News
by From Our Readers | Nov 7, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Totally RiggedThank you, Editor Palpini, for the recent article about the “rigging” of the election (“Between the Lines: Are the Elections Rigged?”, Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2016). It is indecorous in the extreme for Republicans to stoke the public’s fear of this possibility...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News, Newsletter
Prozacs/Pajama Slave Dancers • Saturday Shenanigans Pub in Westfield is the place to be Saturday night if your heart is made of punk rock. For the first time in 30 years, Pajama Slave Dancers come back to their roots and perform in their original birthplace. If that...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, News
Deep breath: Donald Trump will be the president of the United States come January. The man who’s got a date with the Oval Office may be a silver-spoon clutching, bankruptcy-filing, Mexican, Muslim, Chinese-hating, tax-dodging, student-swindling, reality TV star, but...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 7, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Before you step outside puffing on a celebratory fattie, know that, despite the vote on Tuesday, recreational marijuana isn’t legal in Massachusetts, yet.That’ll happen on Dec. 15, when the ballot measure goes into effect. And even when Dec. 15 comes, the state is...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
It was an intense meeting in the winter of 2015: On one side of the room sat the owners and operators of the Mt. Tom Generating Plant, a coal-fired power station on Route 5 in Holyoke. On the other were 60 community members and environmental activists. Carlos...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
For the 2016 presidential election, Valley Advocate arts and production director Jennifer Levesque designed two posters: one for each candidate. The winner of the election got their poster on the cover (and back) of this week’s Advocate. Download Trump, but...
by Peter Vancini | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
It’s official: Easthampton’s Platinum Pony has taken its last ride. The business’ former owner Kristen Davis announced that the bar, which closed its 30 Cottage St. location last fall following a suspected electrical fire, would not reopen as planned. The Platinum...
by Peter Vancini | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
In the wake of complaints about officer discipline, the latest development in a long-running dispute over organization of the Springfield Police Department is going down: City Council President Michael Fenton said that he has the votes necessary to shut down the...
by Chuck Shepherd | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
A network of freelance Buddhist priests in Japan last year began offering in-home, a la carte services for those adherents who shun temples through Amazon in Japan, quoting fixed fees and bypassing the usual awkward deliberation over “donations.” And in September,...
by From Our Readers | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
The low standards of charter schools I couldn’t believe it when I heard from the MTA that charter schools are not required to hire certified teachers, unless English as a Second Language/English Language Learners (ESL/ELL). They don’t even have to hire teachers with...
by Kyle Olsen | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Wellness
The upcoming winter months prompt the return of the flu shot — and disagreements between alternative and traditional medical professionals, and even the general population, about its importance. Reminders of the flu vaccination for Pioneer Valley residents become more...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
At some point over the past few weeks, each of the four Nov. 8 state ballot measures stirred up mixed feelings in me (yes, even the weed one). But no issue had me more conflicted than Question 2, which proposes to authorize the state Board of Elementary and Secondary...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Scene Here
If Frodo had been living in Easthampton’s new Mill 180 Park when Gandalf stopped by, he probably would have turned down the wizard’s all-powerful ring. Hidden inside an old mill building — with food, lawn games, coffee, beer, and wifi at your fingertips — it’s already...
by Chuck Shepherd | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
As nine states next month ask voters to approve some form of legalization of marijuana, a “new customer base” for the product — pets — was highlighted in an October New York Times report. Dogs and cats are struck with maladies similar to those that humans...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
A stoner buddy of mine recently shocked me when she said she has no intention of voting on Nov. 8. Weed is already practically legal, she argued, and both the presidential candidates are duds. I reminded her that Question 3 on the ballot may set more humane standards...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has spent the last several months asserting that the Nov. 8 election will be rigged against him.He doesn’t have any evidence to support this claim — except for all the polls that say the real estate developer and reality...
by Phoebe Weissblum | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter
Remember applying to college? I’m sure you recall the glossy promotional packets you received in the mail from schools trying to win your application. There was always a picture on the front that looked like this: a group of college age kids sitting in a circle on a...
by From Our Readers | Oct 24, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Charter schools hurt larger society Certain institutions should always be public. Social Security, prisons and education are three of them. We dodged a bullet when Bush wanted to privatize Social Security. People realized that the financial industry would be taking 31...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure, News, Newsletter
Game by Kristin Palpini, Kyle Olsen, Jennifer Levesque, and Hunter Styles In celebration of the Annual Manual — a condensed version of the Advocate’s yearly Best of the Valley Readers’ Poll — we’ve created a board game featuring some of the Best Of...
by Peter Vancini | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, News
On an unseasonably warm day in late September, Joe Sibilia is roaming the Gasoline Alley mill building complex on Albany Street in Springfield. The 59-year-old is wearing a pair of loose fitting yoga pants and his body and shaved bald head have been tanned to a deep...
by From Our Readers | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Bad Seeds? Kids and Weed Comments left on “Bad Seeds: Will legal recreational weed lead to more stoned students?” at valleyadvocate.com. Paul Hurteau: Ask a politician if they are pro-choice … Wait for their answer and then ask them about marijuana. Ian James:...
