News
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 28, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
Perhaps the two most visceral issues of our modern political era collided last week in the words of Greenfield City Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud — immigration and gun violence. While defending her Safe City Ordinance, which essentially prohibits local law...
by Dusty Christensen | Aug 28, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Legendary anti-war activist and longtime city resident Frances Crowe died Tuesday morning at the age of 100. “She lived an amazing life and had a beautiful death at home surrounded by her children,” Crowe’s 72-year-old daughter, Caltha, said. She said Crowe died after...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 27, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Frances Crowe, a lifelong activist, peace advocate, and leader in the anti-nuclear movement, died Tuesday at the age of 100. Crowe’s daughter, Caltha Crowe, confirmed Tuesday that her mother had died. Crowe had recently written pieces for the Advocate and the...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 27, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Swedish seagull swipes stash Sweden has among the toughest marijuana laws in the world, with no allowance for recreational or medical use, and a punishment of a large fine and up to six months in prison. That would have been bad news for a Gothenburg man, who had a...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 26, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News, Podcast
In a piece looking at the upcoming mayoral election in Springfield, writer Chris Goudreau interviewed Mayor Domenic Sarno’s challengers as well as leaders in the activist community. Sarno himself declined an interview. Goudreau speaks about what he learned...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 23, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about peed on peas, moose meat solicitation, and a dirty diaper assault. Listen here: You can...
by Our Readers | Aug 23, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Rest in Peace and Power In response to “Michaelann Bewsee would not stand for injustice,” published on valleyadvocate.com on August 16, 2019. See opposite page. Who will keep nudging the warming shelters to open before it reaches zero? We will! I held her in high...
by Chris Goudreau | Aug 21, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno has defined his 12-plus years as the city’s leader as “the people’s mayor,” but for 19-year-old Trevaughn Smith, that description of Sarno, which can be found on the city’s website, is a “loaded title.” Smith, campaign director for...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 21, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
The wedding crasher Police in Texas are asking the public for help in finding a thief they are calling “The Wedding Crasher.” The Comal County Sheriff’s Office has described the suspect as arriving uninvited to weddings, posing as a guest and then stealing gifts,...
by Chris Goudreau | Aug 21, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Town Meeting voters in Longmeadow overwhelmingly approved a change to to the town’s zoning bylaws Tuesday, which would prohibit a proposed Tennessee Gas Company meter station project in a residentially zoned neighborhood at the Longmeadow Country Club. More than 200...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 19, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News, Podcast
Lauren Simonds returns to the Valley Advocate podcast to talk about the challenges small businesses face now that big companies have become operational in the Massachusetts cannabis market. Read her full article here. Listen: You can hear more of the Valley Advocate’s...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 16, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
The city of Springfield and the activism community reaching much further lost a committed champion this week as former Arise for Social Justice executive director (and former Valley Advocate staffer) Michaelann Bewsee died from complications of lung cancer. She was...
by Our Readers | Aug 16, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Truman made the right decision to use nuclear weapons In response to “Now is the time to stop building nuclear weapons,” “Walking for a nuclear free future — for 40 years,” and “Paying homage to the nuclear resistance,” published August 8-14. There are many good...
by Lauren Simonds | Aug 14, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
If you can say one thing about the Pioneer Valley, it’s that we love local. We champion and support small business, artists, makers, musicians, farmers, organic food, craft beer and pretty much artisanal anything. My recent expedition to INSA — the adult recreational...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 14, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about falling bears, dumb beverages, and a septic tank lightning strike. You can hear more of...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 14, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
The suicide death in jail of billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sparked confusion and outrage across the nation, and many ill-founded conspiracy theories online. Many are rightly worried that Epstein’s rich and powerful associates who may have...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 13, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Ketchup Karma Someone stole a bottle of ketchup from a New Jersey restaurant, and claims to have been immediately wracked by guilt — and bad karma. A few hours after the condiment thief purloined the tomato-y diner staple, someone crashed into their car. In the weeks...
by Our Readers | Aug 9, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
A straw ban could hurt the disabled community In response to “Eliminating the Plastic Straw: Woman gathers support for Northampton ban,” published August 1-7, 2019. I read the article just now and want to say, while I support reducing plastic waste (the effects it...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 8, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Eat ‘Em Recently, swarms of grasshoppers have invaded Las Vegas, and videos have been posted of the winged creatures flocking around neon lights. One Las Vegas pizzeria is unfazed by the biblical-level calamity, and is serving the little...
