Search Results

By Credit search: Staff Writer

By DOMENIC POLI

NEW SALEM — The torch has officially been passed at the New Salem and Wendell fire departments, with Matt O’Donnell replacing longtime Chief Joe Cuneo in the dual role on July 1.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Summer and after-school programming appears to be in jeopardy after the U.S. Department of Education announced it is withholding certain funding, including 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants, for the 2025-2026 school year.

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

ERVING — Town officials and residents got a first look this week at preliminary plans for a battery energy storage facility being proposed by Spearmint Energy.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Licenses, certificates and notifications coming out of Town Hall will no longer bear the name Nancy M. Blackmer, as the longtime public servant retired as town clerk on June 30.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

BOSTON — Survivors say proposed bills aiming to expand protections for children against sexual abuse will help them feel safe and empowered.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

BOSTON — A new state fund setting aside $7 million for dirt roads is much-needed and overdue, according to state Rep. Natalie Blais.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

BOSTON — Bills proposing $60 million for rural schools are necessary to ensure their continued survival, several western Massachusetts residents testified to state legislators on Wednesday.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — In the wake of federal funding cuts, Community Action Pioneer Valley’s plan to renovate the site of the former Barn Grocery Store at 95 River St. and convert it into an all-in-one service center and food pantry now faces significant hurdles.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

GREENFIELD — In the wake of uncertainty regarding federal funding, representatives from the state’s Federal Funds & Infrastructure Office have hit the road to see how they can support communities across Massachusetts.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Voters adopted a $28.4 million fiscal year 2026 budget on Wednesday following a trying and contentious three-night Annual Town Meeting.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

KEENE, N.H. — Police are investigating a homicide after a teenager from Orange was found dead from a gunshot wound in a parking lot on Winchester Street.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Annual Town Meeting was postponed again on Tuesday, this time so the Finance Committee could re-evaluate the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget.

By CHRIS LARABEE

The federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and President Donald Trump that was filed by Red Fire Farm and other organizations over frozen government money will move forward, as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has laid out a schedule of further proceedings.

By CHRIS LARABEE

MONTAGUE — The Community Health Center of Franklin County is getting ready to hit the road.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Voters flocked to the polls at 62 Cheney St. on Monday to have their say on a Proposition 2½ override.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — With a Proposition 2½ override vote coming to the ballot boxes on Monday, roughly 50 people gathered in Town Hall’s Ruth B. Smith Auditorium this week to voice their thoughts to the Selectboard on the budget proposal.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

BOSTON — Franklin County residents had their voices heard on Beacon Hill this week, telling legislators that Indigenous-themed mascots should not be allowed in Massachusetts public schools.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — With a Proposition 2½ override vote coming to the ballot boxes on Monday, roughly 50 people gathered in Town Hall’s Ruth B. Smith Auditorium this week to voice their thoughts to the Selectboard on the budget proposal.

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — Rural school aid is likely to stay level-funded in the fiscal year 2026 budget, even after more testimony from local advocates on Beacon Hill this month.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

HOLYOKE — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal on Monday attacked President Donald Trump’s proposed budget bill as well as efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to remake Social Security, while also criticizing the promotion of inflammatory rhetoric on social media as opposed to regular dialogue.

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

MONTAGUE — Tari Thomas, former superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts, has been tapped for the interim superintendent position at the Gill-Montague Regional School District, pending successful contract negotiations and reference checks.