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By SCOTT MERZBACH

A tradition for 28 years, the Taste of Amherst for most of its run brought restaurants to the Town Common in mid-June, with select menu items offered from various tents that attendees could enjoy while listening to live music.

Shortly after dawn on Thursday, May 22, the Republican-held House of Representatives approved, strictly along party lines and by a single vote, a budget bill that is cruel, anti-democratic, and dangerous for our economy. Every person in this country must be aware of how, exactly, this group of legislators turned against America.

In his May 17 column titled, “Paths to advocate for humane treatment of immigrants,” writer Judson Brown tells us ways we can be helpful to our immigrant neighbors, including recent refugees. Brown reports that, under Trump, federal funds have been cut off to the three local agencies that led resettlement efforts for refugees — Ascentria Care Alliance (a Lutheran organization), Catholic Charities, and Jewish Family Services of Western Massachusetts. Brown highlights some of the groups who have arrived recently and have been living here legally, and he points out the Trump administration’s “systematic effort to destroy seemingly almost all sanctioned pathways to legal residency by folks seeking a better life here.”

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts doctoral candidate Shannon Callaham had initially planned to spend time earlier this month analyzing interview data between Holyoke community members and energy industry professionals as part of a grant-funded project that centered around environmental justice in Holyoke’s transition to renewable energy.

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — While final tweaks and changes are expected before the end of June, residents and the Selectboard got a first look at the feasibility study for the Norwottuck North Shared-Use Path Monday evening.

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

Wind and solar power reduce our dependence on polluting fossil fuels, with big benefits for our environment and health. That’s why it’s welcome news that Massachusetts ranked 5th in the nation for electric vehicle charging ports and 11th for solar generation at the end of 2024. Here in the Bay State, and in fact, across the country, renewable energy technologies have grown rapidly over the past decade.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

AMHERST — Change is a theme common enough at college commencements — a beginning and an end. But for the UMass Amherst class of 2025, change seemed more pressing and obvious when they received their diplomas Friday night.

Throughout the world people are honoring the life of Pope Francis who was both a spiritual and political leader. He called on all of us to make it a priority to protect the environment, provide justice for all, especially the poor and marginalized, and to work for peace. In our country flags flew at half-mast in his honor. But to truly honor Pope Francis, it is not enough to lower our flags, light candles, and bow our heads. May we all reflect on and be guided in our actions by the Pope’s words and deeds.

By CAROLYN BROWN

After 65 years playing and directing church music, 17 of those as First Church Amherst minister of music, Dick Matteson is ready to celebrate his legacy with the Pioneer Valley. He plans to retire next month, and a farewell concert will be held this Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m.

Most of us will become disabled at some point in our lives. Whether through accident, illness, or simply old age, we will all join the largest minority in the U.S. For decades, institutionalization was standard for people with disabilities. Conditions were commonly squalid, overcrowded, and abusive.When the deinstitutionalization movement gained momentum in the 1960s and 70s, we developed support systems to help people with disabilities live on their own.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Ahead of an expected round of workforce reductions at the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center based at the University of Massachusetts is preparing for the worst-case scenario: elimination of the entire operation.

By MICKEY RATHBUN

In the Orchard Arboretum, a little-known public garden in South Amherst, a living work of art is making its debut this spring. “I call it a daffodil ribbon,” explained Richard Waldman, a retired landscape architect from New York City who conceived of the project two years ago and has finally brought it to fruition.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts researchers have uncovered rabbit ticks in Maine that harbor a new strain of bacteria related to pathogens known to cause spotted fever in humans.

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

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 EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Peanut butter jars, takeout containers and soft plastic wrap often end up in the recycling bin, contaminating viable plastic, cardboard and paper for recycling and resulting in more garbage in landfills.

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 CAROLYN BROWN

An Amherst festival dedicated to a famous Baroque composer is coming … Bach.

By JOHANNA NEUMANN

Humans are great at building things, but it’s also beginning to dawn on us that these impressive and sometimes magnificent structures also impact the other creatures that we share this earth with.