Between the Lines
Editorial: A Supremely Bad Decision
They say that elections have consequences. This is one of the terrible ones. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement on Wednesday, June 27, effective the end of July. With Donald Trump in the Oval Office, and control of the Senate in the hands...
Massachusetts high court quashes democracy in decision on Fair Share Amendment
The state’s Supreme Judicial Court did an extreme disservice to voters this week, taking away the potential to vote on the popular “Fair Share Amendment,” which would have created a 4 percent tax on the wealthy and used the money for education and transportation...
Editorial: Zero tolerance for U.S. ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy
I’m angry these days. I try to hide it as best I can, but the piling up of atrocities committed by the Trump administration is taking its toll, and I doubt I’m the only one concealing a bubbling rage as I go about my day. But the recently-implemented “zero tolerance”...
Some voters see gender bias in write-in campaigns challenging Chelsea Kline for State Senate
The five write-in candidates in the race to replace longtime state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, of Amherst, are coming under scrutiny for their late entry into the race, with some calling their challenge to progressive Chelsea Kline — the only candidate to have her name on...
Editorial: Remembering Columbine and Santa Fe and everywhere in between
I remember the Columbine shooting like it was yesterday. It was a rainy April afternoon in 1999, very bleak but mild. When I turned on the television, I was hardly prepared for what I saw and what I heard. Two boys had committed what was, at the time, a shocking crime...
Editorial: Rosenberg resignation the right move to regain trust
We had been waiting a long time for it, but the speed of the events it set in motion once it finally arrived was breathtaking. The state Senate announced an independent ethics investigation of former Senate President Stan Rosenberg of Amherst in December. It took five...
Editorial: Listening to people from ‘coal country’ our best chance to change minds
Smith College hosted a fascinating speaker earlier this month who addressed a topic that’s been on my mind for several months leading up to the 2018 midterms: communicating and collaborating with people in what’s called “Trump country.” Without their help, we’re all...
Editorial: Find someone else to pick on, Mayor Sarno
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno spent the better part of the past two weeks railing against a Springfield church for offering sanctuary to an undocumented Peruvian woman and her two American children. Immigrant Gisella Collazo’s cause was taken up by the Pioneer...
Editorial: Wrinkle in Time: Just in Time
When I was nine years old, I read A Wrinkle in Time, the 1962 young adult science fiction adventure that had become an academic staple in elementary school curriculum. I was a lover of books and I was quite taken with both the plot and the characters. So much so that...
Editorial: Sunshine Week Important Now As Ever
I’ll never forget the Open Meeting Law conference I covered a few years ago in Northampton. Then State Senate President Stanley Rosenberg held the conference in March 2015 for local civic leaders and venting about the Open Meeting Law, which is in place for all of us...
Editorial: Guns spark a new student movement — and a fight for their lives
Fifty years ago, in 1968, student protests rocked the Vietnam War debate, and were eventually credited with turning public sentiment against the war. For young people, particularly young men, their very lives were at stake with the instituted military draft sending...
Bravo to Goldstein-Rose for Declaring Independence from Democrats
On Tuesday, Amherst state Representative Solomon Goldstein-Rose became the second independent in the Massachusetts Statehouse, changing his party affiliation from Democrat to unenrolled. Predictably, party elders and political pundits — the same ones that predicted a...
Literally Selling Your Soul to Pay for an Education
T.X. Watson, a transgender student at Hampshire College, is planning to sell their soul as part of their senior graduation project in art. The reason: Watson will have about $45,000 in debt upon graduation, and parting with their soul seems to be the best way of...
Editorial: Disappointing coverage from Poynter and others on Gazette editor departure
Sometimes the great teachers are role models to emulate, and sometimes they are the ones whose unfortunate actions you learn not to repeat. Poynter Institute, which touts itself as the world’s leading instructor for journalists, unfortunately fell into the...
#MeToo? Black Women on the Periphery of a Movement
As a black woman, I cannot bring myself to seek refuge in the monumental arms of the #MeToo Movement. On the contrary, I often find myself feeling contempt and cynicism. But it’s not because I don’t empathize with the women who have come forward with their...
