News
by Terry Allen | Sep 19, 2007 | News
The first ripples from rising seas are inundating low-lying areas, threatening coasts and islands. Climate refugees around the world are fleeing regions beset by violent storms, extreme temperatures, melting glaciers, spreading deserts, swelling oceans and other...
by Valley Editorial | Sep 19, 2007 | News
The U.S. has caused what Washington-based Refugees International calls the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world. The crisis is the flight of Iraqis from a country where life has become impossible to live. And one of the countries the White House slams at every...
by Alan Bisbort | Sep 20, 2007 | News
After the Sept. 11 anniversary last week, I decided that enough time must have passed for someone to have written a reliable account of what led to the terrorist attacks six years ago. I didn't want a partisan overview of Middle East history, or an anti-Muslim (or...
by David Weigel | Sep 20, 2007 | News
No one noticed the wince. If they did, no one wanted to talk about it, because Fred Thompson's campaign staff (which still exists, the fresh exodus of three top staffers aside) had set up his presidential launch on The Tonight Show so deftly. This was history, and...
by our readers | Sep 20, 2007 | News
Drought a Warning Recent drought conditions in the Valley remind us all of the vital importance of our aquifers to us and the wildlife that live in or pass through the area. Reports that the Nestle corporation is interested in a water bottling operation that would...
by Stephanie Kraft | Sep 20, 2007 | News
Among the problems with the state's new mandatory health insurance program that are rearing their ugly heads: resistance from providers. Complaints are flying that new enrollees looking for doctors they can access under the state-offered plans are unable to find...
by Deval L. Patrick | Sep 20, 2007 | News
[Editor’s note: Earlier this week, Gov. Deval Patrick announced his decision to file legislation to legalize casino gaming in Massachusetts. Though Patrick’s decision did not come as a complete surprise—his administration had been sending strong...
by Maureen Turner | Sep 26, 2007 | News
Debra Murray is raising her 3-year-old grandchild on the $518 a month she receives in public assistance. She's 10 months behind in rent on her Springfield apartment and only has a roof over her head thanks to a patient landlord, she says. Murray wants to work and...
by Valley Advocate Editorial | Sep 26, 2007 | News
Power deregulation set the stage for the Enron disaster; now bank and lending deregulation have helped bring on a catastrophe in the housing market, threatening growing numbers of people with the loss of their homes and many financial institutions with solvency...
by Advocate readers | Sep 27, 2007 | News
"Intellectual Acrobatics"Deval Patrick's shameful display of intellectual acrobatics called "The Case for Casinos" (Sept. 9, 2007), regarding what "economic development" is, ignores the fact that economic growth is ultimately...
by Robert Tobey | Sep 27, 2007 | News
“Look at what you can do when you move a few cars,” cries Page Bridgens to passersby in front of Thorne’s in downtown Northampton. “Instead of endless hunks of gas-burning metal, you’ve got free bike repair, free live music, a place to...
by Alan Bisbort | Sep 27, 2007 | News
Joe Lieberman just moved from his longtime home of New Haven to Stamford, Conn., where the local Democratic Party received unwelcome news. Holy Joe, you see, registered as a Democrat in his new home. He's also of late been referring to himself as a Democrat on Fox...
by Susan J. Douglas | Sep 27, 2007 | News
As I write this, Republicans, nearly deranged by their own homophobia, have apparently succeeded in ousting Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) because he made some odd foot and hand movements in an airport men's room.But the person they should be going after, is Bush, a...
by Tom Vannah | Oct 3, 2007 | News
Proponents of casino gambling like to characterize those who oppose such schemes—schemes hatched by politicians in the name of economic development—as far-leftwing killjoys, fussy, abstemious folks who can't see the fun and potential benefits of gaming...
by Frederick Law Olmsted | Oct 3, 2007 | News
On her September 19 MassLive.com podcast, Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins assured citizens that the city would not lose Pulaski Park when the new Hilton hotel was built. “That park is protected under state law as parkland, and we would have to go to the...
