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: 65,856 (-3503)
Last Week: 17,004 (+1705)

Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 43,687 (-1338)
Last Week 11,540 (+264)

Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days: 28,286 (-695)
Last Week: 8423 (+2177)

TOP FIVE MOST-READ STORIES LAST WEEK
1. Debunking the Jones Library Banner by Maria Kopicki
2. Opinion: Thrive or Perish: Transforming Admissions Will Dictate Whether Hampshire College Prospers by Jonathon Podolsky
3. Town Council Defeats Proposals to Promote Housing for Non-Student Residents by Maura Keene
4. Community Turns out to Demand Safety for LGBTQIA+ Students by Art Keene
5. Review: At a Time When African American History Is Under Attack,  Netflix’s The Abandons Softens the Realities of Historical Oppression by Brooklyn Demme

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?

ARTS

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

BUDGET

•  Opinion: Why Won’t the Town Research Options for New DPW and Fire Station? by Terence Masterson

CAMPUS

• New Campus Food Pantry Serves 2300 in First Months
• Mark the Winter Solstice at the UMass Amherst Sunwheel
• Opinion: Human Rights Day in Amherst, 2025 by Rizwana Khan

CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE

• Jewish Community of Amherst Celebrates Hanukkah with Energizing of Solar Canopy by Maura Keene
• Mark the Winter Solstice at the UMass Amherst Sunwheel
• Photo of the Week: Leverett Pond on a Frosty Morning by John Varner

DEMOCRACY

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

EVENTS

• Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplmental Reading List by Art Keene
• Mark the Winter Solstice at the UMass Amherst Sunwheel
• What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene

FEATURES

•  Photo of the Week: Leverett Pond on a Frosty Morning by John Varner

FOOD

• Opinion: The Common Share Food Co-op: Reflections on a Failure to Launch  by Alex Kent
• New Campus Food Pantry Serves 2300 in First Months

HISTORY / HISTORICAL PRESERVATION

• Opinion: The Common Share Food Co-op: Reflections on a Failure to Launch by Alex Kent
• Jones Funding Request Questioned by Community Preservation Act Committee by Maura Keene 

HOUSING

•  Planning Board Seeks to Balance Needs of Students and Year-Round Residents by Maura Keene

ISSUES & ANALYSES

• Opinion: The Common Share Food Co-op: Reflections on a Failure to Launch  by Alex Kent

LIBRARY

•  Jones Funding Request Questioned by Community Preservation Act Committee by Maura Keene

MEDIA

• The Indy is Going on Vacation by Art Keene

OPINION

• Opinion: The Common Share Food Co-op: Reflections on a Failure to Launch  by Alex Kent 
• Opinion: Why Won’t the Town Research Options for New DPW and Fire Station? by Terence Masterson
• Opinion: Human Rights Day in Amherst, 2025 by Rizwana Khan
• Opinion: State’s Antisemitism Report is Deeply Flawed by Joseph Levine

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY

• Middle School Closes Early Due to Staff Absences by Maura Keene
• Opinion: Why Won’t the Town Research Options for New DPW and Fire Station? by Terence Masterson

RESOURCES

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

SCHOOLS

•  Middle School Closes Early Due to Staff Absences by Maura Keene
• Amherst School Committee Considers Proposal to Keep Sixth Grade in the Elementary Schools by Maura Keene
• Introducing Amethyst Brook Elementary School and Chestnut Street Academy by Maura Keene

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

• Opinion: The Common Share Food Co-op: Reflections on a Failure to Launch  by Alex Kent
• Opinion: Human Rights Day in Amherst, 2025 by Rizwana Khan
• Opinion: State’s Antisemitism Report is Deeply Flawed by Joseph Levine

TOWN GOVERNMENT

• Jones Funding Request Questioned by Community Preservation Act Committee by Maura Keene
• Amherst School Committee Considers Proposal to Keep Sixth Grade in the Elementary Schools by Maura Keene
• Introducing Amethyst Brook Elementary School and Chestnut Street Academy by Maura Keene
• Planning Board Seeks to Balance Needs of Students and Year-Round Residents by Maura Keene
• Town Manager Receives Excellent Annual Evaluation from Town Council by Art Keene
• Third Iteration of Town Council Ends Term with Praise for Outgoing Councilors by Maura Keene
• Opinion: Why Won’t the Town Research Options for New DPW and Fire Station? by Terence Masterson
• Opinion: Human Rights Day in Amherst, 2025 by Rizwana Khan