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By ALEXA LEWIS

Western Massachusetts stands to “greatly benefit” from a $1.33 billion spending plan for education and transportation adopted by the state Senate last Thursday, thanks in part to lengthy debates leading up to a vote on the package that sought to reverse an initial proposal that Sen. Jo Comerford called “skewed” and “wildly unfair” to this region.

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 ALEXA LEWIS

As the cardinals in Vatican City prepare to begin a conclave to select a new pope on Wednesday, Bishop William Byrne of the Diocese of Springfield said that local Catholics are in a period of prayer as they eagerly await the election of “a joyful shepherd who will lead the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world.”

By ALEXA LEWIS

The Trump administration has eliminated roughly $1 million in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to the state Department of Public Health intended specifically to address asthma in western Massachusetts, according to Gov. Maura Healey’s office. This termination comes shortly after the American Lung Association reported a decline in air quality across the state and region.

By ALEXA LEWIS

Community Action Pioneer Valley’s Head Start services could be facing setbacks if the Trump administration does not allocate money to the federal program next fiscal year — a very real possibility that advocates say would be catastrophic for vulnerable young children and their families.

By ALEXA LEWIS

A bill allowing for medical aid in dying once again made it to a hearing before the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health on Wednesday morning. While versions of this bill have reached this stage before, local proponents of the measure are feeling hopeful as this is the earliest in a legislative session it has been brought to this committee’s hearing. 

By ALEXA LEWIS

Despite a recent increase in precipitation, the Connecticut River Valley region has been designated as experiencing critical drought conditions, which will continue to persist until sustained precipitation over a much longer period of time is able to restore water table levels.

By ALEXA LEWIS

NORTHAMPTON — Amid cuts comprising about 82,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees and form emails being sent en masse to federal employees asking for five weekly bullet points justifying their work, William Cutler is just trying to care for veterans and get to retirement.

By ALEXA LEWIS

AMHERST — Varshini Prakash no longer believes that we can “stop” climate change as she did when she was an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, when she was staging sit-ins and protests to pressure her school into divesting from fossil fuels.

By ALEXA LEWIS

NORTHAMPTON — Commemorating the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, a handful of activists with Massachusetts Peace Action stood outside U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s Northampton office on Monday afternoon to demand peace negotiations. This standout mirrored another held by the organization at the same time in Boston.

By ALEXA LEWIS

During the last election cycle, voters in nearly a dozen legislative districts — including the district that includes all of Southampton — voted in favor of a nonbinding ballot question instructing their state representative to support a single-payer health care system in the state.

By ALEXA LEWIS

Just a few days before a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas began last Sunday, more than 120 Valley residents eagerly tuned in to a virtual presentation by authors and friends — one Palestinian and the other Jewish — who for some time have sought ways to find common ground and bridge the divide between their peoples.

By ALEXA LEWIS

TikTok users around the region were greeting the looming U.S. ban of popular social media platform TikTok with emotions ranging from sadness to anger to skepticism, with many arguing that a government ban constitutes a limit on free speech.

By ALEXA LEWIS

A statewide group that for years has pushed for a single-payer health care system in Massachusetts is buoyed by the fact that voters in nearly a dozen legislative districts during the last election cycle, including the district that includes all of Southampton, voted in favor of a nonbinding ballot question that instructs the representative of their district to vote in favor of a single-payer system of universal health care.

By ALEXA LEWIS

NORTHAMPTON — This winter, it may seem like everyone knows someone stuck in bed with a stomach bug.

By ALEXA LEWIS

Hunched against the cold in a warehouse filled with freshly picked vegetables, a farm laborer sat down for lunch. But her mind was somewhere else.“I’m feeling scared, because when I go out, I’m not feeling safe to walk to the supermarket. I’m worried...

By ALEXA LEWIS

EASTHAMPTON — After a “rigorous” search process, the Easthampton School Committee has selected longtime Springfield Public School District educator Michelle Balch as the district’s new superintendent.The committee voted unanimously to offer the...

By ALEXA LEWIS

ATHOL — The Easthampton School Committee kicked off a series of interviews Tuesday night among finalists for its permanent superintendent post. Cynthia Kennedy, currently assistant superintendent of the Athol-Royalston Regional School District, was...

By ALEXA LEWIS

The 15th annual March for the Food Bank with Monte Belmonte will once again traverse the 43 miles from Springfield to Greenfield over Monday and Tuesday.The march has become known not only for the creative costumes donned by marchers pushing decorated...

By ALEXA LEWIS

While many families are gearing up for their holiday feasts, a large number of Massachusetts residents are struggling to put food on the table. Amid unusually high prices and the conclusion of many pandemic-era supports, local food banks and survival...

By ALEXA LEWIS

AMHERST — When Ann Becker told local public health nurses about a new program that will provide them with support and mentorship, she said she got one common response: “It’s about time.”Becker, clinical associate professor and program leader at the...