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By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — As Greenfield Community College’s 308 graduates step out into a tumultuous world, they were urged to stay grounded in their values by a commencement speaker who one time left the world.

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 CHRIS LARABEE

State Sen. Jo Comerford and Rep. Natalie Blais and are urging the Healey-Driscoll administration to reform the state-owned land payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) formula, which they say “shortchanges” rural counties, while rewarding those in urban and suburban areas.

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — The White House’s discretionary budget request for fiscal year 2026, released on May 2, proposes slashing two line items that, if approved, could significantly alter Community Action Pioneer Valley’s services.

By CHRIS LARABEE

With its regional agreement sent off to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for a technical review, the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board is expecting to bring its new school district proposal to voters in the fall.

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 CHRIS LARABEE

WARWICK — With a May 2021 contract signed between the town and Charter Communications, Warwick residents were expecting to finally receive fiber-optic internet service in one of the county’s most rural communities.

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — More than 120 area residents packed into Town Hall on Wednesday for a conversation with U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern to voice their ongoing concerns with the Trump administration.

By CHRIS LARABEE

Beginning more than a decade ago and wrapping up in 2016, a wide-ranging coalition in western Massachusetts banded together to resist Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.’s Northeast Energy Direct project, which proposed a pipeline running through eight Franklin County towns.

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — A peer review for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter’s proposed location off Plain Road East has found no “fatal flaws” that would pose a risk to public health or safety, according to the engineer, but there are some details regarding traffic and noise that need to be addressed.

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — Community and nonprofit leaders convened at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments’ offices this week to share an update on advocacy efforts for some of the most vulnerable populations: children and caregivers.

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — As farmers prepare to head out to the fields for the season, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle sent a letter to the new U.S. agriculture secretary expressing concerns over uncertain federal funding and other actions taken by the federal government.

By CHRIS LARABEE

WARWICK — With a $100,000 state grant, Warwick Community School will continue to lay down the foundation for its comprehensive behavioral and mental health services program.

By CHRIS LARABEE

ORANGE – As advocates prepare to head to the State House for March 13’s Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) Advocacy Day, at least one local store has seen the community fill the gaps left by December’s 50%, at minimum, reduction to the program.

By CHRIS LARABEE

WESTBOROUGH – The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife announced at Thursday’s Fisheries and Wildlife Board meeting it would cease the stocking of rainbow trout in the five-mile stretch of the Upper Deerfield River from the Fife Brook Dam to Zoar Gap, in response to the comments of dozens of anglers in the region.

By CHRIS LARABEE

CONWAY — Gov. Maura Healey’s message at a Thursday afternoon press conference for western Massachusetts was clear — the state’s funding formula needs to be tweaked for rural communities and it needs to be done now.

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — The Friends of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter will come before Deerfield’s regulatory boards in the coming weeks, as the nonprofit seeks to construct an 8,000-square-foot shelter on a 13.4-acre parcel of land off Plain Road East.

By CHRIS LARABEE

ORANGE — Police Chief James Sullivan announced Wednesday that an indictment has been issued in the fraud case that drained an estimated $338,000 from the town’s coffers, but he urged more patience as the investigation continues.

By CHRIS LARABEE

A decision on the longstanding practice of stocking trout in the upper Deerfield River will come before the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife next week, following a request from Franklin County-based anglers.

By CHRIS LARABEE

With a rise in reported cases of theft of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) is urging people to take extra precautions to protect themselves.

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — When flooding devastated the Pioneer Valley in summer 2023, it took an extraordinary partnership between the state, nonprofits and private individuals to quickly bring millions of dollars in aid to those affected.