News
Project Good Dog gives Hampden prisoners and pups a second chance
“Come here, Bella,” called Roberto Bigio, 29, to a black lab across the room. The dog trotted over to Bigio, who stood in the corner of the common area in one of the pre-release/ minimum security units at the Hampden County Jail and House of Correction in...
Farm to Trail Ale to benefit Kestrel Land Trust conservation of Pioneer Valley farm land and forests
A limited edition craft beer called “the Farm to Trail Ale” was recently released on March 4 and celebrates the legacy of the Amherst-based Kestrel Land Trust, which has conserved more than 25,000 acres of forests and farmlands since the 1970s. The beer is a...
Vermont Yankee transfer gaining traction with state agencies and environmental activists
After several weeks of negotiations, Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant owner Entergy, potential buyer NorthStar, state agencies, and citizen activists have come to an agreement on how the shut down plant could be transferred and decommissioned by NorthStar. One...
With DACA deadline passed, local undocumented immigrants demanding action
It’s been more than six months since President Trump announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as children from deportation. March 5 was set as a deadline for...
Advochat Podcast: Healthy food and social justice in Springfield with Liz Wills-O’Gilvie
As chair of the Springfield Food Policy Council Steering Committee and board chair of Gardening the Community, Liz Wills-O’Gilvie thinks a lot about how growing up as a minority in an urban neighborhood affects your access to healthy food. She says there are 10...
Northampton zoning proposal: If a liquor store is allowed, so is marijuana
It’s been nearly two years since voters across Massachusetts voted to legalize marijuana, which set state legislative officials on the long process of creating regulations for the budding legal weed retail industry. But starting July 1, the legal weed business will be...
Thought this winter was warm? Wait until the coming years
Has this winter seemed unseasonably warm to you? Or what about that shocking cold a couple months ago? It turns out that with one of the warmest Februarys on record and a record-breaking two-week cold snap around New Year’s, the winter itself averaged out to be...
State program offering farm fresh food to SNAP recipients in jeopardy
For almost a year, the state of Massachusetts has been operating the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which reimburses SNAP customers buying fruits and vegetables from local farmers’ markets. But the program has proven so popular that it’s already almost...
TEENS vs. GUNS: Youth anti-gun sentiment spreading and changing minds
Born the same year of the Columbine High School Shooting in Colorado, 18-year-old Madison Pease of Southampton grew up hearing about school shootings. But it wasn’t until 17 people were killed in the recent shooting in Parkland, Florida, that she began thinking...
Letters to the Editor: Mixed Reaction to Amherst Rep. Leaving Democrats
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...
Welcome to the First Day of Gaming School: Blackjack students hopeful for MGM Springfield Casino
Angel Rivera, a table games instructor and supervisor for MGM Springfield, held a stack of 20 chips, or as what they’re referred to in the gaming industry as, “checks.” and told more than half a dozen students on Feb. 26, the first ever day of classes at the...
Valley Advocate Q&A with Deer Tick Guitarist Ian Patrick O’Neil
Alternative rock band Deer Tick, known for its blend of influences from grungy alternative rock, to folk, punk, blues, and country, is heading to the Academy of Music Theatre this Friday, March 2, at 7 p.m. as part of Signature Sounds’ Back Porch Festival. Ahead of...
Workers rally in Greenfield in support of union rights for public employees
More than two dozen workers and union rights activists rallied outside the campus entrance of Greenfield Community College (GCC) on Monday, Feb. 26, to stand in solidarity with thousands of workers from around the country during the Workers’ Day of Action. The rally,...
Editorial: Guns spark a new student movement — and a fight for their lives
Fifty years ago, in 1968, student protests rocked the Vietnam War debate, and were eventually credited with turning public sentiment against the war. For young people, particularly young men, their very lives were at stake with the instituted military draft sending...
Puerto Rican Evacuees Receive Trauma Relief Through Acupuncture in Springfield
The Springfield Family Resource Center of Gandara is located in a modest building at 18 Gaucher Street in Springfield’s Pine Point neighborhood, and upon arrival it’s clear that this social service agency is a community lifeline. Inside, the narrow reception area...