by Chuck Shepherd | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
John Weigel and Olaf Danielson are engaged in a frenzied battle of “extreme birdwatching,” each hoping to close out 2016 as the new North American champ of the American Birding Association, and a September Smithsonian piece had Weigel ahead, 763 to 759. Danielson is...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Video footage has emerged in court proceedings that defense attorneys say shows Springfield Police Det. Gregg A. Bigda threatening two teenage suspects in an encounter last winter. According to local media reports, the lawyers who obtained the videos said they show...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, News
What Matters The Meridians symposium at Smith College is all about “celebrating women of color feminist scholarship, art, and activism of the ’80s and ’90s to inspire and embolden us in precarious times.” This season’s keynote speakers are dual forces to...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Wellness
Rachel Desmond had her first smoke when she was 16. For the next six years, marijuana was a big part of her life. “It was easy to get,” she says, sitting outside of the Frost Building at Holyoke Community College, where she is studying. And she says she needed it to...
by Gazette Editorial Board | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
The dream of America, for most immigrants, is the dream of a better standard of living, earned through hard work in a country where employment laws apply to all regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation — or immigration status.Equal treatment is a cherished...
by From our Readers | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Vertical Grates a Danger to Cyclists The last part of my bicycle commute from Greenfield to Gill is the Gill-Montague Bridge. I had been enduring black hole potholes, asphalt that was worn down to dirt, and trucks and cars barrelling within feet of me. My vision of...
by Naila Moreira | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, News, Newsletter
Our natural environment needs us now, and the stakes have never been so stark. I’ve been frustrated this election season at how little attention the environment has gotten. In the first presidential debate, moderator Lester Holt didn’t ask a single question about...
by Chuck Shepherd | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
Large kidney stones typically mean eye-watering pain and sudden urinary blockage until the stone “passes” (often requiring expensive sound-wave treatment to break up a large stone). Michigan State University urologist David Wartinger told The Atlantic in September...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 26, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News, Newsletter
Dar Williams came to the Valley in 1992 to put down roots and start a career. Between then and when she left in 2000, she became a bonafide folk rocker, touring on a wave of good gigs that carried her to a breakout moment in 1996 with Mortal City, an LP that became an...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, News
Marijuana legalization is up for a binding vote on Nov. 8, and people still have a lot of questions about what legal weed would mean for Massachusetts’ residents, economy, and law enforcement. On Thursday, 7 p.m., Oct. 6 at Greenfield Community College, the Valley...
by Kyle Olsen | Sep 26, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News, Newsletter
Jeff Kelley, a Northampton post officer and owner of the Instagram account @postaljeff, scrolls through months of his posts, reaching a series featuring a red phone. He stops at a post with the phone dangling off a tree by the cord, it was photoshopped by another...
by Peter Vancini | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, News
Massachusetts is among the top five states where bicycle ridership is growing, but it lags in developing the infrastructure to keep riders safe.The lack of bike lanes and trails is a nationwide problem. Massachusetts ranks 15th in the nation for the most bike...
by Peter Vancini | Sep 26, 2016 | Articles, News
The debate over immigration reform isn’t new, but it’s taken center stage in the 2016 presidential campaign. Republican candidate Donald Trump has made it a central part of his campaign and recently made headlines when he vowed to cut funding to so-called “sanctuary...
by Peter Vancini | Sep 26, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Scene Here
Several dozen protesters gathered this past Friday at Mason Square in Springfield, chanting What Do We Want? Affordable Housing! When Do We Want It? Now! and carrying signs down State Street — through one of the city’s most blighted neighborhoods — to Court Square in...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Sep 26, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
I’m soon going to have to decide if a pull towards convenience outweighs my fear of a total robot takeover of the world as we know it. I may get an E-ZPass transponder. The decision should be made simpler by the fact that the state of Massachusetts isn’t...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
A few weeks ago I was at a campground when I heard something going on in the adjacent tent: a woman’s voice softly saying “ow” and “you hit me,” and every now and then a muffled grunt from a man. I was alone and I froze, hoping things wouldn’t escalate. They didn’t. I...
by Peter Vancini | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Film, News, Scene Here
More than 100 people stake out a plot of land at Pulaski Park in Northampton on this crisp Wednesday night for an outdoor screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At the event kicking off this year’s Northampton Film Festival, people dress as Luke, Leia, Han, Chewy,...
by From Our Readers | Sep 26, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Celebrate Immigration I think the people of Northampton and the whole Pioneer Valley should take the lead and turn the arrival of refugees to our area into a celebration. Our country’s founding principles are based on no discrimination. Instead of fearing these...
by Chuck Shepherd | Sep 26, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
Police and prosecutors in Dallas, appropriately sensitive at having been the site of the 1963 killing of President Kennedy, have apparently taken out their shame on assassination buff Robert Groden. As the Dallas Observer reported in September, Groden has been...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, The V-Spot, Wellness
Yana, I need your expertise!I’m a 19-year-old guy in a hetero relationship. I was pleasuring my partner last night and I realized I stopped being present and could not become present again. She picked up on it and, well, I really wanted to be present for it but I...
