News
North, South, East, West: More rail coming to Springfield
Tuesday afternoon at Union Station in Springfield, Gov. Charlie Baker announced increased rail connectivity in the city’s future. Going north and south, there will be a pilot program beginning in 2019 for passenger rail service that would run twice a day from...
Gov. Baker announces expanded Western Mass north-south rail service, money for east-west rail study
Tuesday afternoon at Union Station in Springfield, Gov. Charlie Baker announced a pilot program beginning in 2019 for north to south passenger rail service that would run twice a day from Greenfield and make stops in Northampton, Holyoke, and Springfield and...
O Cannabis: Support grows for bipartisan weed legislation leaving federal law up to states
Local marijuana businesses — and federal legislators — are supporting bipartisan legislation that would leave marijuana regulation up to the states, a change from the blanket federal prohibition now in place. That’s a positive sign for Easthampton resident Karima...
Confronting Childhood Abuse as an Adult Writer
When Lisa Zarcone was 11 or 12 years old, she came home to find her home a hot 90 degrees and her mother smoking on the sofa. She turned down the thermostat and her mother attacked her with a meat tenderizer, violently hitting her more than 20 times. She had bruises...
Police: JFK gun incident suspect claims he was picking up a friend for target practice
In a statement released on Facebook on Friday morning, Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper wrote that the suspect arrested at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton after allegedly bringing two pellet guns onto the campus said he was there to pick up a friend...
Warren, Gardner introduce bipartisan bill to let states regulate marijuana for themselves
In a show of bipartisan support for clarity around marijuana laws, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado held a joint press conference about a bill they are sponsoring to allow states to make their own decisions...
Activists protest ICE office in Springfield in response to 1,500 lost in ICE custody
A group of more than 30 activists affiliated with the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and Mass Jobs with Justice protested outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office at 1550 Main St. in Springfield on June 6 in response to children being separated...
Downsize Me: Tiny houses celebrated in Vermont while barriers remain in Massachusetts
If you think that tiny house movement is just a passing fad for young people, think again. Lisa Kuneman, 53, of Brattleboro, said that tiny houses are definitely more than just a trend, and that many tiny house enthusiasts are retirement-aged. “Other options aren’t...
Holyoke Children’s Museum adds 2,000-piece Pez display to collection
Over 15 boxes of Pez candy and accessories were shipped to the Children’s Museum at Holyoke just weeks ago. Susan Kelley, executive director of the museum, mounted a third of them onto the wall in the middle of the bustling chaos. She said she is glad the museum can...
Northampton High School students to question candidates for state races
Northampton High School are organizing an event to put questions to students local candidates running for 1st Hampshire County state Representative and Hampshire, Franklin, and Worcester state Senator. It will take place at the school’s auditorium at 380 Elm St. in...
Back Talk: Joe Magrone had a marshmallow center
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
Some voters see gender bias in write-in campaigns challenging Chelsea Kline for State Senate
The five write-in candidates in the race to replace longtime state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, of Amherst, are coming under scrutiny for their late entry into the race, with some calling their challenge to progressive Chelsea Kline — the only candidate to have her name on...
Bizarro Briefs: Lava S’mores Are Not Cool
Taking a break from posting about the volcanic doom on Hawaii, The U.S. Geological Survey’s Twitter account fielded this question: “Is it safe to roast marshmallows over volcanic vents? Assuming you had a long enough stick, that is? Or would the resulting marshmallows...
Activist gather in Springfield to support Poor People’s Campaign
Historic Court Square was filled with almost 200 people on Monday, June 4, in downtown Springfield, where one of many rallies for the Poor People’s Campaign was launched. The campaign is doing a six-week launch which they’ve titled “A National Call for Moral Revival,”...
Undocumented immigrant Lucio Perez to speak at potluck at Amherst church where he takes sanctuary
Lucio Perez, an undocumented immigrant and a native of Guatemala who has been taking sanctuary in the First Church of Amherst since October, wants to personally show his gratitude towards the community through a potluck dinner on June 18 at 6 p.m. The dinner, which...
