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By WILLIAM LAMBERS

It was December 1947 and Captain Allan Smithies would not be home for Christmas. The Captain of the American Leader vessel was on a special mission playing the role of Santa Claus.As reported in the Hartford Courant, Smithies was guiding a ship of...

By STEFAN CALABRIA

I was not raised a hunter. As a five-year-old traveling with my family in Scotland, I remember staying at a hotel which prominently displayed the mounted hides and heads of numerous wild animals. I covered my face with my shirt and refused to eat...

By COURT DORSEY

A recent article on theshoestring.org, “The Forest and the Trees: Western Mass’ Solar Siting Problem," is incredibly enlightening, and deserves to be read by anyone who values Franklin County’s beautiful natural environment. The issue of balancing...

By RORY LITTLE

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is a mysterious and slow institution. As our national court of constitutional finality, SCOTUS usually takes months to decide whether to review a lower court decision, and more months to hear arguments...

By AL NORMAN

Property tax relief for senior citizens in Massachusetts has never been better. In early October, Governor Maura Healey signed into law a wide-ranging tax relief bill, including a provision more than doubling the refundable property tax credit known...

By BEVERLY ALLARD

Peace on Earth and goodwill to all. Easy to say, at this time of year, but much harder to practice on a day to day basis. As I look at my recently decorated living room with the Christmas lights on my tree, the lighted garland over my fireplace and...

By RUSS VERNON-JONES

Eight years ago in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the nations of the world set a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. They agreed that every nation, and especially the wealthiest ones, would contribute to reducing climate damaging...

By DANIEL CANTOR YALOWITZ

This week marks my fifth year as a volunteer chef at Stone Soup Café. This anniversary enables me to reflect on all the good the café has done for Greenfield and beyond, and the staff, board, volunteers, and friends who circulate through this...

By PETER M. HAAS

The recently concluded Climate Change COP28 (the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) surprised many observers by generating more concrete decisions than had been expected. Most...

By JON HUER

The season of love and giving makes me think about “The Mother Teresa Dilemma.” In an age of unbridled hedonism and self-interest, Mother Teresa was a rare person of devotion to her faith and humanity and the world admires and praises her.But,...

By SHEL HOROWITZ

Remember when the previous administration tore babies and children from their families’ arms and locked them in little cages? Bad news: Republicans in Congress and far-right activists, including that former president, are heating up even worse...

By TOLLEY M. JONES

My grandmother Esther died on Nov. 17 at the age of 95. Grandma had five children: Charles, Patricia, Michael, David, and Valerie. Tragically, she buried four of her five children as adults — one of whom was murdered, along with that adult child’s...

By ROB MOIR

Boston suffered more than 20 inches of rain during the summer of 2022, setting a record that was only broken when two hurricanes brought 25 inches of rain in 1955. An estimated 1.5 billion gallons of water sluiced off the land, overwhelmed sewage...

By DAVID GILBERT KEITH

I was impressed by the veterans from the Rolling Thunder motorcycle club in their remembrance of Pearl Harbor [“Ceremony draws parallels to today’s conflicts,” Recorder, Dec. 8]. We need to “remember the history … that ensured our freedom and liberty...

By DON SIMMS

I wrote a piece in March 2022 about Ukraine’s YMCAs and wanted to provide an update as the war is raging and continues to be out of control.The first Ukrainian YMCA started in 1993 in a small town and the movement grew. It is now located in 24 cities...

By DANIEL A. BROWN

The most disconcerting aspect for me of the never-ending Israeli-Palestinian dogfight is the sheer ignorance about Israel being espoused by usually educated progressives in the Valley and elsewhere. Instead of learning the long, complex and nuanced...

By PHYLLIS KEENAN

The promise of Massachusetts’ community colleges is high quality, affordable education that’s accessible to everyone. At Greenfield Community College, where I’m a professor, our goal is to ensure there’s opportunity available for all residents,...

Nearly 40 years ago, I entered a college classroom as the instructor for the first time. I was a 23-year-old graduate teaching assistant, charged with my very own section of English composition. Twenty-five students silently inspected me as I placed...

By PEG HALL

In the recent article covering Greening Greenfield’s community conversation about proposed recycling changes because of a $2 million EPA grant, while we appreciate the front page coverage, some important facts were skipped that we feel residents need...

We are midway through the month of December and I have started a new list. The current record for the number of birds observed in my yard in the month of Dec. is 31 species and that record was set just last year. On my first day of observations I...