News
News of the Weird: Post-Truth Society
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals finally pulled the plug on Orange County, California, social workers who had been arguing in court for 16 years that they were not guilty of lying under oath because, after all, they did not understand that lying under oath in...
Our Favorite Dive Bars Part II: Arkham, City Line, Cabot Pub II, The Vic, and One Surprise
Everyone has a favorite dive bar — a place you can go in your old jeans and sweater, have a beer for under $3 and watch some Jeopardy! with townies looking to unwind.Dive bars — and we use the term lovingly — tend to be physically and metaphysically secluded. Signs...
Northampton Recovery Center Offers Support to Addicts and Loved Ones
Downtown Northampton now boasts a new recovery center aimed at providing addicts and loved ones with emotional support.The Northampton Recovery Center at Edwards Church, 297 Main St., which officially opened Monday, was a project that was roughly eight months in the...
Between the Lines: VOTE, Should the Capitol Take Down This Painting of Police as Pigs?
A painting depicting police officers as feral pigs has been ordered removed from the Capitol after months of controversy and a tug of war over whether the art should be on display. What do you think? As I write this on Monday, Donald Trump is yet to be sworn in as...
Missed Connections: Was it love or just something in your eye?
If you’ve never checked out Craigslist’s Missed Connections section, you really should. Like all geographic designations on the forum, the Western Mass list is full of wistful near-meets and longing. Below is a compilation of “missed connection” items from...
News of the Weird: Leading Economic Indicator
The salary the Golden State Warriors pay to basketball whiz Stephen Curry may be a bargain at $12 million a year, but the economics is weirder about the prices Curry’s fans pay on the street for one of his used mouthguards retrieved from the arena floor after a game....
Back Talk: More wishes for 2017, Save the EPA!, and King Stork’s inauguration
More WishesIn response to Hunter Styles’ “Between the Lines: Our Wish List for 2017” posted on Facebook.James Moses: “In the meantime, we’re trying to wish Hillary out of the woods and back into her pantsuit. Maybe the Clintons should relocate from Chappaqua to...
Up Here, Down There, and Everywhere: Women March on Washington
Day One On the first day of a Donald Trump presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, the streets of D.C. as well as cities and towns across the country will be jammed with women and their allies demanding that leaders protect the rights of women through the Women’s March on...
The Pour Man: Kim Crawford and Nobilo Keep it Real — and Deliciously Dry
For more than three decades, New Zealand winemakers have been known for producing some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world.Until recently, however, the Kiwi producers haven’t been bringing home international accolades for their Pinot Noir. The country’s...
Missed Connections: New Year’s Eve lost love?
If you’ve never checked out Craigslist’s Missed Connections section, you really should. Like all geographic designations on the forum, the Western Mass list is full of wistful near-meets and longing. Below is a compilation of “missed connection” items from...
How To Get Off Heroin: An inadequate addiction treatment system takes on an epidemic
So, you want to get off heroin; now what? If it’s an emergency, go to the hospital. If you’re lucid, get to a detox center. If you’re Section 35 court ordered to get clean, the state will place you in a bed put aside specifically for Section 35ers.After...
Scene Here: Frostilicus
As temperatures dip and the ice thickens on Heritage Park in East Longmeadow, ice skaters and hockey players of all ages lace up their freshly sharpened skates and brave the cold to carry on a generations-old winter tradition. Just ask Ryan Morton. He used to play...
News of the Weird: Too-Much-Reality TV
Russian producers are planning the so-far-ultimate survivors’ show — in the Siberian wilderness for nine months with temperatures as low as minus-40-degrees Fahrenheit, with 30 contestants selected after signing liability waivers that protect the show even if someone...
Backtalk: Cheers to good reporting on charter schools, the environment and fake news
Love for the Advocate Cheers to the Valley Advocate writers and staff for excellence in informative journalism covering topics with both local and universal appeal. Particularly notable in recent months was the “Extra Credit on Question 2 — Follow the Money” article...
Between the Lines: Our 2017 Wish List
Our annual December Halos and Horns issue of the paper, which sums up staffers’ thoughts on who in the Valley (and the world) has been naughty and nice for the past year, only allows us to look backward. But with a new year rolled out before us, Advocate writers...