Editorial: Women’s Marches Gathering Steam for Blue Wave Elections
It is beyond fitting that on the first anniversary of Donald Trump being inaugurated president not only does the government shut down, but huge numbers of people take to the streets to protest against his policies. Women’s marches took place across the country,...
Editorial: 2018 Should Be The Year Massachusetts Moves Toward Single Payer
I recently got my first pay stub of the year. I was curious to see how the Republican tax plan would affect me, if at all, but it turns out that none of us will see the results until February. So stay tuned. One thing I did notice, however, is that (surprise!) my...
Editorial: Lawsuit may help recovery of those affected by opioid addiction
Treating America’s opioid addiction crisis is, tragically, creating a growth industry that provides long-term intervention and treatment for millions of our fellow citizens. But who is going to pay the tab? Families? Insurance companies? State, local and federal...
Editorial: Taking Up Running to Slow Down
I’m in my mid-30s, and “getting fit” is something I think about more now. It took me a long time to come around on the idea of exercise for exercise sake — but it has become something that I actually enjoy (even if I don’t do it as often as I should). In middle...
Editorial: We’re Talking Horns upon Horns, Horns within Horns …
As we continue the Valley Advocate tradition of awarding halos to the good and horns to the bad in 2017, I reflect on the year’s ups and downs. It didn’t take long to realize that a lot of the “downs” had something in common – they originated with President (for now)...
Editorial: The Nuclear Option is Not an Option
North Korea’s steps toward accelerating its nuclear program and testing its missiles has been truly horrifying. So has President Donald Trump’s response, with threats to release “fire and fury” upon North Korea. Nuclear devastation is one of the gravest threats we...
Editorial: There Goes the Internet
Let me start by saying that I would avoid the internet if I could. It is creepy to think about huge corporations tracking each page I visit, and, potentially through my smartphone, actually physically tracking me wherever I go. Social media interactions are a far cry...
Editorial: Take Northampton’s Pledge for Human Dignity
During now-President Donald Trump’s hateful and divisive campaign, Northampton’s Human Rights Commission noted anecdotally how even in this Western Massachusetts community, there seemed to be an increase in racism, sexism, and anti-semitism, spurred on by Trump’s...
Editorial: Gateway Regional has some explaining to do in exclusion of LGBT grad
Each year, Gateway Regional High School in Huntington holds an event welcoming back alumni to share their experiences about college and post-graduate life. This year, however, the event was closed to one graduate: Marcelle LaBrecque, who spent 12 years in the Gateway...
Editorial: Oh, you’re a spouse abuser? No guns for you.
Gun control. It’s a topic that rarely gets any traction at the federal level, even after the most devastating and horrific mass shootings. After the Sandy Hook shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children: nothing. After Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, the...
The Best Opportunity Yet to Resist Trump
Last week featured two news stories that rocked the political landscape in this country. The first was that Democrats and progressive candidates all but swept the Nov. 7 elections from coast to coast, and the second was that Republican Alabama U.S. Senate candidate...
Being a Man in the Era of #Metoo
Over the past few weeks, I’ve watched the #metoo tweets and posts make their way through my social media feeds, and I’ve read the articles and stories, mostly from women, about how they have been subjected to sexual abuse and harassment. They bring about mixed...
Election Time! Yep, They Happen in Non-Presidential Years, Too
November has rolled around again, and no it’s not a presidential election year. But there are important elections both here and in other parts of the country this week you should be paying attention to. Since Donald Trump was elected president just about a year ago...
Between The Lines: Local TV Stations Have Abandoned Their Journalistic Integrity
As a newspaper journalist who cares deeply about good, necessary and morally grounded journalism, I must decry a recent trend of sleazy, tabloid-like reporting I now frequently see from trusted local television news stations: the act of sharing irrelevant articles,...
Between the Lines: Immigrant abuse – Where’s the outrage, Happy Valley?
