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: 114,643 (+4070)
Last Week: 28,977 (+4255)

Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 77,933 (+3580)
Last Week 21,052 (+7188)

Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days: 56,372 (+4043)
Last Week:16,987 (+9227)

TOP FIVE MOST-READ STORIES LAST WEEK
1. Two Buildings at Olympia Place Deemed Total Loss Following Weekend Fire by Amherst Indy (c/o Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren)
2. Shakeup at the Amherst Town Council by Maria Kopicki
3. Opinion: When Amherst Voted Down the Future: Revisiting Form- Based Zoning by Rizwana Khan
4. Suggestions Offered for Traffic at New Elementary School but No Solution Apparent by Maura Keene
5. Letter: Olympia Fire Demonstrates Inadequate Staffing of AFD by Sarah Forsaith

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?

ARTS

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

BUDGET

•  FY27 Financial Indicators Presentation Requires Reading Between the Lines by Jeff Lee
• Library Building Committee Spends Another $1.2M. Members Want Project Schedule by Jeff Lee
• Next Steps for Improving Fiscal Sustainability in the Regional School District by Kiera McLaughlin
• Rally for a Better School Budget, November 17

CAMPUS

• Two Buildings at Olympia Place Deemed Total Loss Following Weekend Fire
• UMass Lists Resources for Olympia Place Fire Victims and Info on How to Help by Art Keene
• UMass Professional Staff Union Protests Low Wages and Stalled Contract Negotiations in Leadup To No Confidence Vote in Chancellor Reyes
• Democracy at the Microphone: A Conversation with Lulu Garcia-Navarro
• Journalist Farai Chideya to Deliver 4th Annual Ellsberg Lecture at UMass
• Opinion:Why We Have No Confidence in Chancellor Javier Reyes. by Chapter Board members of UMass Amhert’s Professional Staff Union

CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE

• Letter: Don’t Dial Back Climate Mandates in Massachusetts by Lori Goldner
• Opinion: Global Solidarity and the Climate Crisis by Darcy DuMont
• Opinion: Global Solidarity and the Climate Crisis by Russ Vernon-Jones
  

DEMOCRACY

• Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene
• Democracy at the Microphone: A Conversation with Lulu Garcia-Navarro
• Journalist Farai Chideya to Deliver 4th Annual Ellsberg Lecture at UMass

EVENTS

• Rally for a Better School Budget, November 17 
• Democracy at the Microphone: A Conversation with Lulu Garcia-Navarro
• Journalist Farai Chideya to Deliver 4th Annual Ellsberg Lecture at UMass
• Ideas for Redeveloping South Amherst School Will Be Presented in Zoom Forum by Maura Keene
• What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene

FEATURES

•  New Bell to Bell Cell Phone Policy on Deck for September 2026 Brings Mixed Feelings at ARHS by Kiko Bhowmik
• Views on Views: Stone Walls  by Hetty Startup
• Photos of the Week: The Olympia Drive Fire by The Town of Amherst, Amherst Firefighters Local 1764, and Aerial-MA

HISTORY / HISTORICAL PRESERVATION

•  Views on Views: Stone Walls  by Hetty Startup

HOUSING

• Two Buildings at Olympia Place Deemed Total Loss Following Weekend Fire
• Amherst Community Land Trust Asks Affordable Housing Trust to Support Amity Street Project by Maura Keene
• Ideas for Redeveloping South Amherst School Will Be Presented in Zoom Forum by Maura Keene

ISSUES & ANALYSES

• Opinion: Out of the Ashes Let’s Build Back Better by Robin Jaffin
• FY27 Financial Indicators Presentation Requires Reading Between the Lines by Jeff Lee
• New Boundary Zones for Amherst Elementary Schools by Jennifer Shiao

LIBRARY

•  Library Building Committee Spends Another $1.2M. Members Want Project Schedule by Jeff Lee

