What’s in This Issue?
Photo: Dreamtime. Creative commons
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 ARE BACK AGAIN
Our analytics providers were down from June 12 until the evening of June 14. We have access again, apparently without any data loss during the shutdown.
As of early June, we have eliminated from our counts all visits to our site that did not result in a meaningful engagement with the content. While the total number of visits to our site continues to grow (in the last 30 days, it was over 105,000 visits), only about a third of those visits resulted in a meaningful engagement, such as opening an article or clicking on a menu. The other visits are likely bot traffic. From now on, we’ll only tally meaningful engagement.
Number of Engaged Page Views Last 30 Days: 31,026 (- 1511)
Number of Engaged Page Views Last Week: 6550 (-571)
Number of Engaged Sessions Last 30 Days: 20,263 (-854)
Number of Engaged Sessions Last Week: 4257 (-251)
Number of Engaged Users Last 30 Days: 13,267 (-251)
Number of Engaged Users Last Week: 2980 (-139)
TOP FIVE MOST-READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. Opinion: Library Trustees Silent on $9 Million Owed to Town by Maria Kopicki
2. Letter: UMass Amherst Should Be Part of the State’s PILOT Reimbursement Program by Ira Bryck
3. ACLU of Massachusetts Releases New Toolkit to Help People Challenge Flock Cameras in Their Communities (c/o The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts)
4. Under Budget Constraints, Library Building Committee Begins Furniture Shopping by Jeff Lee
5. Town to Host Information Session About Hampshire College Campus Zoning Study (c/o amherstma.gov)
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?
ARTS
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
BUDGET
- Healey Seeks $100 Million in Additional School Funding as Districts Confront Mounting Financial Strain by Saaya Daga (c/o CommonWealth Beacon)
CAMPUS
- Update About the Town’s Hampshire College Campus Zoning Study
- State’s PILOT Listening Session Highlights Shared Challenges for Amherst and Rural Towns by Ira Bryck
CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE
- Town Attorney Recommends Reorganization of Clean Energy Bylaw by Maura Keene
- Conservation Commission Recommends Expanding Areas Where Hunting Is Allowed by Maura Keene
- Photos of the Week: Views from My Garden by Annique Boomsma
DEMOCRACY
- Amherst Protests Recent ICE Killings by Art Keene
- DSA Grows in Western Mass Following National Election Upsets
- A Better World is Possible: Mayor Mamdani Annouces “Parents’ Night Out”
- Inside a Wisconsin Democratic Gathering: Politics Beneath the Speeches by Rizwana Khan
ELECTIONS
EVENTS
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
- Rally Against ICE: Thursday July 16 at Sweetser Park
FEATURES
- Dear Reader by Art Keene
- Summer Wanderings and The Lost Domain by Hetty Startup
- Despite Rent Control Defeat, Tenants Continue Organizing by divina cordeiro and Dusty Christensen (c/o The Shoestring)
- Photos of the Week: Views from My Garden by Annique Boomsma
HISTORY / HISTORICAL PRESERVATION
- Local Historic District Commission Again Denies Vinyl Replacement Siding by Maura Keene
- Summer Wanderings and The Lost Domain by Hetty Startup
HOUSING
- Update About the Town’s Hampshire College Campus Zoning Study
- Proposed Alterations to Two-Unit House on High Street Approved by ZBA by Hilda Greenbaum
- Letter: ZBA Should Deny Permits for Oversized ADU’s by Ira Bryck
- Despite Rent Control Defeat, Tenants Continue Organizing by divina cordeiro and Dusty Christensen (c/o The Shoestring)
ISSUES & ANALYSES
- State’s PILOT Listening Session Highlights Shared Challenges for Amherst and Rural Towns by Ira Bryck
- Inside a Wisconsin Democratic Gathering: Politics Beneath the Speeches by Rizwana Khan
MEDIA
- Dear Reader by Art Keene
OPINION
- Letter: ZBA Should Deny Permits for Oversized ADU’s by Ira Bryck
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
- CSSJC Continues to Seek Answers From Town Manager on Social Justice Initiatives by Art Keene
- Air Quality and Cyclosporiasis Warnings in Latest Health Department Update
- Swimming Not Recommended at Puffer’s Pond
- Amherst Ranked High Risk for Tick-Borne Disease
RECREATION
- Swimming Not Recommended at Puffer’s Pond
- Conservation Commission Recommends Expanding Areas Where Hunting Is Allowed by Maura Keene
SCHOOLS
- Amethyst Brook Elementary School Nears Completion by Maria Kopicki
- Healey Seeks $100 Million in Additional School Funding as Districts Confront Mounting Financial Strain by Saaya Daga (c/o CommonWealth Beacon)
SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE
- Amherst Protests Recent ICE Killings by Art Keene
- CSSJC Continues to Seek Answers From Town Manager on Social Justice Initiatives by Art Keene
- A Better World is Possible: Mayor Mamdani Announces “Parents’ Night Out”
- Despite Rent Control Defeat, Tenants Continue Organizing by divina cordeiro and Dusty Christensen (c/o The Shoestring)
TOWN GOVERNMENT
- CSSJC Continues to Seek Answers From Town Manager on Social Justice Initiatives by Art Keene
- Town Attorney Recommends Reorganization of Clean Energy Bylaw by Maura Keene
- Update About the Town’s Hampshire College Campus Zoning Study
- Amethyst Brook Elementary School Nears Completion by Maria Kopicki
- Conservation Commission Recommends Expanding Areas Where Hunting Is Allowed by Maura Keene
- Local Historic District Commission Again Denies Vinyl Replacement Siding by Maura Keene
- Proposed Alterations to Two-Unit House on High Street Approved by ZBA by Hilda Greenbaum
- State’s PILOT Listening Session Highlights Shared Challenges for Amherst and Rural Towns by Ira Bryck
- Letter: ZBA Should Deny Permits for Oversized ADU’s by Ira Bryck