Down to Earth: When Life Gives You Lemon Peels, Make Compost
My first container of compostables was beautiful. Inside a repurposed chipped ceramic crockpot lay a smorgasbord of broccoli stems, wilted lettuce, carrot shreddings, sprouted potatoes, onion skins, outer cabbage leaves, asparagus ends, and tomato stems. It looked...
Opioid addiction in Western Massachusetts: an Advocate Chat
Each week, the Advocate staff assembles for an AdvoChat, where we bat around thoughts on a subject in the news. The chat is lightly edited. dave.eisen (Dave Eisenstadter, web editor): Kristin, you’re working on a piece on addiction (EDITOR’S NOTE: here it...
Does Exercise Have to be Boring? Alt ways to get fit
It’s a classic dilemma. The upcoming holidays prompt intense fits of eating followed by the guilt of said eating with promises of a better life for the New Year. New Year’s Eve cues New Year resolutions, and many choose fitness as their goal, making a...
Opioid Deaths in Massachusetts Skyrocket by 70 Percent in Two Years
Between 2013 and 2015, the number of opioid-related deaths state- wide surged from 918 to 1,578 — an increase of over 70 percent in two years. The opioid crisis in Massachusetts has reached epidemic proportions, according to the findings of a report out this past...
Halos & Horns: Our 2016 List of Who’s Been Good or Bad… or Worse
How Does This Work? Who on earth do we think we are, doling out judgement left and right? Find out here. The List HALOS // The People of East Longmeadow — For creating a seven-member Town Council in the wake of a coup on the now-defunct three-member Board of...
Between the Lines: Updates on Some of 2016’s Big Stories – Detox, Pipelines, and Gun Rights
Some topics are too rich to write about just once. For all the people wondering, “What ever happened to …?” this week’s column features updates on issues I’ve written about in this space before. If you’ve got a topic from this column in mind that you’d like to see...
News of the Weird: Oh-So-Sweet Dreams
The Hastens workshop in Koping, Sweden, liberally using the phrase “master artisans” recently, unveiled its made-to-order $149,900 mattress. Bloomberg News reported in December on Hastens’ use of superior construction materials such as pure steel springs,...
Backtalk: Readers react to Halos and Horns
Halos & Horns Editor’s Note: Some responses to the Advocate’s annual section dedicated to the promoting and pooh-poohing of what went on in the last year. I just want to congratulate you on your latest issue. I found it engaging and on target. Beside the nods to...
Scene Here: A Respite from the Cold
There’s always a little bit of added electricity in the air when a Nor’easter is bearing down on New England and the snowflakes start to fly. The cold brings out a sense of camaraderie in people: us v. the snow. Sometimes the best thing to do is to find a cozy corner...
The Pour Man: Producers of MD ‘Mad Dog’ 20/20 Make a Surprisingly Good Pinot Noir
At first blush, one wouldn’t think that the producer of one of world’s most popular “brown-bag wines” would be making a well-crafted, reasonably priced Pinot Noir, much less any other drinkable wine. But that’s the case with Chloe, which means “green shoot” in ancient...
The V-Spot: The Fast and the Curious
Sometimes, when I’m in the mood to masturbate, I enjoy watching porn. The problem is when I do, it literally takes me no time to orgasm. Yesterday, I was feeling in the mood to enjoy myself. So, I started browsing some videos.I barely started touching myself and felt...
Lip Bomb: A Life Measured in Swastikas
I don’t quite remember seeing my first swastika, but I do remember first realizing what it meant. Like many Jews, I felt the Holocaust sit on my consciousness and take a space in my identity. I remember listening to my mother talk about the reasons why my family would...
Back Talk: Mall Puppies and the Electoral College
Something to hate about the mall Comments on “Five Things to Love About the Mall” Barb Brown: The majority of puppy store puppies come from puppy mills where the dogs are over bred, kept in small, over-crowded conditions and many of the puppies have severe deformities...
News of the Weird: Holes Against Humanity
The rebellion against the absurdities of Black Friday this year by the organization Cards Against Humanity came in the form of raising money to dig a pointless hole in the ground. During the last week of November, people “contributed” $100,573, with Cards digging...
