What’s in This Issue?

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ANALYTICS
Numbers in parentheses indicate change from the previous week.

Number of Unique Page Views:
Last 30 days: 54,254 (-2964)
Last Week: 12,986 (-2712)

Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 30,415 (-903)
Last Week 7152 (-1006)

Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days:14,763 (+42)
Last Week: 3916 (-126)

TOP FIVE MOST-READ ARTICLES IN THE MONTH OF MARCH
1. Amherst School Committee Takes on Hot Button Issues by Amber Cano Martin
2. Why Did Dan Muscat Resign from the Charter Review Committee? by Darcy DuMont
3. UMass Amherst Computer Scientist Co-Recipient of “The Nobel Prize of Computing” by Amherst Indy
4. Letter: Proposed Archipelago Development is Inappropriate for Atkins Corner by Maria Kopicki
5. Massachusetts Sees Tariffs Pinching Public Projects by Jeff Lee

TOP FIVE MOST-READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. Town Manager Offers Vague Reassurances on Viability of Jones Library Expansion by Maura Keene
2.. Updated: Hands Off Massachusetts – Mobilization Against the Trump Musk Agendas, Saturday April 5 by Art Keene
3. Opinion: Town Manager Is Gaslighting Amherst Residents Concerning Jones Library Expansion by Art Keene
4. School Committee Adopts 6% Increase for Elementary Budget by Maura Keene
5. Introduction to the Mill Histories of North Amherst by Hetty Startup

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?

ARTS

• What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene

BUDGET

• Details of Costs/Funding of Jones Library Expansion Remain Elusive by Art Keene
• State Requires Regional School District to Redo FY2026 Budget by Maura Keene
• School Committee Struggles to Agree on Regional Cost Sharing by Amy Cronin DiCaprio
• Amherst-Pelham Students March for Fair School Funding by Support Our Schools
• Community Conversation on Amherst Schools Funding, April 13
• Letter: Town Is Hurtling Toward an Obligation It Cannot Afford by Ira Bryck

CAMPUS

• From Invasive Jumping Worms to Plant Diagnostics, UMass Amherst’s Agricultural Extension Experts Have Advice for Gardeners and Growers of All Skill Levels
• Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas at Amherst College: No Human is Illegal

EVENTS

• Updated: Hands Off Massachusetts – Mobilization Against the Trump Musk Agendas, Saturday April 5 by Art Keene
• Updated: Venue Change for Inaugural Amherst Global Village Festival April 5
• Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas at Amherst College: No Human is Illegal
• Cuppa Joe with Recreation Director Rey Harp, April 11
• Community Conversation on Amherst Schools Funding, April 13
• What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene

CLIMATE / ENERGY /ENVIRONMENT / NATURE

• Town Adopts Critical Drought Water Use Restrictions
• From Invasive Jumping Worms to Plant Diagnostics, UMass Amherst’s Agricultural Extension Experts Have Advice for Gardeners and Growers of All Skill Levels
• Opinion: Tax Justice – A Necessary Component of Climate Justice by Russ Vernon-Jones

DEMOCRACY

• Dear Reader by Art Keene
• Updated: Hands Off Massachusetts – Mobilization Against the Trump Musk Agendas, Saturday April 5 by Art Keene
• Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas at Amherst College: No Human is Illegal
• Surveillance Self-Defense by Laura Quilter
• Photos of the Week: Tesla Takedown in Hadley by Kitty Axelson-Berry

FEATURES

• Dear Reader by Art Keene
• Photos of the Week: Tesla Takedown in Hadley by Kitty Axelson-Berry

HOUSING

• Increased Housing Density in the Cards for North Amherst by Maura Keene

ISSUES & ANALYSES

• Details of Costs/Funding of Jones Library Expansion Remain Elusive by Art Keene

LIBRARY

• Dear Reader by Art Keene
• Details of Costs/Funding of Jones Library Expansion Remain Elusive by Art Keene
• Letter: Town Is Hurtling Toward an Obligation It Cannot Afford by Ira Bryck

OPINION

• Letter: Town Is Hurtling Toward an Obligation It Cannot Afford by Ira Bryck
• Opinion: Tax Justice – A Necessary Component of Climate Justice by Russ Vernon-Jonesd
• Opinion: On Gang Tattoos, Survival, and Respect in the USA by Brooklyn Trueheart Demme

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY

• Indy Rewind: An Introduction to Police Abolition for Amherst Residents by Allegra Clark and Defund 413

RESOURCES

• Surveillance Self-Defense by Laura Quilter
• Indy Rewind: An Introduction to Police Abolition for Amherst Residents by Allegra Clark and Defund 413

SCHOOLS

• State Requires Regional School District to Redo FY2026 Budget. by Maura Keene
• School Committee Struggles to Agree on Regional Cost Sharing by Amy Cronin DiCaprio
• Amherst-Pelham Students March for Fair School Funding  by Support Our Schools
• Structural Steel Erected for New Elementary School at Fort River
• Community Conversation on Amherst Schools Funding, April 13

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

• Indy Rewind: An Introduction to Police Abolition for Amherst Residents by Allegra Clark and Defund 413
• Updated: Hands Off Massachusetts – Mobilization Against the Trump Musk Agendas, Saturday April 5
• Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas at Amherst College: No Human is Illegal
• Opinion: Tax Justice – A Necessary Component of Climate Justice by Russ Vernon-Jones
• Opinion: On Gang Tattoos, Survival, and Respect in the USA by Brooklyn Trueheart Demme

TOWN GOVERNMENT

• Details of Costs/Funding of Jones Library Expansion Remain Elusive by Art Keene
• State Requires Regional School District to Redo FY2026 Budget by Maura Keene
• Increased Housing Density in the Cards for North Amherst by Maura Keene
• Town Council Invites Applications for Open Seats on Planning Board, ZBA, Finance Committee, and Charter Review Committee
• Town Adopts Critical Drought Water Use Restrictions
• Charter Committee Continues to Plan Outreach,  Explore Options  by Anita Sarro
• Indy Rewind: An Introduction to Police Abolition for Amherst Residents by Allegra Clark and Defund 413
• Updated: Venue Change for Inaugural Amherst Global Village Festival April 5
• Cuppa Joe with Recreation Director Rey Harp, April 11
• Community Conversation on Amherst Schools Funding, April 13