News
by Amanda Drane | May 3, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News, Scene Here
At Extravaganja 2016 at Northampton’s Three County Fairgrounds, the crowd is as high as the marijuana-leaf balloon floating overhead. About 24,000 red eyes look on as local musicians blast out funky jams and marijuana-tinged tunes. Police officers meander in pairs...
by Peter Vancini | Apr 25, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News
When Melissa Lewis-Gentry walks into a comic book store, it’s not to shop for her boyfriend or her dad. Still, she’s sometimes received that way, despite being the manager of a comic book store herself.Once regarded exclusively as the fodder of wide-eyed grade-school...
by By Chuck Shepherd | Apr 25, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Japan’s Tenga toy company appears to be first on the market with a virtual reality bodysuit (for use with the Oculus Rift “Sexy Beach Premium Resort” 3-D game) containing a genital stimulator and the sensation of “groping” breasts —...
by From Our Readers | Apr 25, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
So, that’s what victory looks likeDivest UMass supporters are close to victory. [“Scene Here: #DivestTheRest,” April 21-27, 2016.] What kind of victory? Well, as you explained in last week’s issue, a $5 million divestment from “dirty-energy...
by Peter Vancini | Apr 25, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Food + Booze, News, Scene Here
A crisp smack of cold beer hits my palate; a dark, hearty rye. I’m engulfed by laughter and spirited conversation, lost in the dull roar, a wave washing over me. A sudden crash, a peaceful respite as it rolls back, redoubling its efforts at sweeping me away …...
by By Kristin Palpini | Apr 25, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
One of the benefits of living in Massachusetts is enjoying a swell of liberal pride when one of our politicians takes a stand for the people. It’s why we elected Liz Warren and Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank and Silvio O. Conte (yes, he was a Republican, but with a soft...
by Story by Kristin Palpini — Photos by Kevin Gutting | Apr 18, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Leisure, News, The V-Spot, Wellness
Climbing the stairs to V-Spot sex columnist Yana Tallon-Hicks’ apartment, I wasn’t sure what to expect.Would there be a lot of framed Georgia O’Keefes on the wall? A swing hanging in the bedroom? Penis-shaped drinking glasses? I was sort of right.There are no...
by By Louis F. Graham | Apr 18, 2016 | Articles, News
By Louis F. Graham The LGBT community came out of 2015 feeling great for the many steps toward equality the nation had taken that year: the Supreme Court decision granting gay and lesbian couples the right to marry, the increasingly favorable national public opinion...
by By Advocate Staff | Apr 18, 2016 | Articles, News
Millennials get a lot of criticism for being narcissistic, lazy, and entitled, but we think this is a misconception — just like it was when people said the same things about the last generation, and the generation before that, and the one before that. In fact,...
by By Kristin Palpini | Apr 18, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
In this week’s Advocate, you’ll find the winners of our annual Best Of the Valley Readers’ Poll, a who’s who and what’s what of the top people, places, and businesses Western Mass and Southern Vermont have to offer. Thank you to everyone who voted. We can’t produce...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 18, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Time for truth in cannabis scienceThe other night, I attended a lecture at Mount Holyoke College by Dr. Jodi Gilman, neuroscientist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Her talk was advertised as a broad overview of the science of marijuana, focusing on...
by Kristin Palpini | Apr 12, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Have you heard about the Panama Papers? The largest leak to the media ever … that is getting little attention in the media. This is surprising because so far the Panama Papers have revealed a blueprint of how the wealthy and elite hide their money from taxation...
by Naila Moreira | Apr 12, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, Featured, News
About 500. That’s smaller than Smith College’s first-year class by 100 and it’s a tenth of the entering class at UMass. It’s also the number of right whales known to be alive in the entire world. These huge creatures — second in size only to the blue whale...
by Peter Vancini | Apr 12, 2016 | Articles, News
The Cottage Street Cultural District in Easthampton has long been known for its quaint New England setting at the base of Mount Tom and, in recent years, as a burgeoning arts community and a hotspot for unconventional artisanal businesses. As a result of the growth...
