What’s in This Issue?
Photo: Dreamtime. Creative commons
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ANALYTICS
Numbers in parentheses indicate change from the previous week.
Number of Unique Page Views:
Last 30 days: 73,407 (+ 7977)
Last Week: 22,462 (+2671)
Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 48,699 (+6665)
Last Week 15,484 (+2173)
Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days: 31,532 (+6483)
Last Week:11,185 (+1785)
TOP FIVE MOST-READ STORIES LAST WEEK
1. Opinion: Parking Wars: Out-of-State Plates and Amherst’s Identity Crisis by Rizwana Khan
2. Opinion: Hampshire College at a Crossroads, Part 1 by Jonathon Podolsky
3. School Committee Grapples with Redistricting Challenges. Superintendent Names New Principals by Art Keene
4. Second Annual Read and Resist Fest, Saturday, September 20 by Amherst Indy (c/o Interlink Publishing)
5. Finance Committee Criticizes MARS Report on Regional Schools. Raises Possibility of Tax Override for Roads. by Maura Keene
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?
ARTS
- Terry Kitchen Headlines PVFS October Song and Story Swap
- New at Gallery A3: PERSPECTIVES Join the Political and the Personal
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
- Opinion: Sculpture for North Amherst Library Languishes in Committee by Hetty Startup
BUDGET / CAPITAL PROJECTS
- State Aid to Public Schools is Insufficient to Meet Current Need by Kiera McLaughlin
- Regional School Committee Approves Middle School Roof Project by Kiera McLaughlin
- Amherst Spends $2.5 Million on Library Project in August by Jeff Lee
CAMPUS
- Former UMass Associate Provost Heather Sharpes-Smith pays $10,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
- Opinion: Hampshire College at a Crossroads, Part 1 by Jonathon Podolsky
- Opinion: About the Presidential Search at Hampshire College – A Response to Jonathon Podolsky by Ken Rosenthal
- Opinion: Hampshire at the Crossroads, Part 2: Hampshire Needs to Rethink Higher Ed Again? by Jonathon Podolsky
CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE
- Conservation Commission Issues Ultimatum on Proposed Development at Atkins Corner by Maura Keene
- Amherst Awarded Grant for Fort River Watershed Improvements
DEMOCRACY
- Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene
- Local Youth Plan Forum with Progressive Candidates for November Election
- History Shows that Sustained, Disruptive Protest Works by Kevin A.Young (c/o YES! Magazine)
- Opinion: Charter Review Committee Retreat Exemplifies Bad Government by Darcy DuMont
ELECTIONS
- 2025 Amherst Town Election: Information & Reminders
- Local Youth Plan Forum with Progressive Candidates for November Election
EVENTS
- Local Youth Plan Forum with Progressive Candidates for November Election
- Terry Kitchen Headlines PVFS October Song and Story Swap
- New at Gallery A3: PERSPECTIVES Join the Political and the Personal
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
FEATURES
- Town Manager Report for September 15, 2025
- Poetry: In the Next Room by Dinah Kudatsky
- Photo of the Week: Jones Library Demolition by Jon Rosenthal
HISTORY / HISTORICAL PRESERVATION
- History Shows that Sustained, Disruptive Protest Works by Kevin A. Young (c/o YES! Magazine)
HOUSING
- Residents File Zoning Bylaw Changes for Balanced, Liveable Neighborhoods and Downtown
- Conservation Commission Issues Ultimatum on Proposed Development at Atkins Corner by Maura Keene
- Letter: The Housing Paradox in Amherst Illustrated by Jessica Mix Barrington
ISSUES & ANALYSES
- History Shows that Sustained, Disruptive Protest Works by Kevin A. Young (c/o YES! Magazine)
- Opinion: Hampshire at the Crossroads, Part 2: Hampshire Needs to Rethink Higher Ed Again? by Jonathon Podolsky
LIBRARY
- Amherst Spends $2.5 Million on Library Project in August by Jeff Lee
- Opinion: Sculpture for North Amherst Library Languishes in Committee by Hetty Startup
- Photo of the Week: Jones Library Demolition byJon Rosenthal
NEIGHBORHOODS
OPINION
- Letter: The Housing Paradox in Amherst Illustrated by Jessica Mix Barrington
- Opinion: Charter Review Committee Retreat Exemplifies Bad Government by Darcy DuMont
- Opinion: Sculpture for North Amherst Library Languishes in Committee by Hetty Startup
- Opinion: Hampshire College at a Crossroads, Part 1 by Jonathon Podolsky
- Opinion: About the Presidential Search at Hampshire College – A Response to Jonathon Podolsky by Ken Rosenthal
- Opinion: Hampshire at the Crossroads, Part 2: Hampshire Needs to Rethink Higher Ed Again? by Jonathon Podolsky
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
RECREATION
RESOURCES
- Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene
- 2025 Amherst Town Election: Information & Reminders
SCHOOLS
- State Aid to Public Schools is Insufficient to Meet Current Need by Kiera McLaughlin
- Regional School Committee Approves Middle School Roof Project by Kiera McLaughlin
SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE
- Amherst DPW Associations Enter Mediation Over New Contract
- Amherst Survival Center Appoints Carleen Basler as Interim Executive Director
TOWN GOVERNMENT
- Residents File Zoning Bylaw Changes for Balanced, Liveable Neighborhoods and Downtown
- Conservation Commission Issues Ultimatum on Proposed Development at Atkins Corner by Maura Keene
- State Aid to Public Schools is Insufficient to Meet Current Need by Kiera McLaughlin
- Regional School Committee Approves Middle School Roof Project by Kiera McLaughlin
- Amherst Spends $2.5 Million on Library Project in August by Jeff Lee
- Amherst DPW Associations Enter Mediation Over New Contract
- Community Celebrates Third Anniversary of Town’s Civilian Responder Service by Norah Stewart
- Amherst Awarded Grant for Fort River Watershed Improvements
- 2025 Amherst Town Election: Information & Reminders
- Opinion: Charter Review Committee Retreat Exemplifies Bad Government by Darcy DuMont
- Opinion: Sculpture for North Amherst Library Languishes in Committee by Hetty Startup
- Town Manager Report for September 15, 2025