Latest News

McGovern talks price gouging, consumer protection with former federal trade commissioner
GREENFIELD — Former Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra joined U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern for a roughly 90-minute discussion on price gouging, consumer protection and the impacts of corporate deregulation at Greenfield Community College Monday evening.

West County Senior Services District recognized for reimagining aging
BUCKLAND — Though seniors from Ashfield, Buckland and Shelburne continued their annual picnic tradition at the Buckland Recreation Area on Tuesday, the 2025 gathering marked the first picnic as an independent senior services district.
Sports

Frontier’s Skyler Steele selected for A Shot For Life Home Run Derby
By THOMAS JOHNSTON


Opinion

Debi Allen and Eva Carle: City’s plans for Hope Street lot need public vetting
Development of the Greenfield Armory started after the city refused to accept the property as a gift. We can’t fix prior administration’s financial mistakes by selling the Hope Street parking lot before a final bid has even been reviewed by the public.




Your Daily Puzzles

An approachable redesign to a classic. Explore our "hints."

A quick daily flip. Finally, someone cracked the code on digital jigsaw puzzles.

Chess but with chaos: Every day is a unique, wacky board.

Word search but as a strategy game. Clearing the board feels really good.

Align the letters in just the right way to spell a word. And then more words.
Business

Cannabis impact fees: Where are they now?
As Aug. 11 marks the third anniversary of the adoption of the newest state rules regulating community impact fees on cannabis businesses, municipalities across Franklin County are left wondering what they can reasonably do with the thousands that have been collected amid a hazy future for the funding.




Arts & Life

Speaking of Nature: One killer plant: Discover the deadly beauty of the Northern pitcher plant
This week I shift my focus away from lakes and pond and toward bogs. There is certainly some overlap between these two habitats, but if you are able to find yourself in a majority-bog ecosystem, then you will see some very interesting things. I took today’s photo while visiting a place called Quoddy Head State Park, in Maine, but there are opportunities to find similar conditions right here in western Massachusetts. More on that later.


Obituaries

[IMAGE]Charles H. Shaw Northfield, MA - Charles "Charlie" H. Shaw, 74, of Millers Falls Road in Northfield, MA, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. Born in Brookline, MA, Cha... remainder of obit for Charles H. Shaw

Colrain, MA - Karen Mae Devine, 78, passed away unexpectedly in her home on Saturday, August 9th, 2025, with her loving husband Leon by her side. Karen was born in Colrain, MA, on October 17th, 1946, the daughter of Ralph and Geneva... remainder of obit for Karen Mae Devine

Belchertown, MA - Perry Bradford Knickerbocker died at home, in Belchertown, MA, on August 9, 2025 from cancer. He was born on May 22, 1946 in Sharon, CT to Howard and Marion Virginia (Middlebrook) Knickerbocker. He married Lorraine... remainder of obit for Perry B. Knickerbocker

Millers Falls, MA - Janet E. (Burkill) Robert, 76, of Federal St., passed away Friday, August 8, 2025, at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. She courageously fought for over a decade, battling Parkinson's disease and several other ... remainder of obit for Janet E. Robert