Faced With PVTA Cuts, Small Town Western Mass Residents Have Few Ways to Get Around
Dee Marshall, 73, of Ware, sits in the front seat of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) shuttle bus wrapped in her pink coat. She had a doctor’s appointment in Longmeadow today, as she does every Friday. She left her house early this morning to catch...
Pick of the Day 2/22: Luvvie Ajayi at Mount Holyoke College
Social media expert, New York Times best-selling author, and pop-critic, Luvvie Ajayi takes the stage at Mount Holyoke College as it continues its celebration of Black History Month. If you’re in the mood for great intelligence, wit, and charm, this is the place to...
Bravo to Goldstein-Rose for Declaring Independence from Democrats
On Tuesday, Amherst state Representative Solomon Goldstein-Rose became the second independent in the Massachusetts Statehouse, changing his party affiliation from Democrat to unenrolled. Predictably, party elders and political pundits — the same ones that predicted a...
Bizzaro Briefs: Cash, Credit, or Wood
“I can’t wait until the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo-Bell ….” Viewers likely experienced an unexpected craving for Chinese food when a Chicago’s ABC affiliate mixed up Olympics host city PyeongChang with the popular restaurant P.F.Chang. The news station apologized...
O: Cannabis: ‘Little pieces of art’ — the magic of making professional edibles
Algebra and edibles do not usually mix, but for Mark Wikar one is absolutely essential for creating the other. Even though his background is as a pastry chef, Wikar now uses a lot of math to create perfectly dosed edibles at INSA, a medical cannabis dispensary that...
Coming Soon: ‘Fields of Flowers’ at the Smith College Bulb Show
For those people who just can’t wait for Spring to come, there will be a sneak peek from March 3 to 18 at the Botanical Garden of Smith College, 16 College Lane, Northampton. Fields of Flowers: The Annual Spring Bulb Show will be open to all. Right now, the...
Workers plan Greenfield rally to defend public sector union rights
Unionized workers in the Pioneer Valley are rallying together to support workers rights on Monday, Feb. 26, at Greenfield Community College at 3:30 p.m. as part of a national Workers’ Day of Action in which thousands of workers across the country are expected to speak...
Activists Claim Police Violated Safe Springfield Resolution with Immigrant Detention
A simple traffic violation has added fuel to an ongoing conflict over the role that police in Springfield should play in immigration enforcement. A group of activists and a city councilor believe that Springfield police violated a City Council resolution forbidding...
Northampton Event Encourages Women Activists to Speak Up
The day after Donald Trump’s election in 2016, corporate communications trainer Cathy McNally vowed to join activist communities to oppose the conservative forces that got him elected. Founder and CEO of the Women Speak Up organization, she realized that it was...
New Year’s Cold Snap Still Affecting People’s Pocketbooks in Western Mass
Shelley Svoboda, 64, lives in the big old house in Amherst in which she grew up. “It’s cold and drafty. The insulation hasn’t been up upgraded since the 1970s,” she said. She heats with oil, and even though she keeps her thermostat set firmly...
Undocumented Hampshire Student to Walk 250 Miles for Immigrant Rights
Representing the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, 11 undocumented individuals will walk from New York City to Washington, D.C., starting Thursday, Feb. 15. Among them will be Eduardo Samaniego, 25, of Amherst. Samaniego is in his...
Pick of the Day 2/15: Foghorn String Band at the Parlor Room
Foghorn String Band at the Parlor Room Listening to the Foghorn String Band is like pulling out your great grandma’s handmade heirloom quilt. It’s American roots music drawn from bluegrass, classic country, and Cajun musical traditions. The band has...
Valley Advocate Q&A with indie folk violinist and virtuoso whistler Andrew Bird
Indie rock and folk singer-songwriter Andrew Bird makes what he calls “three-dimensional music” – a mixture of violin, guitar, and virtuoso whistling, combined with intricate looping pedals. Bird has released more than a dozen albums since starting his solo...