Bad, Electoral College, bad! An Advocate chat
In this week’s Advocate chat, we wanted to discuss that lovable group of people whose votes actually count — the Electoral College! Has its time to go the way of other outdated American institutions (i.e. slavery) finally come? As always, the chat has been...
Scene Here: Holidays in Whoville
The quadrangle at the Springfield Museums, with its many sculptures of Dr. Seuss’ most famous characters, can inspire wonder in most visitors any day of the year, but there’s an extra bit of Seussian whimsy about it around the holidays. The characters — The Grinch,...
Between the Lines: A neo-Nazi by any other name … calling the ‘alt-right’ what it really is
The marketing teams of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups have been busy. Rather than give up their hateful views — misogyny, racism, anti-Semitism — they’re trying to scrub themselves clean of the stink by adopting another name — the “alt-right.”As the New York...
O, Cannabis! Coming Out – to kids, parents, husbands – as a Weed Enthusiast
I came out as a marijuana enthusiast to my family when I was 16 and fell on my mother.Late at night, I had been out with some friends smoking pot and gossiping. I came home to find my mom still up, sitting in her rocking recliner in the living room watching TV. I...
Labor Activist and Bridge-builder Jon Weissman Set to Retire
After being at the heart of the labor movement in Western Mass for over 40 years, Jon Weissman is retiring as the coordinator of Western Mass Jobs With Justice at the end of this year at age 70. Over the course of his career, Weissman served in the trenches of the...
Back Talk: Not bigoted, just religious?
Hey, Trump: Labor Secretary Should Champion Workers President-elect Trump just selected Andrew Puzder as his nominee for Secretary of Labor. Unfortunately, as the CEO of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., Puzder holds a record of opposing the economic agenda demanded by the...
Western Mass Missed Connections: Flirty, romantic, and dramatic
If you’ve never checked out Western Mass Missed Connections on Craigslist, you really should. The forum is filled with wistful glances, hopeful romantics, and some great drama. The following is a compilation from last week’s forum posts, with the date of...
Fudge Judging: We found the best local fudge around
The winter holiday season is the best time for fudge. It’s a season of indulgence and sharing and sweets and fun — that’s what fudge is all about. Stock up on some now and hand out pounds of rich, creamy, gooey goodness as presents or keep it home and eat it sliver by...
News of the Weird: Radical Dentistry
Radical Dentistry Radical dentistry was on display in November in London’s Science Gallery, where installations offered “art-science collaborations” — including Taiwan artist Kuang-Yi Ku’s “Fellatio Modification Project.” Former dentist Ku, complaining that textbooks...
Back to Business: UMass Amherst’s Labor Center’s shaky future settled
The UMass Labor Center has a new lease on life after facing an uncertain future due to planned cuts to its operating budget and courses available.Last week, University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy and members of the Labor Center Committee sent...
Five Things to Love About the Mall
Malls reached peak radicalness in the ’80s, but we still love them. Yes, the crowds, prices, and parking can get on your nerves, but where else can you buy a puppy, an apple pie, new underwear, and get your eyebrows threaded? That’s right, the mall! Here are five...
Scene Here: Decorations Not Included
When Mike McCusker and Polly Anderson finished sawing down their Christmas tree, McCusker held the saw up to his nose. The heavy scent of fresh pine from the just-cut tree was just part of the appeal for the two from Shelburne Falls, who had been coming to the...
Get In? Uber’s popularity outpaces regulation
Like many college students in the Valley, Ellen Brancart and Lupe Valle rely on Uber — a smartphone app that allows users to catch rides from local drivers — to get around the Five College area after the buses have stopped running at night. On average, the Smith...
News of the Weird: Ecret-Say Ode-Kay
American gangsters traditionally use euphemisms and nicknames (“Chin,” “The Nose”) to disguise criminal activities, but among details revealed at a November murder trial in Sydney, Australia, was that members of the “Brothers 4 Life” gang might have used “pig latin.”...
Alicia Fuhrman’s Local Libations: A wine cocktail for winter
Make me something good. I used to get this request (and versions of it) often, and almost always from strangers. It was a high-turnover tourist town I worked in — most faces you’d only see for one night. But isn’t that so much of the bar experience: not knowing? The...