OPINION

• Opinion: Out of the Ashes Let’s Build Back Better by Robin Jaffin
• Letter: Olympia Fire Demonstrates Inadequate Staffing of AFD by Sarah Forsaith
• Letter: Don’t Dial Back Climate Mandates in Massachusetts by Lori Goldner
• Opinion:Why We Have No Confidence in Chancellor Javier Reyes. by Chapter Board members of UMass Amhert’s Professional Staff Union
• Opinion: Achieving Amherst’s 2025 Climate Goals: How Are We Doing? by Darcy DuMont
• Opinion: Global Solidarity and the Climate Crisis by Russ Vernon-Jones
  

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY

• Opinion: Out of the Ashes Let’s Build Back Better by Robin Jaffin
• Town Issues FAQ on Olympia Drive Fire
• Two Buildings at Olympia Place Deemed Total Loss Following Weekend Fire
• UMass Lists Resources for Olympia Place Fire Victims and Info on How to Help by Art Keene
• Town Manager Declares State of Emergency Following Olympia Place Fire
• Town Manager Rescinds State of Emergency
• Guidance Counselor Delinda Dykes, Fired for Discrimination Against LGBTQ Students, Will Resume Duties at Middle School by Art Keene
• A Call to Action: LGBTQIA+ Caucus Responds to the Reinstatement of Delinda Dykes by the KGBTQIA+ Caucus of Amherst
• Parents Seek More Support for Neurodiverse Students by Maura Keene
• Letter: Olympia Fire Demonstrates Inadequate Staffing of AFD by Sarah Forsaith
• Photos of the Week: The Olympia Drive Fire by The Town of Amherst, Amherst Firefighters Local 1764, and Aerial-MA
  

RESOURCES

•  Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene

SCHOOLS

• Guidance Counselor Delinda Dykes, Fired for Discrimination Against LGBTQ Students, Will Resume Duties at Middle School by Art Keene
• A Call to Action: LGBTQIA+ Caucus Responds to the Reinstatement of Delinda Dykes by the LGBTQIA+ Caucus of Amherst
• New Boundary Zones for Amherst Elementary Schools by Jennifer Shiao
• Parents Seek More Support for Neurodiverse Students by Maura Keene
• Next Steps for Improving Fiscal Sustainability in the Regional School District by Kiera McLaughlin
• Elementary School Bulding Project Update by Maria Kopicki
• ARHS Girls Cross Country Team Repeats as Divisional Champion by Maura Keene
• Rally for a Better School Budget, November 17
• New Bell to Bell Cell Phone Policy on Deck for September 2026 Brings Mixed Feelings at ARHS by Kiko Bhowmik

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

•  Guidance Counselor Delinda Dykes, Fired for Discrimination Against LGBTQ Students, Will Resume Duties at Middle School by Art Keene
• UMass Professional Staff Union Protests Low Wages and Stalled Contract Negotiations in Leadup To No Confidence Vote in Chancellor Reyes
• Opinion:Why We Have No Confidence in Chancellor Javier Reyes. by Chapter Board members of UMass Amhert’s Professional Staff Union

TOWN GOVERNMENT

• Opinion: Out of the Ashes Let’s Build Back Better by Robin Jaffin
• Town Issues FAQ on Olympia Drive Fire
• Town Manager Declares State of Emergency Following Olympia Place Fire
• Town Manager Rescinds State of Emergency
• FY27 Financial Indicators Presentation Requires Reading Between the Lines by Jeff Lee
• Library Building Committee Spends Another $1.2M. Members Want Project Schedule by Jeff Lee
• Guidance Counselor Delinda Dykes, Fired for Discrimination Against LGBTQ Students, Will Resume Duties at Middle School
• A Call to Action: LGBTQIA+ Caucus Responds to the Reinstatement of Delinda Dykes by the LGBTQIA+ Caucus of Amherst
• New Boundary Zones for Amherst Elementary Schools by Jennifer Shiao
• Parents Seek More Support for Neurodiverse Students by Maura Keene
• Elementary School Bulding Project Update by Maria Kopicki
• Amherst Community Land Trust Asks Affordable Housing Trust to Support Amity Street Project by Maura Keene
• Ideas for Redeveloping South Amherst School Will Be Presented in Zoom Forum by Maura Keene
• Letter: Olympia Fire Demonstrates Inadequate Staffing of AFD by Sarah Forsaith