Deb Habib: My Turn or our turn?

I appreciate the Recorder for maintaining an opinion page. It is often the first section my husband and I turn to at the end of the day. However, it feels that the same writers show up too frequently in My Turn pieces (as well as weekend columns). It...

Bob Armstrong: Stop unnecessary new gas projects

The influential lobby group Mothers Out Front and our local Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution Climate Task Force are promoting legislative action required to permanently halt expansion of huge new gas pipelines in Massachusetts. This...

My Turn: Scripted early reading approach no substitute for real teaching

By MARIA JOSÉ BOTELHO, DEB PATTERSON and CAMILLE CAMMACK

In December, Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley made a proposal that the Legislature mandate that schools use “high-quality” reading curriculum across Massachusetts to “fix the literacy crisis.” Gov. Maura Healey’s recent release of her Literacy...

Major Elijah Kahn: The Salvation Army of Massachusetts looks forward to a new year

It is with the most heartfelt gratitude that The Salvation Army of Massachusetts thanks all those who contributed to the 2023 Red Kettle Campaign. Throughout the holidays your donations, regardless of size, contributed to aiding so many families...

Judy Pozar: Why I’m voting for Nikki Haley, not Biden, in the primary

I am planning to vote for Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, because I’ll do whatever I can to prevent the current front-runner (former president Trump) from becoming the nominee. Massachusetts has 40 delegates to award in the Republican primary....

My Turn: Sucking the life out of New England’s Great River

By KARL MEYER

I’m currently a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recognized “intervener” requesting denial of a new operating license for FirstLight Power’s Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project. Since 1973, its pumping has waged a grim war on the...

As I See It: Love and insanity: AI and the reawakening of American humanity

By JON HUER

During this past Christmas, our son, who is an artificial intelligence expert for a Fortune 500 company, spent a week with us and convinced us that artificial intelligence’s involvement in our daily lives in America is much more extensive than...

My Turn: Big step ahead for watershed, but one looming step back

By MARKELLE SMITH and RAE ETTENGER

This July, in the Connecticut River watershed, from northern Vermont and New Hampshire downstream to western Massachusetts, heavy rains brought intense flooding that swelled rivers, turned backyards into ponds, and ravaged agricultural fields....

My Turn: More tech isn’t better for school

By STEPHEN HUSSEY

The recommendations to the commonwealth for education reform from the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy [“Report highlights flexibility, tech in ed,” Recorder, Feb. 5] were initially quite interesting. Encouraging flexibility in...

Danielle Miller: Republicans are not Nazis

I enjoyed reading the recent letters from Jack Hornor, the Rev. Phill Grant, and Elizabeth Lareau Whitcomb. Hope they write again soon. But I could’ve done without Daniel Brown’s mean-spirited Feb. 6 My Turn [“Trump’s brutal promise no joke”]. Now I...

My Turn: The failure of the United Nations

By DON SIMMS

My goal in writing is trying to point out the ongoing superpowers’ hypocrisy with their inability to connect the dots in order to recognize the Earth’s fragility.The following are several highlights of the United Nations charter: “We the people of the...

My Turn: Will melting Greenland ice divert Gulf Stream?

By ROB MOIR

With climate change, a 1% increase in watts per square meter of heat energy is warming the ocean, causing seawater to swell, currents to flow stronger, and greater storms to rage. Ancient Greeks believed Oceanus, the ocean river, separated the known...

My Turn: Black women rising

By TOLLEY M. JONES

The other day I was in my office working on a grant report with my door closed, when suddenly loud and joyous laughter exploded in the hallway. My fellow brown female coworkers were laughing the way brown women laugh when they are surrounded by other...

My Turn: Questions about execution

By JUDITH TRUESDELL

There are so many issues raised in Bill Newman’s column, “The illusion of kinder, gentler executions,” [Recorder, Feb. 5]. A side issue is the Supreme Court shadow docket; issuing decisions without any written opinion. It should be unconstitutional...

Columnist Al Norman: Raising the estate tax on billionaires

By AL NORMAN

“The greatest threat to our national security is our nation’s debt,” said Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson in his first speech in November after being elected Speaker of the U.S. House. “Tough decisions will have to be made, but the consequences if...

Kurt Heidinger: McGovern voted to bar PLO members from entering U.S. 

On Jan. 31, Congressman Jim McGovern voted for H.R.6679 [No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act], which passed. It makes it illegal for representatives of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to enter the United States. The Biden...

Leo Ojala: Real answers needed for rising auto insurance rates

This week, a local TV news station ran a story about the reasons for increased auto insurance rates. They cited the increased cost of replacing bumpers and even had some dollar figure comparisons. The report ignored the elephant in the room. There was...

Elizabeth Lareau Whitcomb: We all share a common humanity

I wish to add my voice to those who are thankful for Jack Hornor’s letter, “Trump Backers aren’t somehow ‘less than’” [Recorder, Feb. 1]. I appreciate his observations and admire his courage to print them. Like the writer, I often found myself...

My Turn: Trump’s brutal promise no joke

By DANIEL A. BROWN

One thing we Jews have learned from our fraught history is that when someone threatens to kill you, they mean it. History itself teaches that when a psychopathic strongman threatens to establish a vengeful dictatorship, they mean it as well. Donald...

Guest columnist Pema Latshang : School leaders need to further invest in their teachers

By PEMA LATSHANG

Over the past three years, it’s become clear just how essential teachers are to the everyday lives of the western Massachusetts community. In remote and hybrid settings they were there for us throughout the pandemic, with many stepping up to do this...