A Sneak Peek inside MGM’s new Casino Career Training Institute in Springfield
This summer or early fall, MGM’s $950 million resort-style casino is set to open in the heart of downtown Springfield, but before that happens the casino needs to hire 450 table game dealers, which is where the Massachusetts Casino Career Training Institute comes into...
The Perfect Winter Day in the Pioneer Valley, an Hour-by-Hour Guide
Spring will soon make her way into the Valley bringing longer days, birdsong, and bulbs. In the meantime, however, we’ve still got to forge through the remainder of winter, and although T.S. Eliot lamented, “April is the cruelest month,” those of us standing on this...
Literally Selling Your Soul to Pay for an Education
T.X. Watson, a transgender student at Hampshire College, is planning to sell their soul as part of their senior graduation project in art. The reason: Watson will have about $45,000 in debt upon graduation, and parting with their soul seems to be the best way of...
Letters to the Editor: Praise for New Podcast
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...
Valley Advocate sponsors scholarship for Juniper Summer Writing Institute
If you’ re a poet, author of fiction, or creative nonfiction writer living in the Pioneer Valley, you may have the opportunity to win a full scholarship to the Juniper Summer Writing Institute in Amherst, June 17 to 24th. The scholarship is made possible by...
Video Podcast – A Cannabis Chat with Meg Bantle
There never fails to be a whole lot of news about everyone’s favorite sort-of legal recreational/medicinal substance: cannabis. This week on our new Valley Advocate Podcast, produced in collaboration with Amherst Media, we speak with columnist Meg Bantle about...
O Cannabis: Questions at Greenfield Cannabis Control Commission Meeting Run the Gamut
Franklin County has a rich agricultural history, so it was no surprise that several different farmers spoke at the public forum hosted by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) in Greenfield. The forum, which was hosted on Tuesday, is one of 10 public forums happening...
Western Mass Dreamers and Jewish community rally in Northampton to support DREAM Act
Rabbi Raquel “Riqi” Kosovske of Beit Ahavah, the reform synagogue of Greater Northampton, told a crowd of more than 100 people during a frigid Feb.8 rally on the front steps on Northampton City Hall that the Jewish community in the Pioneer Valley stands with...
From Homeless to Housing: Nonprofits in Holyoke lead the way in offering services for homeless
Following four years of active duty in the Army during Operation Storm and a subsequent five years in the National Guard, Michael Collazo found himself spending nearly one year in a different type of harrowing circumstance: homelessness. Collazo, 50, was recently able...
Gazette/Advocate Pay Equity Meeting Postponed to Next Week
A staff meeting on the topic of pay equity for women staff members has been postponed for a week, but staff members believe progress is being made. The meeting was scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m., but Gazette and Advocate publisher Michael Rifanburg wrote...
Rosenberg Out as Senate President for Rest of Term
The Massachusetts State Senate voted to make Worcester Democrat Harriette Chandler the permanent Senate President today, as the investigation into the husband of former state Senate President Stan Rosenberg of Amherst continues. “I am confident that Senate President...
O Cannabis: How to use marijuana at home without smoking it
As recreational and medical marijuana legalization laws continue to pass state by state, more and more people are curious about cannabis. As different people are willing to try cannabis for recreation or medicine, the image from That ’70s Show of a group of people in...
Bizarro Briefs: Grenade Launcher Donated to Florida Goodwill
One heck of an explosive donation In Bradenton, Florida, authorities say a grenade launcher, loaded with a live grenade, was left with other donated items at a Goodwill store. The Bradenton Herald reports that The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says the store manager...
‘Let My People Stay’: Western Mass Jewish community to rally for DREAM Act
Members of the Jewish community, faith leaders, immigrant rights activist groups, and local area Dreamers will join together in solidarity to support the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act on Thursday, Feb. 8, with a protest outside...