Between the Lines: Pentagon says it wastes $125 billion, plans to continue
Good news, everyone! The U.S. just found $125 billion in surplus funds. Can you believe it? This money can help with education, scientific research, health insurance, elder care, space exploration, repairs on the nation’s crumbling bridges, improvements to our...
Back Talk: The US Flag and Electoral College
US flag represents truths both inspiring and terrible We write to offer a veterans’ viewpoint different from those dominating the events at Hampshire College in Amherst. We are members of chapter 95, Veterans for Peace, an international veterans’ organization whose...
Staff Picks: Dinosaur Jr., Jim Breuer & the Loud and Rowdy
Pantera Tribute and more \m/ • Saturday Trendkill “the ultimate Pantera tribute” is gonna blow up The Tank with a tribute night to Dimebag Darrell. Also on the bill to make the night even more metal and heavy are locals As Misery Fades, NIM, An Unction In Braille,...
If Trump can be President… A list of other unlikely job pairings
Since the election of Donald Trump, anything seems possible. Pigs can fly, hell can freeze over, your parents will apologize for that thing they did a long time ago (you know the one), ravens are writing desks, and anyone can get any job no matter how utterly...
More Room for Military Women: After service stints that may have fallen tragically short of expectations, Soldier On steps up for women vets
A rocky path led veteran Mary Wilson to the doorstep of the Soldier On Women’s Program. “The gift of desperation,” she calls it. A former U.S. Marine Corps private, Wilson in July moved into the transitional housing program located on the grounds of the VA medical...
Between the Lines: How to Spot Fake News
There is nothing more cynical than fake news. The entire concept is to play readers for suckers, manipulating the foundation of reality in exchange for cash or furthering of what is likely a heinous agenda.And the people hosting and spreading fake news online — the...
News of the Weird: Even Baking Soda is Dangerous
Almost all law enforcement agencies in America use the Scott Reagent field test when they discover powder that looks like cocaine, but the several agencies that have actually conducted tests for false positives say they happen up to half the time. In October, the...
Back Talk: Hampshire College Brings Back the Flag
Forced to Fly a Flag? Editor’s Note: This letter is in response to Hampshire College’s recent decision to stop flying the American flag on campus. Shortly after receiving this letter, threats made against students, faculty, and staff were part of a decision at the...
Down to Earth: Hope, the Environment, and the Election
I sometimes startle people by saying I don’t have much hope for the environment. “But you’re an environmentalist!” they stutter. “Surely, you must think we can prevent nature from being destroyed? That taking action is worth it?”The other day, for instance, I chatted...
“Don’t be a chump reader”: an Advocate Chat on fake news
Continuing our weekly chats, the Advocate staff tackled the topic of fake news, that scourge to lovers of truth everywhere! The chat has been lightly edited. kristinpalpini (Kristin Palpini, editor): Let’s do this! So, Dave, wanna give a description of the...
BTL: The North Dakota Pipeline Protest Asks What’s More Valuable, Water or Oil?
Protesters clumped together like Gore-Tex penguins on the North Dakota, bridge.On Nov. 18, hundreds of people congregated at Backwater Bridge, in the path of Dakota Access Pipeline construction, to pray — and if their prayers happened to get in the way of an oil...
Scene Here: The Rift in Holyoke
Reports of hate crimes have spiked across the nation in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential election victory, and dozens of people marched through Holyoke on the evening of Friday, Nov. 18, to protest the president elect’s campaign promises and policies that many...
Can All-Natural Kava Really Soothe Anxiety?
Chocolate is a treat, but when you add kava, chocolate is medicine. At least that’s what Rachael Gibney, a reiki healer from Shutesbury says. She is mixing a bowl of raw cacao with ground kava at a workshop at the Bower Studio in Pelham, showing people how to make...
Back Talk: Time to Unite Under Trump?
Time to Unite? Was Peter Vancini’s Nov. 24-30, 2016 column “Between the Lines: One Nation Under Trump?” the kick in the pants you needed to get over your Clinton funk or the musings of a dreamer? Great thoughts on joining together at Thanksgiving instead of...
News of the Weird: The Future of Travel
Australian aviator David Mayman has promised investors that his personal jet packs will hit the market by mid-2017, though early adopters will pay about $250,000 for one, to fly a person at up to 60 mph for 10 minutes. The JB-10, developed by Mayman and designer...E-Edition
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