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By JOHANNA NEUMANN

From the Norwottuck Rail Trail here at home to the Grand Canyon in the West, beauty abounds in the natural world. It’s found in places big and small — some well-known, others our secret respites from the modern world. Almost all are well-loved, and...

By JOANNA BUONICONTI

For those of you who have faithfully read my columns, you know that I rarely write about contentious political issues. There are many reasons why I choose not to do this, but the primary one is that the most prominent political issues are also the...

By DANIEL A. BROWN

Back in my elementary school teaching days, I allowed my fourth grade students to bring in a special toy or small stuffie to place on their desks to give them comfort. A month or so into the term, one of the boys, whom I will call Larry, brought in...

By ROB MOIR

A wheezing noise has emanated from Capitol Hill in Washington of late. It is a last gasp to stop America’s progress on the climate crisis.House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., recently said the following to Fox...

By SARAH BUTTENWIESER and ALICE BARBER

We have been wondering what parents need to hear right about now. This month marks the declared “end” of the COVID crisis. It is a time of implied “get-on-with-its” and “that-was-then-this-is-nows.”Overall, our society tends not to think very...

By JOHN HOWARD

In March 2023, following a decade of scientific study, stakeholder engagement, collaboration and negotiation, FirstLight Power filed the “Flows and Fish Passage Settlement Agreement” as part of the relicensing of the Turners Falls Hydroelectric and...

By JOHN BOS

We are facing a third threat to humankind in addition to nuclear warfare (short term) and climate change (long term). Artificial intelligence (AI) is a fast-evolving technology that can speed up the possibility of both of these threats.I asked this...

By JOHN PARADIS

May is National Military Appreciation Month. Designated by Congress in 1999 to honor past and present military members and their families, the month includes several commemorations, including Loyalty Day, VE Day, Military Spouse Appreciation Day,...

By JOHN SHEIRER

When I walk our dog Libby, a little, shaggy, sweet-natured border terrier, through our neighborhood, I can safely predict two things. First, everyone will love seeing Libby. Second, Libby will love seeing everyone.One of our neighbors calls Libby “The...

By CHRISTI PAYNE and GREG DARMS

My husband and I moved to New England from Oregon five years ago, not knowing for sure where we would end up, and fortuitously landed in Shutesbury. We could not have chosen better than this forested rural hilltown we now call home.One of the very...

By JOANNA BUONICONTI

Ever since I was a little girl, I have had these life goals instilled in me: to go to college, graduate with a high GPA and find a job. It’s hard to articulate how completing these milestones has been tied to my sense of self-worth because they have...

By SUSAN J. TRACY

In addition to the recent carnage in Nashville, last spring 18-year-old shooters in separate incidents killed 10 adults in Buffalo, New York, and 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, 10 days apart. Both shooters were using semiautomatic...

By MICHAEL DOVER

Dear President Biden:I congratulate and support you on your decision to run for reelection. The legislation and policies you have implemented are already strengthening the country economically, environmentally and morally.However, the extremist MAGA...

By U.S. REP. JIM MCGOVERN

Last month, House Republicans brought to the floor H.R. 5 — a bill I call the “politics over parents” act, which would supercharge book bans like the ones Gov. Ron DeSantis has imposed on Florida and bring them to states across America, including here...

By SARA WEINBERGER

On the first Sunday in February, I ascended the steps of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, bought my ticket, and headed for an exhibition that friends had urged me to see. “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield South Carolina,”...

By ROB MOIR

Massachusetts officially declared April 24 as Right Whale Day to raise awareness about the endangered. North Atlantic right whales, the state’s official marine mammal.Right whales have been coming to Cape Cod Bay in April for as long as there has been...

By TOLLEY M. JONES

“What upon Earth is the matter with the American people? Do they really covet the world’s ridicule as well as their own social and political ruin?” — Frederick DouglassI am still so tired.I am tired of having so many upsetting and horrible things...

By RANDY KEHLER

My partner Betsy and I have often been referred to, usually derisively, as “tax resisters,” or “tax refusers,” which implies that we are people who refuse to pay all taxes, across the board. In fact, we’ve always paid all of our state and local taxes....

By JOHN PARADIS

First impressions are important.“I know what I don’t know,” says Dr. Jon Santiago at a recent meeting with veterans as Gov. Maura Healey’s secretary of veterans’ services, a newly created cabinet-level position.Santiago approaches this new chapter in...

By GENE STAMELL

I need a new cellphone. My iPhone 8 is more than just six generations old; it is cracked and crotchety, begging to be replaced. And, unfortunately, I am wedded to purchasing iPhones. I have used Apple products, exclusively, throughout my...