O Cannabis: Local cannabis start-up Treeworks aims to have something for everyone
A new start-up cannabis business called Treeworks is taking a grassroots approach to the burgeoning legalized marijuana industry in Massachusetts by working out of a home kitchen to develop a line of locally sourced products, including cannabis oils, edibles such as...
Poor People’s Campaign rally in Springfield to focus on poverty and environmental issues
A growing national activist movement called the Poor People’s Campaign will host its first rally in Springfield on Monday, June 4, around environmental issues. Michaelann Bewsee, executive director of Arise for Social Justice in Springfield and one of the chairs of...
The Beerhunter’s guide to the 2018 Western Mass Beer Week
Raise a glass across the Valley (and throughout the Berkshires, too!) as the third annual Western Mass Beer Week rolls in this month. The eight-day celebration of local craft beer — which runs June 9 to 16 — is jam-packed with limited releases, special collaborations,...
Gardening the Community to open first ever farm stand in Springfield this Saturday
Springfield-based nonprofit, Gardening the Community, which practices urban gardening in the Mason Square neighborhood and hosts programs teaching youth about urban agriculture, will host a grand opening for its first ever farm stand at 200 Walnut Street this...
NASA experiment sends local man into space … kinda
Have you dreamed of travelling through space? UMass Amherst Post Doctoral Research Associate William Daniels is doing the next best thing this month and next — spending 45 days cooped up in a tiny space with three other people. Daniels, 33, of Hadley entered what he...
Nonprofit art space, Looky Here, to have art thrift shop, lectures, music, and workshops in Greenfield
A nonprofit art space called Looky Here at 28 Chapman St. in Greenfield will feature everything from tarot card readings to instrument building classes as well as a thrift shop for art supplies. Looky Here is slated to have its grand opening on June 24 at 9 a.m....
Letters to the Editor: Sex workers, sanctuary, and Trump’s poor decisions
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
Pam Victor is making the Valley happier in a dirty vanilla box
“A dirty vanilla box” is how Pam Victor lovingly describes the new location of Happier Valley Comedy. The 1,300 square foot room at the end of a strip of shops on Route 9, is the culmination of years of comedic toil. “It’s the first ever improv theater and training...
Editorial: Remembering Columbine and Santa Fe and everywhere in between
I remember the Columbine shooting like it was yesterday. It was a rainy April afternoon in 1999, very bleak but mild. When I turned on the television, I was hardly prepared for what I saw and what I heard. Two boys had committed what was, at the time, a shocking crime...
Cummington resident Jasper Gardner awarded Valley Advocate scholarship for Juniper Summer Writing Institute
Jasper Gardner, a 35-year-old Cummington resident who has worked as a farmer and carpenter in the Pioneer Valley, was recently awarded the 2018 Valley Advocate scholarship to the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for his...
Connecting with Coal Country: What I learned visiting Kentucky with Hands Across the Hills
“It’s like you’re going to a foreign country… Do you need a passport?” Letha Dollarhyde of Letcher County, Kentucky, said this — partly in jest, partly not — about coming to Leverett, Massachusetts, when she visited here last fall. Our Hands Across the Hills project...
Bizarro Briefs: Guns aren’t fool proof, or dog proof
Guns aren’t fool proof, or dog proof Everyone knows that dogs are goofballs. They eat things they shouldn’t. They dig up things they shouldn’t. And sometimes they shoot things they shouldn’t. One man in Iowa found out the hard way that the safety on his gun...
‘Big-hearted’ Problem with Dragons bassist Joe Magrone dies at 38
Known as a big-hearted guy, a talented musician, and, sometimes, a gruff-but-lovable curmudgeon, Joe Magrone, bassist for Problem with Dragons, died on May 18 at the age of 38, two weeks shy of his 39th birthday. Dave Fournier first met Magrone in 1985, when he went...
National Marijuana Company GTI First to Open Medical Dispensary in Amherst
The big scissors were out in Amherst this week as the CEO of the national company Green Thumb Industries (GTI) cut the ribbon in front of the town’s first medical marijuana dispensary, called RISE Amherst. Despite being based in Chicago, Pete Kadens, director and CEO...
Immigrant taking sanctuary in Amherst church gets treated for ‘life-threatening’ condition at Cooley Dickinson in Northampton
Lucio Pérez, a Guatemalan father of four who has been living in sanctuary at the First Congregational Church in Amherst since October 2017, left the church to be treated at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for a life-threatening condition, according to a...
