Banner of Courage

Banner of Courage

Not long ago, two Puerto Rican friends and I met in front of Easthampton City Hall and unexpectedly ran into a piece of our history.Bolted onto the outside wall is an iron plaque that commemorates American veterans of the 1898 Spanish-American War. That plaque is a...

The World This Week: Thoreau-ly Modern Henry

Henry David Thoreau may have died because he needed $30. In his day, Thoreau didn't retreat to Walden just to prove a point; he had little choice. As a marginally employed pencil maker and surveyor—considered "lazy" by the upright citizens of...

On Northampton: Mayor Higgins' Siege Ends Successfully

Broken, the Citizens Advisory Committee absolved themselves of further responsibility and gave permission to MassDevelopment to do whatever they liked on Hospital Hill.After more than 10 hours of presentations, public statements and deflected questions, on Tuesday,...

Between the Lines: Of Scoundrels and Liars

WHMP's Bill Dwight began a recent radio interview with Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins with an odd reference to the disgraced governor of Illinois."You don't seem to have the same vision that Gov. Bagojevich, or whatever his name is, had&"...
John Lennon: A Real Somewhere Man

John Lennon: A Real Somewhere Man

Some time ago, just after the death of the Reverend Jerry Falwell, the Advocate published a piece I wrote entitled "Farewell to Falwell." In this piece, I posthumously tarred and feathered the Reverend with his own words, which (and I stand by this opinion)...