Audubon has received the largest federal grant in its 128-year history — $25 million to protect 10,000 acres in the Connecticut River watershed, which will include projects in Pioneer Valley municipalities up and down the river.The funding from...

By ALEXA LEWIS

NORTHAMPTON — The far-reaching destruction of Hurricane Helene has generated a national shortage of IV fluids commonly used in hospitals, leading Cooley Dickinson Hospital and the rest of the Mass General Brigham system to postpone elective surgeries...

By ALEXA LEWIS

Without greater investment in salaries for faculty and staff at community colleges in Massachusetts, a free tuition program launched this summer to great fanfare may be “doomed to fail.” That’s the alarm some education leaders are sounding as they...

By ALEXA LEWIS

AMHERST — “Growing up poor, all I’ve ever wanted was financial freedom,” said Beatrice Rogers, a third-year psychology and holistic health major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. But that freedom might be far away for Rogers, whose college...

By ALEXA LEWIS

CHICOPEE — Imagine waking up to find that electronic technology has stopped working.Cellphones are down, traffic signals are dark and navigation systems are offline. The infrastructure behind modern life would be completely shut down, eventually...

By ALEXA LEWIS

Easthampton’s Old Town Hall has once again opened its doors to a diverse assortment of local artistic talent as part of CitySpace’s 2024 Pay it Forward program. As summer winds to a close, the 10 artists and groups selected to this year’s cohort are...

By ALEXA LEWIS

CONWAY — Michael Haynack is alive today because of what he calls a “cascade of miracles.”The first of those miracles was the presence of his longtime friend Frank Grindrod when an unexpected heart attack threatened his life. The second, and perhaps...

By ALEXA LEWIS

Fare-free bus rides could be here to stay now that millions of dollars have been set aside in the state budget that will allow regional transit authorities to waive fees, and politicians and others who support the idea say it has the potential to be...

By ALEXA LEWIS

SPRINGFIELD — When shift change rolls around at the Baystate Medical Center, across from the organization’s corporate offices, Peter Banko can be found sitting on a bench nearby. When physicians, nurses or other staff notice him there, they often ask...

By ALEXA LEWIS

An initiative that its supporters describe as “historic” and a “generational game-changer” is now reality — community college is free for all Massachusetts residents without bachelor’s degrees.The new MassEducate program included in the state’s fiscal...

By ALEXA LEWIS

SPRINGFIELD — New England supermarket chain Big Y, which has stores in many Franklin and Hampshire county communities, is temporarily closing its delis due to a mass recall of commonly sold products from Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc.Shortly after...

By ALEXA LEWIS

A leading veterans agent in the region says an expansive bill soon to become law designed to improve the lives of Massachusetts veterans is “monumental” for its expanded inclusion efforts, benefits, and health care provisions, but the measure fails to...

By ALEXA LEWIS

Public transportation services will soon expand and improve throughout the region thanks to an influx of state money that the two transit authorities that cover Franklin and Hampshire counties will use to buy new accessible vehicles and implement...

By ALEXA LEWIS

AMHERST — Student protesters at the University of Massachusetts began pitching tents near the W.E.B. DuBois Library Monday morning in solidarity with Palestinians, following the example of their peers at campuses across the country who have created...