Today: Thirsty for Fair Wages mixes activism with milkshakes and margaritas
The Pioneer Valley Workers Center, Jobs with Justice, and RaiseUp Massachusetts will host Thirsty for Fair Wages on Thursday, May 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 20 Hampton Ave. #200 in Northampton, with a tagline of “all work and no play can make the fun of activism...
Holyoke-based granola business features blends of local bands
Maple Local Granola, a Holyoke-based granola business that uses locally-sourced ingredients, has released different blends of granola inspired by local bands such as indie pop group, And the Kids, as well as bluesy Amherst-based art rock band Old Flame. Tony...
Peace activists brave weather, demand Israel be held accountable for violence
Despite the violent rain and thunderstorms, about 50 activists, including some from the group Jewish Voice for Peace Western Mass, gathered on May 15th in Northampton to commemorate the exile of Palestinians 70 years ago and to bring attention to the Palestinian...
A Thrilling ‘Who Dun It’ in the Local Art World
A reader came in with an unusual request earlier this week: she had a piece of art work she bought at an auction in Greenfield nearly a decade ago and wanted to see if we could identify the artist. Arts and Culture Editor Gina Beavers, herself a local artist, looked...
Large scale hydroponic greenhouse Wellspring Harvest to open in Indian Orchard, Springfield
A new state-of-the-art hydroponic nonprofit 15,120-square-foot urban greenhouse called Wellspring Harvest at 121 Pinevale Street in Indian Orchard aims to offer fresh produce at wholesale prices year round. Fred Rose, co-director of Wellspring Cooperative Corporation,...
How realistic is single payer in Massachusetts? A state Rep. and an activist to hold discussion at Odyssey Bookshop
The Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley will be hosting a discussion between Deborah Levenson from Western Mass Medicare for All and State Rep. John Scibak (D-South Hadley) on May 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. about the prospects of creating a single payer health care system...
Northampton councilors chide mayor over lack of transparency in panhandling group
Northampton City Councilors Alisa Klein and Maureen Carney released a joint statement on May 9 that’s critical of Mayor David Narkewicz’s Panhandling Work Group for the lack of representative from panhandlers in the group and a recent online study regarding...
Local Green-Rainbow candidates trying to make change at state level
“Why vote for the lesser of two evils, when you can vote for the greater good?” Juan Sanchez wants voters to consider this question when they enter the ballot box on November 6. Sanchez, 29, of Holyoke, is running for Secretary of State in the 2018 statewide...
Taking to the Streets: Local sex workers speaking out on how new anti sex trafficking law endangers them
Editors note: Many of the names of those quoted in the story were changed or assumed names were used because of the inherent danger and legal standing of some sex work. Wearing a green dress, pink tights, and a tiara, transgender woman and former sex worker Lorelei...
Letters to the Editor: RIP Charles Neville
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
Senate President declines Northampton Mayor’s request to extend nomination paper deadline following Rosenberg’s resignation
Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz spoke with Massachusetts Senate President Harriette Chandler on May 6 requesting that the state extend the nomination papers deadline by two weeks for the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District following the sudden resignation of...
Podcast: Sex workers Bella Vendetta and Brook Rain speak out against SESTA
The federal anti sex trafficking law known as SESTA/FOSTA was passed nearly unanimously by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump earlier this spring, but local consensual sex workers says the law does little to stop sex trafficking while taking away...
Bizarro Briefs: ‘Mystery pooper’ exposed
‘Mystery pooper’ exposed On a daily basis, a New Jersey man eluded police detection and managed to relieve himself (i.e. poop) on school grounds at a New Jersey high school. Police finally caught up with the “mystery pooper,” as they called him, after setting up a...
Editorial: Rosenberg resignation the right move to regain trust
We had been waiting a long time for it, but the speed of the events it set in motion once it finally arrived was breathtaking. The state Senate announced an independent ethics investigation of former Senate President Stan Rosenberg of Amherst in December. It took five...
