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: 58,178 (+3237)
Last Week: 16,915 (+1150)
Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 31377 (+1351)
Last Week 8426 (-180)
Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days: 15,390 (+89)
Last Week: 4292 (-547)
TOP FIVE MOST-READ ARTICLES IN THE MONTH OF JULY
1. Judge Orders Reinstatement of Counselor Fired for Discrimination Against LGBTQ Students by Art Keene
2. Amherst Ranks Last in Massachusetts in Public Works Spending Per Capita by Jeff Lee
3. Half Million Dollar Jump in Library Project Costs by Mickey Rathbun
4. Regional School Committee Members Trade Accusations Over Alleged Policy Violations by Maura Keene
5. Large North Amherst Barn Demolished After Deemed a Safety Risk by Hilda Greenbaum
TOP FIVE MOST-READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. Half Million Dollar Jump in Library Project Costs by Mickey Rathbun
2. Large North Amherst Barn Demolished After Deemed a Safety Risk by Hilda Greenbaum
3.Community Protests Reinstatement of Delinda Dykes at Amherst Middle School by Art Keene
4. Regional School Committee Again Receives Heart-Wrenching Testimony About Discrimination at Middle School by Art Keene
5. School District Scrambles to Address Instructional Hours Shortfall by Amherst Indy
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?
ARTS
- Opening Reception for “A Something Overtakes the Mind” at the Emily Dickinson Museum
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
CAMPUS
- New UMass Study Finds that Proposed Cuts to Federal Research & Development Funding in Massachusetts Puts More than $16 Billion in Economic Activity at Risk
- Ask Perplexity AI: Which Colleges and Universities Make the Largest PILOT Payments to Their Host Communities? by Ira Bryck
CARTOON
- Cartoon: Jonesing for All We Need by Ira Bryck and Art Keene
CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE
- Spotted Lanternflies Have Arrived in Amherst
- Opinion: Feeling Helpless? This Is What You Can Do for the Climate by Darcy DuMont
- Opinion: International Court: Nations Are Liable for Fossil Fuel Harms by Russ Vernon-Jones
DEMOCRACY
- Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene
- Public Reading of the Re-written Declaration of Independence
- Opinion: Shady Goings-on with Charter Review Committee Vacancy by Maura Keene
- Opinion: International Court: Nations Are Liable for Fossil Fuel Harms by Russ Vernon-Jones
EVENTS
- Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene
- League of Women Voters Book Sale Concludes August 4
- Public Reading of the Re-written Declaration of Independence
- Opening Reception for “A Something Overtakes the Mind” at the Emily Dickinson Museum
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
FEATURES
- Ask Perplexity AI: Which Colleges and Universities Make the Largest PILOT Payments to Their Host Communities? by Ira Bryck
- Photo Gallery: School Building Committee Tours Fort River Construction
- Photo Gallery: School Building Committee Tours Fort River Construction
ISSUES & ANALYSES
LIBRARY
OPINION
- Letter: Regarding a New Firehouse and DPW Building, Two Can Live Cheaper than One by Terence Masterson
- Opinion: Gaza: What Have We Become? by Rabbi Devorah Jacobson and Jeffery Gold (.with co-signers: Tom Weiner, Sara Weinberger, Leslie Schwartz Leff and John Reiff)
- Opinion: Shady Goings-on with Charter Review Committee Vacancy by Maura Keene
- Opinion: Feeling Helpless? This Is What You Can Do for the Climate by Darcy DuMont
- Opinion: International Court: Nations Are Liable for Fossil Fuel Harms by Russ Vernon-Jones
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
RECREATION
RESOURCES
SCHOOLS
- Delinda Dykes Announces Plans to Return to Amherst Middle School. Arbitrator Says Her Return Is Consistent with the Best Interests of Students by Art Keene
- Wildwood Educator Kate Westafer Named 2025 Recipient of Roger L. Wallace Excellence in Teaching Award
- Photo Gallery: School Building Committee Tours Fort River Construction
SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE
- Delinda Dykes Announces Plans to Return to Amherst Middle School. Arbitrator Says Her Return Is Consistent with the Best Interests of Students by Art Keene
- Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene
- Opinion: Gaza: What Have We Become? by Rabbi Devorah Jacobson and Jeffery Gold (.with co-signers: Tom Weiner, Sara Weinberger, Leslie Schwartz Leff and John Reiff)
- Ask Perplexity AI: Which Colleges and Universities Make the Largest PILOT Payments to Their Host Communities? by Ira Bryck
TOWN GOVERNMENT
- By This Measure Amherst Has the Least Affordable Property Taxes in the State by Jeff Lee
- Delinda Dykes Announces Plans to Return to Amherst Middle School. Arbitrator Says Her Return Is Consistent with the Best Interests of Students by Art Keene
- Town of Amherst Launches New Civic Academy Program
- Letter: Regarding a New Firehouse and DPW Building, Two Can Live Cheaper than One by Terence Masterson
- Opinion: Shady Goings-on with Charter Review Committee Vacancy by Maura Keene
- Photo Gallery: School Building Committee Tours Fort River Construction
TRANSPORTATION / ROADS