by From Our Readers | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
In Defense of Robert MosesLena Groeger says that Robert Moses designed public work projects to exclude and isolate specific groups of people [“Discrimination by Design: From health care to toilets to Snapchat; life is designed to benefit certain people,” Sept. 22-28,...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film, News, Newsletter
Northampton Film FestivalSept. 28 – Oct. 2For four days, at locations across Northampton, the modern film festival will be redefined with free public screenings of films, virtual reality experiences, games, and participatory film projects.Tickets are $10 for a...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Featured, News
When she was 37, Edie Daly came out as a lesbian. It was 1974, in the suburbs of New York City. Firmly ensconced in a 17-year marriage to a man, Daly had three children. The woman she fell in love with — a co-worker at a local school — also had a husband and four...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, News
Too often, small town bucolic Hadley gets confused for what’s on Route 9. Yes, the congested commercial stretch is the town’s main artery, but not its heart. There’s a lot more going on in Hadley than waiting to get over the Coolidge Bridge at rush hour. Food Hadley...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News, Newsletter
Scent-sational The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival markets itself as “the festival that stinks.” So really, how could we resist? But even if sniffing and hefting around bags of aromatic bulbs isn’t your idea of a fun time, there’s still good reason to hike up...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Good God, please vote in November. If you are not yet registered, and you’re a Massachusetts resident, you have until Oct. 19 to get your registry card at any Town Hall, Registry of Motor Vehicles, or government office that provides public assistance. You can also...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Scene Here
“The mythology is hold your nose and vote for the lesser evil and things will get better. “Lesser evil” politicians have been speaking for us and they are bought and paid for by their corporate influences consisting of “predatory banks, the fossil fuel...
by Naila Moreira | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, Featured, News, Newsletter
I arrive at Book and Plow Farm to find production farmer Tobin Porter-Brown on a tractor, forking a pallet of canvas sacks off a pickup truck. He’s wearing a Book and Plow shirt, khaki shorts and thick boots that will later serve him in better stead than my sandals...
by From Our Readers | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Gratitude’s Nice, Affordable Healthcare is BetterThis past Grandparents Day some grandparents across our nation might get a telephone call or a note from a loved one. It is more important to focus on more crucial issues facing older Americans.Retirement and how to...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Editor’s Note: Sexual trauma addressed in this week’s column.Hi Yana,I really appreciate your column and the work that you do. I have a really embarrassing sex problem. I was sexually abused throughout various parts of my life, starting in my childhood and going into...
by Peter Vancini | Sep 13, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Leisure, News, Newsletter
Call of the wild At the edge of a shady green grove in Hadley, light streams through the forest canopy in thin shafts. It speckles the grassy floor below, where three large birds of prey sit awkwardly, tethered with thin leather straps to their short wooden perches....
by Peter Vancini | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, News
On August 29, new Federal Aviation Administration rules governing the commercial use of small unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, took effect nationwide. Part 107, as it’s known, represents the inaugural effort by the FAA to regulate the commercial use of airspace by...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
The American workforce is at a crossroads. Shaken to its foundation by the Great Recession, the economy is slowly rebuilding — and we’re making some seriously wrong moves. Over the last 30 years, the number of people in labor unions has decreased by half. U.S. CEOs...
by Chuck Shepherd | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
The upscale clothier Barneys New York recently introduced $585 “Distressed Superstar Sneakers” from the high-end brand Golden Goose that were purposely designed to look scuffed, well-worn and cobbled-together, as if they were shoes recovered from a...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 13, 2016 | Articles, Nerding Out, News, Newsletter
SCIENCE! It’s all around us, particularly in the Valley where members of the Knowledge Corridor continue to bang out some heady innovation. Check out what they’ve been up to lately: 14 Patents for UMass: In 2015, the state’s flagship university in Amherst received 14...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Editorial Art Did you know Cinemadope columnist Jack Brown is also a talented illustrator? See his Trump campaign poster and more Brown art at jackjohnbrown.com. The Rich Get Richer If you ask enough people in our community if they’re able to sustain...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 7, 2016 | Articles, News
Facebook Here are some comments in response to an expert from “Between the Lines: In Defense of Safe Spaces,” we posted on our Facebook page with the quote: “It’s a blessing to be somewhere — even if it’s just for an hour — where women can talk about rape culture...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, News
With 75 percent of Western Massachusetts experiencing drought conditions, it’s beyond time to take water restriction and conservation seriously. As of press time, 16 Pioneer Valley communities are experiencing residential water use restrictions — the strictest being...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Between the Lines, Featured, News, Newsletter
On Aug. 21, before a month-long hiatus for HBO’s Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver spent five minutes highlighting the similarities between Donald Trump, a “racist voodoo doll made of discarded cat hair,” and the protagonist of a 1996 children’s book called The Kid...