by Alan Bisbort | Oct 4, 2007 | News
When the smoke clears from the Bush Era, historians will be perplexed by many things. The performance of the American press may be the most perplexing. Historians are trained to think of journalism as the "first draft of history," which is why they spend so...
by Maureen Turner | Oct 4, 2007 | News
This story begins with a contentious labor battle at an out-of-state company: Smithfield Foods, whose Tar Heel, N.C., hog-slaughtering plant—the largest in the world—is characterized by, in the words of union activists, "poverty wages, brutal...
by From Our Readers | Oct 4, 2007 | News
Roll 'Em!I applaud Deval Patrick for taking the bold and controversial initiative to harness the potential of high-end casino resorts for Massachusetts. According to the UMass Dartmouth Center For Policy Analysis, Bay State residents made 6.9 million vehicle trips...
by Natalia Muñoz | Oct 4, 2007 | News
Thank goodness Hispanic Heritage Month is almost over. There is only so much contrived celebration anyone can handle. The four weeks between September 15 and October 15 are on the scale of a massive obligatory Thanksgiving Day dinner that leaves a bitter taste in the...
by Kendra Thurlow | Oct 4, 2007 | News
The proposed Northampton wetlands ordinance passed its first reading in the City Council on Thursday, September 20 amidst much opposition, and is slated for a second reading before the council on Thursday, October 4. If it is codified, will the city’s wetlands...
by Valley Advocate Editorial | Oct 4, 2007 | News
Michael B. Mukasey, President Bush’s choice to replace outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, was the judge presiding over the terrorism trial of blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman in 1995. The New York Times lauded Mukasey for sentencing the sheikh to life in...
by Tom Vannah | Oct 10, 2007 | News
The footing is treacherous. I won't kill myself if I slip, but I'll roll a long way, probably bust up my fly rod, so I climb down carefully.Below me I hear the roar of water cascading down 25 feet into my favorite trout pool. I wrap my arm tightly around a...
by our readers | Oct 10, 2007 | News
Hard Times Prior to the 2000 presidential elections, candidate George W. Bush assured all Americans that he was “a uniter, not a divider.” When America elected Al Gore with 596,000 more votes—which somehow allowed Mr. Bush a back-alley pass into the...
by Valley Advocate Editorial | Oct 10, 2007 | News
If you’re wondering why it’s getting so much harder to get ahead financially, or even keep your head above water, there’s a reason. It’s a combination of conservative ideology, which says the government shouldn’t do anything except feed...
by Vince Beiser | Oct 11, 2007 | News
Maybe one reason we're not making any headway in the war on terror is that we're wasting more time, money and effort than ever doing battle with that other mortal threat to the Republic: American marijuana smokers. We're no closer to catching Osama, but...
by Alan Bisbort | Oct 11, 2007 | News
First things first. It's Burma, not Myanmar. It was Burma before it was part of the British Empire. It was Burma when George Orwell—then Eric Blair, a police offer for the British Empire—learned enough about imperialism and "Big Brother" to...
by Valley Advocate Editorial | Oct 11, 2007 | News
Patching a pipe in a nuclear power plant with duct tape: we thought it would only happen on Prairie Home Companion. But this is an actual photo of the part of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant that houses the stop valve (at center) that malfunctioned August 30,...
by Maureen Turner | Oct 11, 2007 | News
About 500 people were crowded into Springfield's Holy Family Church on a June night 10 years ago, but Mayor Mike Albano wasn't one of them—at least, not at first.The occasion was the kick-off event of a new activist group called the Pioneer Valley...
by Stephanie Kraft | Oct 17, 2007 | News
Every adult in Massachusetts must now buy health insurance or face a penalty—at first a relatively light penalty, then heavier ones to come. The principle of forcing people to buy anything is a dangerous one, but many here have been willing to keep their...
by Robert Tobey | Oct 17, 2007 | News
Though his write-in candidacy for mayor in Northampton has yet to receive a lot of press attention, Gene Tacy says he’s so busy on the stump he’s become “a stranger” to his wife and has even lost a few pounds. No surprise there: Even if his...
