Photograph by Frank Curran What’s the Hoosic River Revival all about? The Hoosic River trickles through downtown North Adams within old, concrete, inaccessible flood control chutes that protect the city […]
Linda Enerson
Posted inCriminal Justice
Getting everyone on same team in Northampton
Jody Kasper, chief of the Northampton Police Department, is always looking for ways for her officers to better connect with the community they serve. She launched a program called High […]
Posted inEconomy
Got robots?
Sixth-generation family farmers Dave and Steve Barstow have stretched the limits of what dairy farmers can do to stay afloat. They opened a store and bakery on their dairy farm […]
Posted inEducation
Rural schools caught in ‘death spiral’
ON A SUNNY October day, students play at recess outside Hawlemont Elementary School tucked into the wooded hills of Charlemont, which are electric with fall color. As they head back […]
Posted inEducation
Students push for ‘sanctuary campuses’
UMASS AMHERST OFFICIALS, under pressure from students, said on Friday they were committed to making the campus a safe haven for undocumented students, faculty, and staff. But they stopped short of […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Eversource pushing big solar project
EVERSOURCE ENERGY, a fierce opponent of solar subsidies on Beacon Hill, is seeking state approval to build solar farms across Massachusetts. A spokesman for the utility said the net cost […]
Posted inPolitics
Veterinarian group opposes Question 3
FOR THOSE WHO CARE about the humane treatment of animals, Question 3 appears to be a no-brainer. The initiative calls for state requirements to ensure that animals raised for eggs, […]
Posted inPolitics
Youth movement
Photograph by Frank Curran THE SCENE: The Amherst town cemetery, sitting on a stone wall circling an old burial plot, not far from Emily Dickinson’s grave. Solomon Goldstein-Rose, who won […]
Posted inPolitics
Bernie’s Bay State army mobilizes
FOR ANYONE WHO THINKS the Bernie-or-Bust movement is dead, think again, at least if you live in Massachusetts.  Our Revolution, US Sen. Bernie Sanders’ new initiative to inspire and promote […]
Posted inEnvironment
Water restrictions spotty during drought
FOR MOST PEOPLE, the dry stubble covering so many lawns these days is an eyesore, and a painful reminder of the drought hitting every region in Massachusetts. But to those […]
Posted inHealth Care
More grandparents raising their grandchildren
lori fortin of Athol thought the joys and stresses of raising kids were behind her, but when her daughter got caught in the undertow of opiate addiction, Fortin found herself […]
Posted inHealth Care
New tack on Lyme disease
 DIAGNOSED WITH LYME DISEASE in 2006, Trish McCleary of Sturbridge spent a month on antibiotics that did little to relieve symptoms that left her partially paralyzed and unable to […]
Posted inPolitics
Here comes StateStat
FOLLOWING THE LEAD of many cities and towns across the country, the state of Massachusetts is launching a program to harness more data that can be used to sharpen government […]
Posted inEducation
Not adding up
After CommonWealth went to press, the state budget was finalized. The Senate proposal for a Foundation Budget Review Commission, described in the final paragraphs of the story, was not agreed […]
