What’s in this Issue?

Welcome to our Table of Contents. You can also receive a listing of all new items in the Indy each week by dropping us a note with your contact information at amherstindy@gmail.com. The subscription is free and will deliver to your inbox a listing of all new content, each Saturday at 6 a.m. We promise that we will not share your email address, nor will we send you any additional emails to clog up your inbox (except in the case of truly urgent breaking news, in which case we’ll send out a special dispatch).

ANALYTICS
Numbers in parentheses indicate change from the previous week.

Number of Unique Page Views:
Last 30 days: 107,527 (+8082)
Last Week: 29,205 (-529)

Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 74,610 (+ 6220)
Last Week 19,756 (-2020)

Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days: 54,407 (+4896)
Last Week:14,414 (-1940)

TOP FIVE MOST-READ STORIES IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
1. No Kings #2 Expected to Be Largest Protest in US History by Art Keene
2. Large Overtime Payments to Amherst Police Raise Concerns about Budget Priorities and Oversight by Art Keene
3. Parents Decry Chaotic Classroom at Fort River by Art Keene
4. Amherst Has Got Financial Trouble. We Deserve Full Disclosure by Jeff Lee
5. Archipelago Withdraws Its Application for Atkins Corner Project by Maura Keene

TOP FIVE MOST-READ STORIES LAST WEEK
1. Not One Penny More? Jones Library is Back, Asking the Town for Even More Money by Mickey Rathbun and Maria Kopicki
2.Parents Decry Chaotic Classroom at Fort River by Art Keene
3.Opinion: In Amherst Town Elections It’s Progressives vs. Neoliberals by Darcy DuMont
4.Western Mass Institutions Found Guilty of Complicty in Genocide at Western Massachusetts People’s Tribunal on Gaza by Kiera McLaughlin
5. Town Council Candidates Weigh in on Legislative Priorities, Housing, Zoning, Schools, and Jones Library Borrowing by Art Keene

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?

ARTS

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

BUDGET

•  Where’s the Oversight? Finance Committee Fails to Oversee $46 Million Library Project  by Maria Kopicki

CAMPUS

• Western Mass Institutions Found Guilty of Complicty in Genocide at Western Massachusetts People’s Tribunal on Gaza by Kiera McLaughlin

CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE

•  Opinion: Unstoppable Renewable Energy, More Heat, and a New Resource by Russ Vernon-Jones
• Photo of the Week: Blazing Foliage at Wentworth Farm by Marguerite Sheehan

DEMOCRACY

•  Opinion: Our Town Government is Broken. Part 1 by Art and Maura Keene

ELECTIONS

• The Indy’s Election Center for the 2025 Amherst Town Election
• APEA Endorses Candidates for Amherst School Committee and Town Council by Amherst Pelham Education Association
• Letter: I’m Voting for Vince in District 1 by Susan Wells
• Opinion: Our Town Government is Broken. Part 1 by Art and Maura Keene
• Opinion: The Infrastructure of Trust: Why Amherst’s Future Relies on More Than Pipes and Permits by Rizwana Khan
• Opinion: A Plea to Senator Ed Markey: Please Choose a Graceful Exit byJohanna Wald

EVENTS

• Mass Center for the Book Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Mass Book Awards
• What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene

FEATURES

• Celebrating 75 years of Community Health: Amherst’s Musante Health Center and the Hilltown Community Health Centers  by Hetty Startup
• Town Manager Report for October 20, 2025
• Photo of the Week: Blazing Foliage at Wentworth Farm by Marguerite Sheehan

HISTORY / HISTORICAL PRESERVATION

• Historical Commission Weighs in on Large Requests for CPA Funds for Jones Library and Town Hall Roof by Hilda Greenbaum
• Celebrating 75 years of Community Health: Amherst’s Musante Health Center and the Hilltown Community Health Centers  by Hetty Startup

HOUSING

• Opinion: The Infrastructure of Trust: Why Amherst’s Future Relies on More Than Pipes and PermitsNorth Amherst Residents Share Thoughts on High Density Overlay District by Hilda Greenbaum
• Opinion: The Infrastructure of Trust: Why Amherst’s Future Relies on More Than Pipes and Permits by Rizwana Khan

LIBRARY

•  Where’s the Oversight? Finance Committee Fails to Oversee $46 Million Library Project  by Maria Kopicki
• Historical Commission Weighs in on Large Requests for CPA Funds for Jones Library and Town Hall Roof by Hilda Greenbaum

OPINION

• Letter: How to Fund a Safer Fort River Elementary School Intersection by Jeremy Andersen
• Letter: I’m Voting for Vince in District 1 by Susan Wells
• Opinion: Our Town Government is Broken. Part 1 by Art and Maura Keene
• Opinion: The Infrastructure of Trust: Why Amherst’s Future Relies on More Than Pipes and Permits by Rizwana Khan
• Opinion: Unstoppable Renewable Energy, More Heat, and a New Resource by Russ Vernon-Jones
• Opinion: A Plea to Senator Ed Markey: Please Choose a Graceful Exit by Johanna Wald
  

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY

• CSSJC: Town Lags in Meeting Racial and Social Justice Commitments by Norah Stewart
• Regional School Committee Adopts Bullying Reporting Requirements by Kiera McLaughlin
• Federal Shutdown: What to Know in Massachusetts  by Robbin Jaffin
• Letter: How to Fund a Safer Fort River Elementary School Intersection by Jeremy Andersen
• Celebrating 75 years of Community Health: Amherst’s Musante Health Center and the Hilltown Community Health Centers by Hetty Startup

RESOURCES

• The Indy’s Election Center for the 2025 Amherst Town Election
• Federal Shutdown: What to Know in Massachusetts  by Robbin Jaffin

SCHOOLS

• APEA Endorses Candidates for Amherst School Committee and Town Council by Amherst Pelham Education Association
• Regional School Committee Adopts Bullying Reporting Requirements by Kiera McLaughlin
•  School Committee Seeks Public Input on Elementary School Redistricting by Maura Keene
• Four-Peat at Western Mass for Amherst Regional Girls Cross Country by Maura Keene
• Letter: How to Fund a Safer Fort River Elementary School Intersection by Jeremy Andersen

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

•  CSSJC: Town Lags in Meeting Racial and Social Justice Commitments by Norah Stewart
• Western Mass Institutions Found Guilty of Complicty in Genocide at Western Massachusetts People’s Tribunal on Gaza by Kiera McLaughlin

TOWN GOVERNMENT

• The Indy’s Election Center for the 2025 Amherst Town Election
• Where’s the Oversight? Finance Committee Fails to Oversee $46 Million Library Project  by Maria Kopicki
• Historical Commission Weighs in on Large Requests for CPA Funds for Jones Library and Town Hall Roof by Hilda Greenbaum
• CSSJC: Town Lags in Meeting Racial and Social Justice Commitments by Norah Stewart
• North Amherst Residents Share Thoughts on High Density Overlay District by Hilda GreenbaumAPEA Endorses Candidates for Amherst School Committee and Town Council by Amherst Pelham Education Association
•  Regional School Committee Adopts Bullying Reporting Requirements by Kiera McLaughlin
• School Committee Seeks Public Input on Elementary School Redistricting by Maura Keene
• Jeff Bagg Appointed as Town Planning and Economic Development Director
• Letter: I’m Voting for Vince in District 1 by Susan Wells
• Opinion: Our Town Government is Broken. Part 1 by Art and Maura Keene
• Opinion: The Infrastructure of Trust: Why Amherst’s Future Relies on More Than Pipes and Permits by Rizwana Khan\
• Town Manager Report for October 20, 2025