by Frances Crowe | Aug 7, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
So many lives changed on August 6, 1945, including mine. I was a 26-year-old American married to an aspiring radiologist. I listened to the radio as I ironed our clothes and learned that my country, the United States, had destroyed Hiroshima, Japan, by dropping an...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 7, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Jun Yasuda, known to many as Jun San, has been actively opposing nuclear weapons and nuclear energy for decades, having walked across the country eight times in protest. Born in Japan, Yasuda, 70, now lives in New York State, near the Grafton Peace Pagoda, a Buddhist...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 7, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
Seventy-four years ago this week, the United States did the unconscionable: we dropped nuclear weapons on two cities — Hiroshima and Nagasaki — killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people, and vastly increasing the rates of cancer and other radiation-linked...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 5, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News, Podcast
Alula Shields has been collecting signatures to establish a plastic straw ban in Northampton by canvassing and through an online petition. Following a story about her efforts in the Advocate by Jonathan Kermah, editor Dave Eisenstadter sits down with her and discusses...
by From Our Readers | Aug 2, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers
Undocumented Immigrants Should be Eligible for Driver’s Licenses At CISA, we are committed to strengthening local farms and to building a fair and just local food economy that serves everyone, including the people who work on farms. The Pew Research Center estimated...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 1, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about loose yaks, stolen dentures and hair farms for rich people. You can hear more of the...
by Jonathan Kermah | Jul 31, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Plastic has been labeled as one of the world’s biggest enemies in the fight against pollution. Before 2017, when China passed the National Sword policy, which effectively banned plastic waste from being imported, the United States and many other nations placed the...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 31, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
For 24 continuous hours this past weekend, musicians, theater groups, comedians, jugglers, kirtan singers, yoga enthusiasts, and a long list of other artists in the Pioneer Valley came together to say, “Close the Camps” along the southwest border, where thousands of...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Hair farms for the super rich Furthering the fight against baldness, scientists have determined that a combination of stem cell growth and 3-D printing may hold the solution to a problem that has long vexed companies trying to make money off of people going bald – how...
by Miasha Lee | Jul 30, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News, Wellness
A Franklin County native along with 19 other plus-size women known as the “Curvy Kili Crew” recently hiked one of the largest mountains in the world: Mount Kilimanjaro. For seven days, Eve Bogdanove of Greenfield and her companions traveled the Rongai Route, an...
by Our Readers | Jul 26, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Support and advice for Alex Morse In response to “Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse to Challenge Richard Neal for Congress,” published online July 22, 2019, at valleyadvocate.com. Godspeed Alex. Take back something for the rest of us broken folks. — Steve William Lindsey,...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 24, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News, Podcast
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about five guys getting arrested at a Five Guys, why you shouldn’t cut on...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 24, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
In Los Angeles, an all time high temperature of 111 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded. Montreal, Canada, also recorded its all-time high. Death Valley experienced the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, with an average of 108 degrees. Japan set a new national...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 24, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Come back with my dog! Many of us have had the experience of getting a slice of pizza or food item snatched from us by a greedy seagull while minding our own business near the beach. Few, however, can say that their pet dog was snatched by the grabby birds. But that’s...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, News
Half a century ago, humanity took its first step outward into the greater universe around us during the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. In celebration of that achievement, Bandella, a Houston, Texas-based folk-rock and world acoustic group made up of retired astronauts,...
by Dusty Christensen | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
HOLYOKE — It’s official: U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, has a 2020 challenger for his seat in the 1st Congressional District. After months of speculation about his political plans, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse officially jumped into the race on Monday. He will...
by Our Readers | Jul 19, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Chicopee Police and online bullying In response to “Public Information or Public Shaming?: Some say Chicopee Police enable bullying on their Facebook page,” published July 11-17, 2019. Thank you for covering this phenomenon. I have noticed it and it’s not good for...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 18, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Editor Dave Eisenstadter and Trumpy of Hits 94.3 talk about the weird news of the week, including a proposed raid on Area 51 (are there really aliens there?), a mall sword fight using tiki torches, and a loud fart that reveals the location of someone hiding from...
by Noah Baustin | Jul 18, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
The Greenfield City Council adopted a new “Safe City” ordinance on Wednesday night in a 10-3 vote, reversing its stance on a similar ordinance in 2017, which failed in a 6-4 vote. Effective as of its passage, the ordinance prohibits Greenfield officials,...
by Gary Carra | Jul 17, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, News
When he’s not aboard Iron Maiden’s private jet en route to a 50,000-plus stadium gig in South America or Europe, Anthrax guitarist Jonathan Donais says there’s no place he’d rather be than his Easthampton home and “triangle.” “‘The Triangle’ is what I call this little...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 17, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
It used to feel worthwhile to list off the terrible things that Donald Trump has done since assuming office in the beginning of 2017 — particularly the examples of his blatant racism. The Advocate did as much in a story at the beginning of 2018 pushing back on when he...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 17, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured
Let’s All Go to Area 51 At least a million people have pledged over Facebook to raid the United State Air Force’s Area 51, a highly classified Nevada military base that conspiracy theorists and UFO-ologists claim houses or once housed remains of alien spaceships and...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 15, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
At least once a week, Jose Mediavilla, a 37-year-old Easthampton resident, stands near a crosswalk median along Main Street holding signs that read, “Microplastics are in our air and food.” He stands there holding the sign for passing cars and pedestrians for hours in...