by Valley Advocate Editorial | Oct 17, 2007 | News
Bush has often claimed, contradicting his vow to protect the Constitution, that his job is protecting America. Clearly, he can’t handle either job: within hours of receiving advance copies of a new al Qaeda video, someone in the Bush administration with access...
by Natalia Muñoz | Oct 17, 2007 | News
In 1991 Rafael López, a truly gracious and gallant man who worked to help elect John Olver to Congress, told a local reporter he wanted see a more responsive representation for Latinos. Back then Olver’s spokesman, Michael Meehan, issued a guilt-ridden...
by Alan Bisbort | Oct 18, 2007 | News
The ink was barely dry on the Nobel Peace Prize proclamation when the American media went into attack mode. "This will not stand," they seemed to collectively insist. "We thought we had successfully destroyed 'Al Bore, The Ozone Man.' How dare...
by our readers | Oct 18, 2007 | News
Wetland Laws ToughTom Vannah ("No Time to Relax," Oct. 4, 2007) stated that some residents felt that the Massachusetts wetlands protection laws were onerous. It would be best to shed some light on those attitudes. Consider a lot or tract of rural land 400...
by Natalia Muñoz | Oct 18, 2007 | News
IIn 1991 Rafael López, a truly gracious and gallant man who worked to help elect John Olver to Congress, told a local reporter he wanted see a more responsive representation for Latinos. Back then Olver's spokesman, Michael Meehan, issued a guilt-ridden...
by Stephanie Kraft | Oct 18, 2007 | News
The federal Environmental Protection Agency, Massachusetts, and seven other states, together with 14 environmental groups, have just won an historic victory in federal court in Ohio. In 1999, under the Clinton administration, those plaintiffs, led by the Justice...
by Nicholas Von Hoffman | Oct 18, 2007 | News
Now he tells us. Alan Greenspan has come out from behind the cloud of gas where he had hidden himself for the past couple of decades to say in public what he should have said years ago when it might have mattered. In his book, Greenspan complains that the Bush...
by Laura S. Washington | Oct 24, 2007 | News
The national news polls suggest that the majority of Americans support more gun control. You wouldn't know it from the mail I get. Whenever I write about the plague of gun violence, I get a huge blowback from the gun lovers of America. The rabid response of the...
by our readers | Oct 24, 2007 | News
In Tom Vannah’s cover story about the film War Made Easy (“Presidents, Pundits and Propaganda,” Sept. 27, 2007), he refers to U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee of California as “the lone vote in Congress against the Iraq War.” This is inaccurate...
by Alan Bisbort | Oct 24, 2007 | News
There seems to be an unwritten and immutable rule in American politics that the candidate who stands little or no chance of being elected gets to tell the truth. This holds as true on the local level—where the town crank calls out the evil mega-buck Potter...
by Tom Vannah | Oct 25, 2007 | News
"Click it or ticket," barks the young, strapping Massachusetts State Trooper on the TV. For me, the state's ads warning drivers to fasten their seatbelts or risk being slapped with a substantial fine are about as objectionable as they come. I don't...
by Maureen Turner | Oct 25, 2007 | News
Pat Markey had barely taken his seat on the Springfield Library and Museums Association's library advisory committee when all hell broke loose. In early 2003, at the second meeting he attended, the SLMA—the private organization that for decades had run the...
by Alan Bisbort | Oct 25, 2007 | News
There seems to be an unwritten and immutable rule in American politics that the candidate who stands little or no chance of being elected gets to tell the truth. This holds as true on the local level—where the town crank calls out the evil mega-buck Potter...
by Stephanie Kraft | Oct 25, 2007 | News
By a margin almost incredible in these polarized times—398-21—the U.S. House has passed a bill protecting the rights of journalists not to reveal confidential sources. Fifty media organizations, including the Advocate's corporate parent, Tribune...
by Mark Roessler | Oct 25, 2007 | News
This is the second part of a two-part story. The first part of "How Not to Save Old Main" can be found here.It took Save Old Main several weeks to regroup after the presentation. Many of us were surprised by the coolness of their rejection. All we wanted was...