by Chuck Shepherd | Apr 12, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Department of Veterans Affairs employee Elizabeth Rivera Rivera, 39, was fired after her arrest, followed by a February guilty plea, for armed robbery, but when she was sentenced only to probation, an arbitrator ordered the VA to rehire her — and give her back pay she...
by By Kristin Palpini | Apr 5, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
If you think of Internet speed as a flying mode of transportation, most of us are on a rocket with broadband while many people living in the Hilltowns are stuck riding a roofless biplane, aka DSL.If you’ve never heard of DSL, or the shrieking grating noise a computer...
by Amanda Drane | Apr 5, 2016 | Articles, News, Third Eye Roaming, Wellness
The power vinyasa class hasn’t even begun and most around me — 50 bodies with mats no more than an inch apart — are drenched with sweat. As we struggle through the humidity-induced delirium in the 93-degree room at Northampton’s Shiva Shakti, tonight’s teacher...
by Peter Vancini and Kristin Palpini | Apr 5, 2016 | Articles, News
Residents and patrons of the South End have been complaining for months about jersey barriers outlining MGM Casino construction, blocking access to the most convenient parking spots in the neighborhood. Do they have a legitimate beef? Yes! Before MGM came to town,...
by By Kristin Palpini | Mar 29, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Suicide is the epitome of hopelessness. It’s a last resort for people who believe that there is no chance of life improving. Options for help can seem unavailable or unfathomable.If there is an antidote for suicide, we have yet to find it. But we can be fairly certain...
by James Lyons | Mar 29, 2016 | Articles, News
Imagine a world where perpetual punishment for nonviolent crimes was prioritized over treatment. A world in which victims were prosecuted before they were offered options for recovery. Unfortunately, for victims of prostitution, this is the harsh reality. But for...
by Kristin Palpini | Mar 29, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Leisure, News, Wellness
With an estimated 800,000 weed smokers living and toking in Massachusetts and a likely heading for the November ballot question that could bring recreational marijuana to the state, we figured there’s a demand for some pot talk in the Valley. Enter “O, Cannabis,” a...
by Peter Vancini | Mar 29, 2016 | Articles, News
Last November, fish biologists working at an undisclosed location in the Farmington River watershed came across three mounds of stones. Ordinarily, this discovery wouldn’t have been particularly significant. But mounds like these, filled with tiny orange eggs, had not...
by By Chuck Shepherd | Mar 29, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
In March, U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the House Rules Committee, introduced a resolution to recognize magic as one of America’s “national treasure(s),” backed by a 711-word paean urging all to “support and protect” the...
by Kristin Palpini | Mar 22, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
There was a lot in the news this past week that made my blood boil and eyes bulge. While driving in my car, yelling back at NPR’s coverage of the latest violent flare up at a Trump rally incited by the old circus barker, I realized there might not be enough room in...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 22, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
University of Oregon professor Mark Carey produced a 10,300-word journal article in January proposing a new sensitivity to Earth’s melting icecaps: a “feminist glaciology framework” to “generate robust analysis of gender, power and...
by Amanda Drane | Mar 14, 2016 | Articles, News
Stephen Bilia’s Gorilla Vapess is like a candy shop for adults. Vapers smoke at the bar, ordering from a list of two hundred-plus flavors displayed in multi-colored chalk. Squirt bottles full of food-grade flavor concentrates wait to be ordered and mixed with...
by Kristin Palpini | Mar 14, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Praying for Bernie I am praying for a Bernie Sanders presidency. If we want our compassionate world to come truly, in our heart of hearts, then we say to each other we are ready to take the steps and say the words to invite that world. Bernie is the only candidate who...
by Chuck Shepherd | Mar 14, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Seattle’s ambitious Office of Arts & Culture has allocated $10,000 this year to pay a poet or writer to create a work while present on the city’s Fremont Bridge drawbridge. The office’s deputy director told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in January that the city...
by Kristin Palpini | Mar 14, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Back in the early 2000s, most people thought biomass power plants seemed like an excellent renewable resource, but now we know better. Burning excess construction materials and/or wood scraps and pellets — the typical “mass” in biomass — releases an unhealthy level of...