by Valley Advocate Readers | Jul 12, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Historical examples appropriate in border discussion In response to “Between the Lines: A Moral and Humanitarian Crisis at the Border,” published July 4-10, 2019. Hello, Dave. My family background is similar to yours. My parents and grandparents were refugees from...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 11, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 DJ Trumpy talk about the weird news of the week. Bizarro Briefs this week can be read at https://valleyadvocate.com/2019/07/10/bizarro-briefs-do-starfish-have-butts/. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley...
by Miasha S. Lee | Jul 10, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Springfield resident and Holyoke community organizer Jacqueline Velez said she no longer feels safe in her home after an action by the Chicopee Police: they posted her address on their Facebook page, along with her son’s mugshot. Velez’s son, who lives in her home,...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 10, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured
It’s back. Greenfield’s “Safe City Ordinance,” which was voted down in a 6-4 vote in 2017, has been proposed once again by City Councilor Karen “Rudy” Renaud. The ordinance, which would prohibit city officials from asking about a person’s immigration status or to take...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 10, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Do starfish have butts? A sea star at an aquarium in California has gone viral after a photo of the starfish was shared showing it as seeming to have large assets on its lower half. Although it looks like the starfish has a butt, marine wildlife experts at the...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 9, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, News
In October of 1991, guitarist and singer-songwriter F. Alex Johnson moved to the Pioneer Valley from Fall River to be part of the strong musical community. In the here and now, almost three decades later, Johnson is a mainstay in the Valley music scene. He’s played...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 3, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Sharon Lehmann, 69, was watching the news on TV at her home in Granby more than a month ago and saw a story about militia groups aiming guns at migrant families. She turned to her partner, Audrey Walker, 66, and said, “I can’t watch this. I just can’t do this anymore....
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 3, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
UFO abduction memorialized There’s now a historical landmark in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where two men claimed to be abducted by aliens near a river in southern Mississippi in 1973. The two men were said to have been on the shores of the Pascagoula River when aliens...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 3, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
Independence Day is here again — the 243rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But as we celebrate the foundation of this country, it is difficult to ignore the human rights abuses being perpetrated in its name on our southern border. The...
by Our Readers | Jun 27, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Three reasons not to put a biomass burning plant in Springfield, and what to do about it In response to “Biomass isn’t Clean Energy: Springfield activists blast state plan at hearing,” published June 13-19, 2019. The state Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has its...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jun 26, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
Last week, New England Public Radio published a report quoting multiple former employees of the Iron Horse Entertainment Group (IHEG) alleging labor violations, including improper payroll deductions (also known as wage theft), late paychecks, and failure to post...
by Chris Goudreau | Jun 26, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Seal Researchers in Scotland have taught three gray seals to sing songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and the theme to “Star Wars.” Scientists at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland raised the trio of seals from birth in order to...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 26, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Dave and Trumpy talk about this week’s weird news — stories about disembodied toes, Bill Cosby’s prison lecture series, bringing your daughter to a crime spree, and multiple stories about poop. Listen here: You can hear previous episodes of the...
by Connolly Ryan | Jun 21, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers
Poetry by Connolly Ryan To an Unidentified Sunset Soloist I can’t see who it is singing her little heart out, perseverating her sweet head off, up in the attic of a red maple tree, but whoever it is belting it out like that, like there is no known limit to the...
by Gena Mangiaratti | Jun 19, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Dori Digenti does not know the criminal histories of her yoga students at the Hampden County Pre-Release Center. “To me, they’re participants in a yoga class,” said the founder and owner of Breathing Space Yoga & Mindfulness Studio in Holyoke. “They’re just who...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jun 19, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured
I was on a hike with a friend and former colleague in 2012 when I first seriously considered the idea the Advocate is now undertaking. As we talked, it didn’t take us long to get to our frustrations that so many journalistic organizations were on shaky financial...
by Chris Goudreau | Jun 19, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Definitely not “Saved by the Bell” A man from Vermont learned that looking up clips from 1990s sitcom “Saved by the Bell” and driving on the open road don’t exactly mix. The man sideswiped a police car while trying to find an episode of the TV show on the internet....
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jun 14, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Since the retirement of longtime “News of the Weird” columnist Chuck Shepherd, the Advocate has done “Bizarro Briefs,” our own collection of weekly weird news we find. Thanks to a partnership with Trumpy from Hits 94.3, with a similar...