by Mark Roessler | Oct 31, 2007 | News
The Northampton State Hospital is no more.The oldest buildings on the campus were on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1995 Northampton's Mayor Mary Ford agreed in writing with the state and the Massachusetts Historical Commission that every effort...
by Sarah Feldberg | Nov 1, 2007 | News
In mid-October, Nestle Waters North America resource manager Tom Brennan stated officially that the corporation "has decided to suspend further water investigation on state-owned land in Montague." Opponents of the conglomerate—which was investigating...
by Alan Bisbort | Nov 1, 2007 | News
Boo.The only people left in America afraid of the Big Bad Wolves, George W. Bush and Richard "Lon" Cheney, are the 535 members of Congress and the 10 or so announced candidates for the presidency in 2008. I have the statistics to prove it. A recent...
by Maureen Turner | Nov 1, 2007 | News
Charlie Ryan arrives at the corner of Dwight Street Extension and Oswego Street in time to see an excavator take a large bite out of the large, decrepit apartment building that sits on the lot. Dressed in a raincoat and a dark blue baseball cap against the drizzly...
by Juliet Samuel | Nov 1, 2007 | News
According to fat pride activist Marilyn Waan, the American medical establishment has lost its head over the nationwide "obesity epidemic," and its prejudice is claiming victims.In one case, Waan says, a doctor told a fat woman complaining of shooting lights...
by our readers | Nov 1, 2007 | News
Old Main RememberedI just finished reading a gutwrenchingly romanticized eulogy of Old Main's demise (”How Not to Save Old Main,” Oct. 25, 2007). Old Main was the central building of the sprawling Northampton State Hospital, closed after over a century...
by Stephanie Kraft | Nov 1, 2007 | News
These Associated Press headlines jumped off the page during the last two weeks: "NASA withholds air safety survey;" "Major editing seen on CDC testimony on climate change." It seems that the president whose promise to protect the American people is...
by Maureen Turner | Nov 7, 2007 | News
Months into a frustrating search for a new home for Springfield's Mason Square library, momentum is building in support of what many see as the perfect site: 765 State Street.If that address sounds familiar, it's because that already was home to the library...
by Stephanie Kraft | Nov 8, 2007 | News
In an age that will see more and more determined resource grabs, Americans must make hard decisions about the morality and practicality of looting the rest of the world for vital commodities. It's just begining to dawn on many of us that "water is the next...
by Chris Collins | Nov 8, 2007 | News
Franklin County Technical School Football Coach Joe Gamache stood in front of his tired and muddy but exhilarated players, fresh off a hard-fought 24-14 victory over the McCann Tech Hornets. The win had clinched Tech a spot in the November 29 Vocational School Super...
by Alan Bisbort | Nov 15, 2007 | News
Every week, another local or regional story appears about some old farmer trying to avoid selling out the family homestead to developers. Of course, during that same week, stories abound of old farmers who, perhaps not realizing options exist for them to avoid doing...
by our readers | Nov 8, 2007 | News
Frank-ly SpeakingI think I understand where Barney Frank is most concerned about government intrusion into private pleasures, and I would agree with him ("Barney's Rubble," Oct. 25, 2007). It is not so easy to generalize the concern. Frank also supports...
by Chris Collins | Nov 15, 2007 | News
It was early in the morning hours of October 26 when Montague Police Sergeant Chris Bonnet and his partner Mike Sevene heard the first shots fired.They were on patrol in downtown Turners Falls and, upon hearing the gunfire, headed into what those in law enforcement...
by Natalia Muñoz | Nov 8, 2007 | News
Orlando Santiago seeks change. As the father of three students in the Springfield school system, his calls for progress in public education have sounded similar to the angst expressed by the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. "Our repeated...
by our readers | Nov 15, 2007 | News
Paradise? Not Quite I have always loved Northampton. I was born here, went to schools here, left and returned five years ago because of disability (multiple sclerosis). For the last year, the disease's progression has left me reliant on a wheelchair to get around...