Congressman McGovern speaks to students in Northampton
The auditorium at the Northampton High School was filled with students as Congressman Jim McGovern fielded questions in a town hall-style meeting on Friday afternoon. The students were engaged and their questions ran the gamut from what should be done about climate...
Editorial: Disappointing coverage from Poynter and others on Gazette editor departure
Sometimes the great teachers are role models to emulate, and sometimes they are the ones whose unfortunate actions you learn not to repeat. Poynter Institute, which touts itself as the world’s leading instructor for journalists, unfortunately fell into the...
Dual wellness center and recreational marijuana lounge proposed in Easthampton
Cannabis isn’t exactly the first thing that you’d think of when the topic of holistic wellness is brought up, but a new Easthampton business called Chronic Trips hope to change some of the dialog about wellness and recreational weed. Seth Frappier, the owner and...
Former Gazette editor claims he was fired advocating for women, but many women say differently
Editor’s note: I have been employed by Newspapers of New England since 2014 and was working for the Daily Hampshire Gazette and then the Valley Advocate at the time that most of the events reported in this story took place. There is some inherent awkwardness of...
Springfield to Boston Passenger Rail Drives Forward with New Study
A passenger rail service connecting Springfield to Boston is one step closer to becoming reality. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently released a draft of its 2018 Rail Plan for the state, which includes a study for rail service connecting...
The Advocate is Turning Bi … Weekly
Hello Advocate readers, You may have noticed that something is different here at the Advocate and valleyadvocate.com. We’ve been around for more than 40 years, and the way that people get their news and information has changed. That means we’re making some changes at...
#MeToo? Black Women on the Periphery of a Movement
As a black woman, I cannot bring myself to seek refuge in the monumental arms of the #MeToo Movement. On the contrary, I often find myself feeling contempt and cynicism. But it’s not because I don’t empathize with the women who have come forward with their...
Letters to the Editor: Offensive Language; Excellent Reporting
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...
Storming the Castle: Springfield progressive Amatul-Wadud challenges entrenched Congressman Neal
I … I … I believe … I believe … I believe that we will win! … I believe that we will win! … I believe that we will win! … I believe that we will win! So went the call-and-response led by Springfield attorney Tahirah...
Bizarro Briefs: Female Cats Are Right
A new study by Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland shows that right-handedness is popular among female cats. Researchers worked with cat owners, collecting data on 24 male and 20 female domesticated cats. In a press released, the research team stated that...
People from ‘Shithole Countries’ Make Important Contributions to Western Mass
Earlier this month, in a meeting with U.S. Senators and House members on immigration, Donald Trump, president of the United States, is widely reported to have asked why the government would want people from “shithole countries” coming to America? According to people...
Valley Advocate Q&A with legendary blues harpist and singer James Montgomery
Blues harmonica and singer James Montgomery is a blues legend. Growing up in Detroit, he learned the blues first-hands from blues harp virtuoso James Cotton, and has been a presence in blues music for decades with the James Montgomery Band. Valley Advocate Staff...
Musical Fundraiser for Charles Neville unites Pioneer Valley and New Orleans communities
Charles Neville, Grammy award winning saxophonist and member of R&B, soul, and funk group, The Neville Brothers, has been battling pancreatic cancer for the past two months. He was born and raised in New Orleans, but has called the Pioneer Valley home for the past...
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz to Speak in Holyoke on April 25
The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulin Cruz, will visit the Pioneer Valley and make a stop on April 25 at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke to speak about the transformation of her city and Puerto Rico after the devastation caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria....
Too High to Drive? New App Allows Marijuana Users to Test Their Impairment Level
Despite the legalization of recreational cannabis use for adults in Massachusetts over a year ago, there is still no standard of measure or device to test people behind the wheel for marijuana intoxication. This presents a problem for law enforcement officers who...
Western Mass Dreamers Fight for Immigrant Rights in D.C.
Eduardo Samaniego, a 25-year-old Hampshire College student and undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was one of hundreds of thousands of people to travel to Washington D.C. this past week to advocate for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM)...
Back Talk: The Great Bag Race
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...E-Edition
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