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey recently slapped five Valley restaurants with about $17,000 in penalties for paying workers less than minimum wage, violating the state’s Earned Sick Time law and other violations of regulations meant to keep workers from...
Editor Kristin Palpini’s Advocate Farewell: Riding Off Into The Sunset, Y’all
It’s been real, but it’s time for me to be moving on. I’ve stepped down as editor to pursue other writing opportunities and I’m looking forward to getting back into reporting on, rather than assigning, stories. Reporting is how I got my start in the business back in...
How to Help Puerto Rico while Trump Golfs
Ripped apart by Hurricane Maria about two weeks ago, Puerto Rico is suffering from a severe lack of food, water, medicine, and shelter. Only 5 percent of the nation has electricity, according to the Associated Press. Federal aid is slow to arrive, people on the island...
Between the Lines: Honoring Beloved Activist Jafet Robles
At St. John’s Congregational Church in Springfield more than 200 people mourned the loss of well-known and beloved activist and community leader Jafet Robles. Robles, 33, was involved with Neighbor to Neighbor and other groups with initiatives to end mass...
Sanctuary in the Streets a Growing and Vital Movement
A Pioneer Valley activist network to support local undocumented immigrants — Sanctuary in the Streets — went into action this week to accompany Springfield resident Lucio Enrique Perez Ortiz on his check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials....
Between The Lines: Massachusetts Reps Should Get With Arnold to Terminate Gerrymandering
Not in a million years would I have predicted the Governator would be the one to kickstart a campaign to stop the legal election-rigging scheme used to weaken the voting power of one political power over another, aka gerrymandering, but here we are. I am less...
Between The Lines: Will Greenfield Get Hooked Up Like The Shea?
Forty years ago, the Shea Theater building in downtown Turners Falls was a shell about to collapse in on itself. But Montague leaders saw the building’s potential to boost the village’s economic fortunes and acquired the Shea. With help from grants, Montague...
Actually, Let’s Talk About Renaming Amherst
Since the violence in Charlottesville (and Donald Trump’s equivocal response), much more attention is being paid to a topic that sparked the white supremacist August rally — taking down historical monuments and changing names that many people find offensive and...
Between the Lines: UMass, Adopt A Rape Survivors Bill of Rights
While interviewing organizers of student-led college activist groups at UMass Amherst, Smith College, and Amherst College, I learned about the Coalition to End Rape Culture (CERC) at UMass , a campus group founded by survivors of sexual assault that is calling on the...
Trump Graduates From Unpleasant To Un-American
It’s gotten beyond name-calling at this point. When Paul Krugman of the New York Times calls Donald Trump “not a real American,” he now has solid facts backing him up. Krugman’s Monday morning column, titled, “When The President Is Un-American,” lays out a convincing,...
Hey Boss, Is Being a Woman Holding Me Back?
I have a confession to make: I’ve always worried about being underpaid. This concern has been present whether working for a supportive company or fast food joints. Why? Because I’m a woman aware of the U.S. wage statistics that say there’s a good chance I am being...
Trump Lashes Out At LGBTQ Community As His Presidency Crumbles
Following attacks on Muslims, refugees, immigrants, and the country of Cuba over the last several months, LGBTQ people became the latest group to be scapegoated by President Donald Trump and members of his administration this week. First came the announcement — by...
Between the Lines: What’s Another $1,000 on Top of Tuition?
The cost of a University of Massachusetts Amherst education has increased on average by more than $1,000 each year for the past three years. This, in a world where most working people can expect a 2 -percent cost-of-living raise — if that. In the summer of 2015, the...
Between the Lines: Peacefully Resisting ICE Raids
Western Massachusetts advocacy groups know that there are many in immigrant communities living in fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and arrests, and over the course of this year have been working to do something about it — particularly in light...
Between the Lines: Frances Crowe Has The Right Idea
In the small Berkshire County town of Sandisfield, there’s a battle being waged over public lands and environmental concerns stemming from a natural gas pipeline being installed in Otis State Forest. More than 30 protesters have been arrested this year for trespassing...