by Chuck Shepherd | Mar 8, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
In February, New York’s highest court finally said “enough” to the seemingly endless delays on a multimillion-dollar judgment for negligence that occurred 23 years ago. Linda Nash had sued, among others, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for injuries she...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 8, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
– A huge faucet that releases a daily torrent of craft beer (bring your growlers) – A basketball hoop – A big fat “$” – An “O,” to give ’90s singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin her moment to shine – For that matter, add an M too, and rearrange...
by Kristin Palpini | Mar 8, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
With public pressure and frustration mounting, last week Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said he would take steps to improve communication between residents and the city’s Community Police Hearing Board. The board provides a crucial forum in which people from the...
by Naila Moreira | Mar 8, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News
By Naila Moreira The Meadows are one of my favorite places to walk, daydream, write, and watch nature change in its numberless daily ways. A swath of agricultural land between Northampton’s downtown and the Connecticut River, they’re within easy walking distance of my...
by Peter Vancini | Mar 8, 2016 | Articles, News
Every weekday morning, a PVTA van picks up 83-year-old great-grandmother of four Pardelma Hall at her home on Roosevelt Street in Springfield’s North End. For the past seven years, she’s been one of the first to arrive at the Mason Square Senior Center and often one...
by Amanda Drane | Feb 29, 2016 | Articles, News
Police brutality in places like Ferguson, Cincinnati, and New York City sparked the Black Lives Matter movement and a national debate about how police use their power to detain, arrest, and deploy potentially deadly force. Citizens — including ones in the Pioneer...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 29, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
By Tess Halpern, Daily Collegian I have only once cried in school that I can remember, and it wasn’t because I was hurt, heartbroken, or had just failed a test; it was because I was scared. Sept. 24, 2014, in the beginning of my senior year in high school, my...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 29, 2016 | Articles, MGM Springfield Casino coverage, News
LET’S GET IT STARTED: MGM had been waiting on approval from the Springfield City Council for proposed changes to the casino site plan, but also on something even more important: the council’s permission for the city to amend the host community agreement with the...
by Kristin Palpini | Feb 29, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
The Valley Advocate recently conducted a reader poll and the results are in. Thank you to the hundreds of readers who took the time to fill out or mail in feedback about the paper’s past, present, and future. We also learned a bit more about who Advocate readers are...
by Chuck Shepherd | Feb 29, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Longtime National Symphony cellist David Teie announced in November that his crowdfunding project was hugely successful, freeing him to produce an album of music meaningful to cats. Cats, for example, relax in response to the earliest sound of their mother’s purring,...
by Kristin Palpini | Feb 24, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
D rug testing people before providing them with food assistance has nothing to do with saving states money and everything to do with humiliating illegal substance users. Massachusetts is not among the seven or so states that require some or all low-income residents to...
by Kristin Palpini | Feb 24, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Slavery study would be divisive Your expectation that HR 40 has no chance is valid (Between the Lines: Congress Keeps Killing Conversation on Race” Feb. 18-24, 2016). The concern is that after the conclusion of the investigation there will be a louder call and greater...
by Luis Feliz | Feb 16, 2016 | Articles, News
Before Cornel West concluded his remarks to a crowd of 2,000 people at Smith College during a lecture last week, he trained his critical eye on the very institution hosting him, and Amherst College, as places for “ruling class formation.” He challenged the schools to...
by Kristin Palpini | Feb 16, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Every congressional session U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) files H.R. 40, a bill to study the impact of slavery on the nation. And every congressional session it dies in committee. That’s where the tenth submission of this bill, filed in January of last year, is...
by Chuck Shepherd | Feb 16, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Wired.com’s most recent “Absurd Creature” feature shows a toad devouring a larva of a much-smaller beetle, but the “absurdity” is that the larva is in charge and that the toad will soon be beetle food. The larva’s Darwinian advantage is that, inside the toad, it bites...
