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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 CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — “Electronic cocaine.” “A youth behavioral health crisis on steroids.” “Nothing’s more aggravating to me as a parent.”

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.

With temperatures expected to get into the high 90s next week, the town will open several cooling centers, to be active Monday through Wednesday.

By GREG VINE

ATHOL – After five and a half years on the job, Athol Treasurer/Collector Patrick McIntyre is vacating his office at Town Hall to take a similar position in Acton.

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.

FITCHBURG – The United Way of North Central Massachusetts (UWNCM) has completed its annual April Foods Drive, distributing more than 7,500 pounds of food—valued at $14,625—to local agencies, helping 900 families across the region.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — A suggestion to postpone a budget vote at Monday’s Annual Town Meeting until after a scheduled Proposition 2½ override vote at the ballot box caused some to speak against the idea, arguing that it was taking the decision out of voters’ hands.

By DOMENIC POLI

SPRINGFIELD — A U.S. Marine Corps veteran was sentenced on Tuesday to 24 months of supervised release for stealing benefit payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and submitting a false Purple Heart application through his congressional representative.

By Mike Roche

By GREG VINE

ATHOL – In late March, the town signed a $2.8 million contract with the construction firm of J. Bates & Son to revamp Lord Pond Plaza, a project that includes the daylighting of Mill Brook.

By SAM DRYSDALE

Looking to keep pressure on what they deem an untransparent and ineffective Legislature, a coalition of unlikely allies is considering whether to bring two “good governance” measures straight to voters via the ballot.

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.

By SHERYL HUNTER

GREENFIELD — There will be music, music and more music when the 39th annual Green River Festival returns to the Franklin County Fairgrounds this weekend.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — An Orange man is being held without bail after allegedly confessing to stabbing his girlfriend during an argument.

By MAX BOWEN

ROYALSTON — The town’s Building Committee was found to have violated Open Meeting Law when it held a meeting with an incorrect time posted, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

ORANGE — An Orange resident is the subject of a Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Law Enforcement investigation after the April removal of 147 animals on the property, many of which have since been adopted.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A bill to fortify protections under a 2022 law that shields reproductive and transgender care providers from out-of-state and federal threats received a favorable report from the Senate members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday.