Guest columnist Chelsea Gazillo: Law would help keep farms in families

By CHELSEA GAZILLO

When farmland owners die without a will, their heirs are often faced with an unequal division of property. Under current law, a single heir, or a speculator who buys out the interest of just one heir, can file a partition action in court and force a...

My Turn: No real fix for education, just empty narrative of innovation

By BEN TOBINIt speaks to the diminished role of our school systems that we are starting to see the emergence of student-led conferences. As the recent federal probe into Massachusetts’ special education system has laid bare, our entire system has...

Tom Denault: Criticism of high school sports officials

On Thursday, I read an amazing article titled “Officials deal with fan criticism,” [Recorder, Jan. 25]. Very well written and informative.I recently attended a young women’s hockey game at Deerfield Academy where Deerfield hosted Choate. The game was...

Cathy Etheridge: Greatest thing ever seen in a newspaper

I thought Linda Byrne's photograph submission of an impatient squirrel waiting for the breakfast banana peel, which Linda had not put out of her back door by 8 a.m., was the greatest thing I had ever seen in a newspaper. I really loved it.     Cathy...

Mik Muller: DeSantis says no to Trump bailout

Republican Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia is proposing a bill that would create the “Freedom Fighters Fund,” which would provide up to $5 million in support for a presidential candidate who faces a federal or state criminal trial. Florida Chief...

Columnist Daniel Cantor Yalowitz: Why does winning have to mean someone loses?

By DANIEL CANTOR YALOWITZ

“Winning is not everything, it’s the only thing.” — Vince Lombardi (1955)We live in an increasingly ultra-competitive world. In the U.S., our children are trained from an early age not only about determination, discipline and persistence, but also...

Ferd Wulkan: Lack of Senate support for Sanders bill a shame 

A full one percent of Gaza's population has been killed in the past three months.  If that same proportion were killed in the U.S., it would be three million Americans dead.  Is everyone outraged yet?  Our government is complicit in this brutality....

Columnist Susan Wozniak: Tracking my life through a small place

By SUSAN WOZNIAK

I have no idea when or why I decided that I wanted to live in Massachusetts. Maybe, it was its history, or, its intellectual reputation. Maybe, it was the beautiful photographs that graced the calendars that oil companies handed out. The ones printed...

As I See It: Ignorance, stupidity completely different

By JON HUER

American society is now facing a choice between capitalist democracy (if Democrats win) and fascist democracy (if Trump wins). Whichever side wins, both capitalists and fascists —as advertisers do — count on one cardinal weakness that is abundant...

Guest columnist William Lambers: Expand child tax credit to reduce hunger and poverty

By WILLIAM LAMBERSCongress can take action against hunger and poverty by bringing back the expanded child tax credit that was so successful in 2021. They can start by voting in favor of the bipartisan tax proposal put forward by Senate Finance...

My Turn: Preparing for Earth holiday: Imbolc

By JOHN WALTER

What is Imbolc? It is the day halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.If the winter solstice represents the death of the year, then Imbolc represents the birth of the new year.In our country we give fancy to groundhogs and their...

My Turn: Lulled by culture’s unthinking vapidity

By ALAN HARRIS

Our Barnum and Bailey world gets more bizarre every day. Nothing astonishes. My core beliefs, however, are my guides. There’s always a higher way. There’s always a world where we know morality from apostasy, or renunciation of core beliefs.We’re...

My Turn: EMF bills put protection from growing exposure on the table

By JONATHAN MIRIN

It takes courage to be even a little ahead of the curve as an elected representative. We see this on the federal level, where typically bills are passed that are already law in many states.In the arena of safe technology — legislation that attempts to...

Reenie Grybko Clancy: More old-school words

Excellent My Turn “Old-school words” [Recorder, Dec. 30], Ms. Wosniak. May I add some more to the list and also how “old-school” folks like me (turning 81 this March) communicate? Remember fiddlesticks or oopsydaisy?Now let’s return to the era of...

Amy MacKenzie: Safety of kids at risk on city’s roads

I am a school bus driver, one of several well-trained, dedicated individuals. When we get behind the wheel of a bus we are keenly aware of the extraordinary responsibility that we choose to accept. We are deeply committed to safely transport our kids,...

My Turn: Inching toward zero carbon living

By NANCY HAZARD

As a person greatly concerned about our climate, I want to tell you my story of pursuing living more lightly on the Earth professionally and personally.In 1974 I was a “solar home” builder, then I became an employee of the Northeast Sustainable...

My Turn: Dems need a border solution

By ANNE-LOUISE SMALLEN

Immigration is a serious problem for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election. As everything else in the country, it is polarized and lacks a middle road solution.Many Americans fear a return to Donald Trump’s policies of separating families or...

My Turn: Cost of child part of financial literacy

By JUDITH TRUESDELL

I usually skip over the Beacon Hill roll call page, but the headline on Jan. 20 caught my eye: “Students must take a financial literacy course,” proposed as a new requirement before graduation.“The components of the curriculum would include the...

Tamara Grogan: Not so easy for refugees to get fuel assistance

I read the opinion piece “Fuel Assistance for Who?” [Recorder, Jan. 21] and respectfully disagree with its premise. I’ve tried to get fuel assistance (for Afghan refugees specifically). It’s hard! The application process asks for a lot of paperwork...

Christine Noyes: Vote Davis for Select Board in Orange

I am writing in support of Julie N. Davis for Select Board in the Feb. 5 town election in Orange. Julie’s commitment to the betterment of Orange is evident by her volunteer efforts with several town organizations. Due to her organizational and...