by Jeff Good | Feb 16, 2016 | Articles, Music, Scene Here
So, yeah. I’m obsessed. I began following Bruce Springsteen as a schoolboy coming of age in mid-1970s Omaha. A few seconds after graduation, I loaded up my Mercury Bobcat (creamsicle orange paint, white vinyl top) and headed east. Crossing the Jersey state line, I...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 8, 2016 | Articles, News, Wellness
Sex has been around since day one, and it’s still evolving. Just over the past 50 or 60 years, getting down has changed significantly. Influenced by popular culture and social mores, sex has become a more liberated and experimental experience since the 1950s. With a...
by Kristin Palpini | Feb 8, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines
Mike Albano is Western Mass’ perennial candidate. A member of the Governor’s Council — but more famously the mayor of Springfield, from 1995 to 2004 — Albano has amassed a following and developed a political acumen that has kept him on the short list most years for a...
by Chuck Shepherd | Feb 8, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Even though concealed-carry gun permit-holders in Texas can now “open carry,” pistol-packing women concerned with fashion are not limited to traditional firearms in ordinary cowboy holsters. An online company, The Well Armed Woman, offers such carry options as stylish...
by From Our Readers | Feb 8, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
WTF WMUA? UMass Amherst radio station WMUA’s draconian reduction of community programming warrants focusing the spotlight of public scrutiny on this newly minted, institutionalized contempt for the community. In one instance, the student leadership of WMUA, acting...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 8, 2016 | Articles, News, Scene Here
The man is 74 years old. For half a century of tilting at the bone-grinding windmills of Darwinian capitalism, you’d think he’d be weary, wised-up, aching for retirement. But no, here he is in New Hampshire, on short sleep caught on a night flight halfway across the...
by Amanda Drane | Feb 8, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News
Most restaurants rely on liquor sales for survival, which is why the city of Holyoke acquired 13 additional all-alcohol licenses to sell on the cheap as part of an urban renewal plan. But that was over a year ago and no one’s biting yet. At least one of the former...
by Naila Moreira | Feb 8, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News
A friend of mine recently forgot his reusable bags when he dropped in at Stop & Shop. To make matters worse, he’d also forgotten about Northampton’s new plastic bag ban, which started Jan. 1. Then the person in line behind him lectured him on the merits of the...
by Amanda Drane | Feb 3, 2016 | Articles, News
Rupert the pit bull stands at the feet of his 2-year-old owner, calmly snorting up popcorn while the toddler yanks forcefully at the dog’s collar. Tai Wickline is pulling hard enough to elicit bulldog-like breathing from his 3-year-old canine. “You trying to pull...
by Chuck Shepherd | Feb 3, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
In January, the upscale Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana introduced stylish hijabs and abayas aimed at Muslim women unafraid to call attention to themselves as they exercise their obliged modesty. D&G’s marketing effort even accessorized models’...
by Amanda Drane | Feb 3, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
I have a confession to make, people — I own a pit bull. Phew! I’ve been hemming and hawing over whether or not to outright say that for weeks. Because the consequences are indeed scary. As a disclaimer: if anyone tries to take my dog-son away we’ll go on the run...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles, Scene Here
The creaky floorboards cry out when Tom Matherly shifts his weight. He rocks from one heel to the other in his tan boots, staring down at the frayed red rug while he twists the tuning keys on his vintage electric guitar. He’s pausing his set list to play “The Man Who...
by Chuck Shepherd | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles, News of the Weird
The “public art” statues unveiled in January by Fort Myers, Florida, Mayor Randy Henderson included a metal structure by sculptor Edugardo Carmona of a man walking a dog, with the dog “lifting his leg” beside a pole. Only after inspecting the piece more closely did...
by From Our Readers | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers
Healthcare: More Bern for Your Buck As a surgeon, I have participated in our healthcare system since 1979. I have witnessed the attempts of medically naive politicians seeking to reform our compromised healthcare system. Bankrolled by health industry lobbyists, these...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, News
Who knows what’ll happen with legalization on the ballot in November, but in the meantime, the state seems to finally have a handle on the whole medical marijuana thing. Previous caps that limited potential dispensaries to one per county, and then 35 statewide, were...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines
Last week, I wrote a column, “Hillary Clinton is the Real Revolution” about why I will cast my vote for Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the March primary. An immensely qualified candidate, Clinton also has the advantage of being a woman, which allows her to bring a...
