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By SCOTT MERZBACH

HOLYOKE — With family roots in the newspaper industry and many years serving as chairman of Newspapers of New England, Holyoke native Donald R. Dwight, who died at the age of 94 on Sunday, is being recalled for a life lived by the same principles that guided his commitment to locally owned, independent journalism.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — Accepting a gift of an actively managed 146.3-acre woodlot and recommending resurfacing and possibly paving the length of Dudleyville Road are among the actions to be decided by residents at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Federal officials are restoring the previously terminated student immigration statuses for 13 international students at the University of Massachusetts, according to information posted on the university’s federal actions page Monday.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

In one sculpture made from fired terracotta, with a natural patina, life holds and cradles life. In another sculpture, life holds and grasps death.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Molly McGovern, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and Lisa McGovern and sister to Patrick McGovern, died unexpectedly in Italy while visiting a friend and his family, according to a statement the congressman’s family issued Thursday morning.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — A steep increase in what Leverett will pay into the Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools’ fiscal year 2026 budget is being supported by the Selectboard, even with concerns from board members about the process used to arrive at the town’s assessment.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Returning from visiting two students who are being held in separate detention facilities in Louisiana, U.S. Rep. James McGovern said what he saw firsthand is individuals who are being imprisoned because of their political views.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — In a change from customary practice, Shutesbury will hold its town election and Annual Town Meeting on separate days, a little over a month apart.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts officials are dispelling unconfirmed chatter this week that federal agents affiliated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were present on the Amherst campus.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

For a town like Hatfield, annual road maintenance has become increasingly challenging over the past 12 years, as state Chapter 90 money declines even as the price of hot mix asphalt rises substantially.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — Several local Democratic Town Committees in Hampshire and Franklin counties, and Holyoke, are making an appeal to the Massachusetts congressional delegation to take stronger steps in confronting the Republican Party, the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Faculty at the University of Massachusetts are calling on Chancellor Javier Reyes and President Martin Meehan to form a compact with the 250 land grant and public universities across the country to fight Trump administration actions impacting academic freedom and free expression, including politically motivated detentions of students and faculty and visa revocations for some international students.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Federal authorities are revoking the visas and terminating the student statuses of four more international students at the University of Massachusetts, increasing to 10 the number of pupils at risk of not being able to continue their studies on the Amherst campus.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — A proposed donation of a 147-acre working forest in North Leverett, which would continue to be actively managed under town ownership and open for hunting, will be decided by voters at the May 3 Annual Town Meeting.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts officials are offering a series of rapid responses to help six international students continue their studies on the Amherst campus, even as their visas are revoked and their student statuses are terminated by the Trump administration.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Local farms losing funding for efforts to help get produce to schools and protect the environment, and the University of Massachusetts having National Institutes of Health grants stripped away are among the consequences of the Trump administration’s actions, Massachusetts Senate leaders say.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Those attending a recent ribbon-cutting for the new UMass Downtown retail store and event space in Amherst center were invited to an afterparty at the Uptown Tap & Grille, which despite having a seemingly different geographical designation, is a neighboring business in the same building.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — While no ban on motorboats on Lake Wyola is being contemplated, a serious accident that injured a boater last June has prompted a review of the current bylaw governing use of the 128-acre body of water, which some residents say should be modified to enhance safety, while others say safety is largely a matter of personal responsibility.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — More stringent oversight of spending on salaries, capital projects and non-personnel expenditures at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is underway, according to a letter sent to the campus from Chancellor Javier Reyes.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Five years after its approval, legislation aimed at improving K-12 education statewide known as the Student Opportunity Act is not infusing school districts in western Massachusetts with much-needed additional funding as promised.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Though Massachusetts is not one of at least six states that will lose out on $500 million in food deliveries promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the leader of the region’s largest food bank remains concerned about future cuts.