We Got Our -ERN Back, Now How Bout That $80,000
Four months ago, then-Advocate arts editor Hunter Styles wrote an excellent take-down of the hugely unpopular ad campaign trying to rebrand our region with the name “West Mass.” The heart of it was a list of questions about a dizzying, poorly-thought-out video...
How To Cut Unemployment — No, Really
Whether you’re a 20-something fresh out of college looking for work or near retirement age and can’t find a job at your skill level, the trials and tribulations of unemployment are very real. It’s an issue that most people face in their adult lives and an age old...
Should You Give Money to Panhandlers?
When a Holyoke City Councilor said, at a public meeting, “Don’t feed the animals,” in regard to homeless panhandlers, I figured I had a good idea for a fiery column defending people who beg for a living. It is vile to call any person an “animal” in a dehumanizing way...
Now Fulfilling The Provisions of the Paris Agreement Is Up To Us
It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise. Donald Trump ran a campaign based on denying climate science, so his Thursday announcement that he would be pulling out of the international climate agreement represents a promise fulfilled. But the advantage of having a...
Working Against Bad Political Actors Is Not Bias — It’s Journalism
Well, it has happened again. Another person who appears to be a sociopath caught in an act of hatred has been elevated to a position of power in our government. And this despite what we must call an alleged (though it was caught on tape and corroborated at the scene)...
Between The Lines: Trans Allies Needed More Than Ever
Last week I interviewed an organizer with the “I’ll Go With You” campaign, which sells buttons trans allies can wear to show they are willing to go into a public restroom with a trans man or woman to help keep them safe. That may seem like an extraordinary step to...
Addiction Response Milestone: Spike In Local ODs Non-Fatal
An unprecedented cluster of drug overdoses in Northampton late last month tested the city’s first responders. Their preparation — including training in the use of Narcan — helped prevent any fatalities. As the abuse of prescription and illegal opioids continues to...
With Obamacare Under Fire, Massachusetts Must Lead on Health Care — Again
The Republicans did it. They cobbled together an Obamacare replacement bill so bad that they got the most conservative members of the House to vote for it — people like Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks, who implied the majority of people with pre-existing conditions have...
Between the Lines: What Georgia’s Special Election Results Mean for 2018
Democrat and political newcomer Jon Ossoff failed to capture Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District in the first round. But Tuesday’s special election results may give Democrats across the country hopes of recapturing the House in 2018 and thwarting the...
Between the Lines: Baker gets a ‘C’ in environmental protection
Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration has been deemed mediocre – receiving a “C” for the second year in a row for its environmental policies and leadership, according to a report card from seven leading environmental organizations. “Unfortunately, once again we...
BTL: How Democrats can get their Supreme Court Revenge
Thanks to Republican dirty tricks, Trump-nominee Neil Gorsuch has been confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. But a little-known political maneuver from the 1930s might be the Democrat’s ticket to wresting back Court control. Gorsuch will be seated on the court with 54...
Between the Lines: Western Mass Needs More Rattlesnakes
No one knows how many timber rattlesnakes there are in Massachusetts — and this is a sticking point for opponents of a plan to boost the endangered species population.Does this species of venomous snakes really need saving? Over the past few years, state scientists...
Between the Lines: Is Boston Super Racist?
Is Boston a racist city? If you’ve been watching Saturday Night Live lately, you probably caught “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che give Boston that dubious title.Prior to the Super Bowl clash between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots, Che...
Between the Lines: No Man is an Island; It Takes a Village to Raise a Hero
Pamela Murphy, an Agawam firefighter, was vacationing on the Cape when she jumped into the water to save a six-year-old boy from being smashed against some rocks by the ocean waves.James Chartier, a former Army staff sergeant, completed a 90-mile walk from Western...
Between the Lines: Thought We Already Legalized It, What’s the hold up with weed?
This time, when I went to Mary Jane Makes Your Heart Sing last Friday, I didn’t have to wait in a line to get in. I also didn’t get any weed when I left.For nearly two months, Mary Jane Makes Your Heart Sing operated like a weed club. Located in a strip mall on Page...E-Edition
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