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By CHRIS LARABEE

More funding for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) may be on the way in fiscal year 2026, as Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed budget, along with those put forward by the Senate and House of Representatives, all request more money than in FY25.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HOLYOKE — Recent cancellation of an $87 million federal grant to support construction of a low-carbon cement startup’s manufacturing plant in Holyoke is not expected to derail plans that would have that facility open by 2028, though the company is reviewing backup options.

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — The state Senate’s approved fiscal year 2026 budget could bring more than $1 million in earmarks to western Massachusetts.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Arrests at a May 2024 Gaza solidarity encampment, alleged discriminatory sanctions and reported failures to address anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian harassment is leading the Council on American-Islamic Relations to declare the University of Massachusetts a hostile campus for Muslim and Palestinian students.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Determined not to let rain or the current presidential administration dampen their pride, hundreds lined the streets Saturday afternoon for the 8th annual Franklin County Pride Parade and Festival.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Even though located at the edge of the Quabbin Reservoir that provides drinking water for millions of residents in and around Boston, Shutesbury has no municipal water supply and has spent almost $700,000 to address contamination from PFAS, or forever chemicals, in private wells.

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL — Residents voiced concerns about recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehensions and deportations, and support for a Medicare-for-All system and land conservation, during a town hall-style meeting with the Democrat representing the 7th Hampden District on Monday afternoon.

By CHRIS LARABEE

In a letter to Congress, Gov. Maura Healey is urging lawmakers to reject changes proposed by Republicans to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would shift costs to states, which would cost, at minimum, at least $131.4 million annual and potentially up to $650 million.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Neither snow nor rain nor heat kept letter carrier David L’Heureux from the swift completion of his appointed rounds. Only retirement could do that.

By CHRIS LARABEE

Across the United States, beekeepers are facing their greatest crisis in decades, with more than 1 million colonies reported lost in the last 10 months.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts researchers have uncovered rabbit ticks in Maine that harbor a new strain of bacteria related to pathogens known to cause spotted fever in humans.

By ALEXA LEWIS

HOLYOKE — Unperturbed by the rain that pelted their colorful signs, dozens of impassioned community members hailing from cities and towns across the region gathered in song and frustration to protest state clean energy siting practices they think will be more harmful to the environment than helpful.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

AMHERST — Ten years ago, Angelo Mercado began the lengthy and difficult process of becoming an American citizen. On Tuesday inside the Bowker Auditorium at Stockbridge Hall at the University of Massachusetts, that arduous journey finally came to an end.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — The Wheeler Memorial Library’s Children’s Room has reopened to the public nearly 10 months after flooding caused by a contractor’s error and a rainstorm.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Solar panels have been installed on Fisher Hill Elementary School’s roof, another step in a renovation project that began nearly five years ago.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — The town reportedly faces “a death spiral,” in the words of a Finance Committee member, as it struggles to draft a proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 that can accommodate municipal needs as well as Orange’s assessment for Ralph C. Mahar Regional School.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

GREENFIELD — The Franklin County Justice Center celebrated the future of law by welcoming middle and high school students from across the county for an inside look at the judicial system on Thursday morning.

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — An Athol man will spend the next five to seven years in state prison after being found guilty of charges related to child abuse.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — DIAL/SELF Youth and Community Services, a Greenfield-based nonprofit that serves youths across Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties and the North Quabbin region, announced Tuesday that the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is expected to cut nearly 40% of its roughly $2 million budget.

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL — The citizens group that formed in 2023 in opposition to a since-withdrawn proposal for a 105-megawatt battery storage facility plans to present clean energy siting suitability findings to state policymakers in Holyoke on May 5.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Federal officials are restoring the previously terminated student immigration statuses for 13 international students at the University of Massachusetts, according to information posted on the university’s federal actions page Monday.