Valley Advocate Q&A with YouTube star and political song parodist Randy Rainbow
Randy Rainbow achieved Internet stardom with his series of political spoofs and song parodies satirizing mainstream media and conservative leaders such as Donald Trump through green screened mock interviews and now he’s set to bring his unique brand of song comedy to...
Following alleged assault, tattoo parlor looks at what it could have done differently
Following public backlash online, the owner of Off the Map tattoo Gabe Ripley says that he regrets not having a no tolerance policy for sexual harassment and assault in the shop four years ago, but that there is now a no tolerance policy in place. There was harsh...
So … that’s it for Rosenberg
Former Senate President Stanley Rosenberg will soon become former Senator Stanley Rosenberg. Following an ethics committee report made public Wednesday, Rosenberg announced Thursday he would be stepping down in his role as a state Senator effective the end of day...
Off the Map Tattoo facing public backlash over alleged in-shop sexual assault
Editor’s note: Off the Map Tattoo was recently recognized in the Best of the Valley Readers Poll, which is awarded by readers. The Valley Advocate is not affiliated with the tattoo parlor. Off the Map Tattoo is facing public criticism online over its continued...
Ethics probe finds fault with Rosenberg, recommends barring senator from leadership positions through 2020
The Senate Committee on Ethics has recommended former Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst) be barred from Senate leadership or leadership of any committee for the duration of this legislative session or the next. State Sen. Michael Rodrigues, who is chair of...
The Massachusetts State Police Troop embroiled in an overtime scandal has now been eliminated
State Police Troop E, which patrols the length of the Mass Pike, has been eliminated and absorbed into three other regional troops as a result of reforms initiated by Gov. Charles Baker. The change was in part a response to allegations that more than 20 troopers in...
Sex workers to march in Noho Pride parade following passage of new law they say endangers their lives
Spurred on by a new federal law they say makes their already dangerous jobs less safe, sex workers are marching in this weekend’s Noho Pride Parade in Northampton to declare “sex work is real work.” Bella Vendetta, a dominatrix and award-winning porn...
Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz pledges to support protections for undocumented immigrants
Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz pledged to stand by undocumented immigrants in his city during a May 1 press conference on the steps of Northampton City Hall and promised to support initiatives such as allowing undocumented immigrants to vote in local elections. “I...
Expanded ArtWeek a big opportunity for small galleries and emerging artists
Only five years ago, ArtWeek was a series of 25 events in Boston. This year, ArtWeek, which started on April 27 and runs until May 6, expanded to Central and Western Massachusetts and includes over 525 events, making it the only statewide art festival in...
Police report filed on vandalism of Parkland shooting art installation
Following reporting that vandals defaced a piece of artwork meant to honor the victims of a recent school shooting late last week and that no police report had been filed, police have received a complaint and are investigating. Police originally said no investigation...
Students continue to call for meeting with Smith & Wesson CEO to discuss urban gun violence
Students from Springfield and Boston gathered alongside local faith leaders and grassroots organizers held a second protest on April 27 against Springfield-based gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson after activists called on the company meet with them to create a...
Mass Cannabis Chefs elevate edibles across the state
What does cannabis taste like? Many people might describe it as earthy, pungent, or bitter. According to Joe Nelson, 29, of Plymouth, one of the chefs and co-founders of Mass Cannabis Chefs, the idea that all cannabis tastes the same is a misconception. “It’s...
World Renowned Saxophonist and Valley resident Charles Neville dies at age 79
One of the brightest music stars in the Pioneer Valley and the world succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Saxophonist Charles Neville, age 79, passed away Thursday, April 26, at his home in Huntington. A member of the acclaimed Neville Brothers band, Charles...
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz to Mt. Holyoke students: ‘True leadership comes from the heart’
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz of San Juan, Puerto Rico spoke to students, faculty, and staff at Mount Holyoke College on April 26 recounting the tragedies the occured after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the island seven months ago, while also being optimistic in Puerto...
Local jazz legend Charles Neville dies at 79
Charles Neville, Grammy award winning saxophonist and member of R&B, soul, and funk group, The Neville Brothers, died on Thursday at the age of 79. He had been battling pancreatic cancer for the past several months. Aaron Neville, Charles’ brother and...E-Edition
Best Of 2025
Readers Choice 2025
