Pushback: Does Greenfield really want to adopt ‘urban’ zoning rules?

By AL NORMAN

Before I moved to Franklin County, I lived in a two-floor apartment in Cambridge with six other people. Today, Cambridge has 60,000 housing units. According to Jason Furman, a Harvard economics professor, officials in Cambridge are working on a...

Mary Kay Mattiace: Shout-out to Garden Cinemas

A huge shout-out to Garden Cinemas, namely Isaac Mass (apologies to his wife, unaware of her involvement), for all they have brought to the historic venue as well as what is being brought to us day to day, week to week, month to month. Outstanding!The...

Julia Duncan: Looking forward to Trump at the helm

In her Nov. 23 column “No hibernation allowed,” Judy Wagner claims that the presidential election was “oh so close.” Oh, but it wasn’t. Donald Trump won in an Electoral College landslide. He swept all seven swing states and even won the popular vote,...

Clayton Sibley: Unwilling and entitled public employees

So this past week, on Nov. 27, the recycling truck refused to pick up my cardboard boxes. I caught them while they were going down the other side of the street and asked why. I was told that because I stacked my cardboard boxes inside of another...

Jackie Humphreys: Thank you Sheffield Elementary or taking good care of grandson

We have all seen images of the impact of Hurricane Helene. Our daughter, Jenna, and 9-year-old grandson, Jack, live in Asheville, North Carolina. They were spared flooding but lost power and water. Jenna decided to come to Montague, arriving tired, in...

My Turn: Groundless criticism, vitriol leaves bad taste

By DAVID SWIDERSKI

 It was distressing to read the Nov. 5 letter from Ethan Robertson in the Recorder, concerning recent actions taken by the Ashfield Board of Health [”Government overreach by Ashfield Board of Health”].In his letter, the writer takes exception to...

My Turn: At junction of left brainers, right brainers, and no-brainers

By ROB PECK

Our society, and our community, are at a crossroads. Do we decry our country’s deep divisions and bemoan our personal differences? Do we seek common ground, pool our resources and play to people’s strengths? (Details at 11!) Culture wars separate and...

Dr. John Sheldon: Access to care matters

Regarding the article “Bill takes aim at pancreatic cancer” [Gazette, Nov. 23], I fully support Bill H.2182 (S.1330), which seeks, among other things, to ensure that individuals at increased risk for pancreatic cancer, due to family history or genetic...

Ed Gregory: Fix the assessment plan

According to a Nov. 22 article, the Board of Assessors report they have discovered 91 businesses(?) in Precinct 5 in Greenfield that had not been billed — for who knows how long — for personal property taxes, according to the language of their finding...

My Turn: Honoring those who gave their all to free brethren

By DAVID PARRELLA

 By April 1865 the city of Charleston, South Carolina was in ruins. While the Confederates still clung to Fort Sumpter, eight months of bombardment by Union guns had turned the city into a shadow of its former glory.Much of the white population of the...

Genevieve Harris-Fraser: Tragedy of Palestine still being written

The politicalized purpose of Zionism was to plant the Western flag in the oil/gas-rich Arab tent as the world moved from steam-based power to petrochemicals. The tool to achieve this was Great Britain, which “won” Palestine as plunder following World...

David Bartlett: Seeking truth about Project 2025

OK, sooo … I’ve been seeing a fair amount lately about Project 2025. I’ve seen warnings in the paper and I’ve seen warnings via yard signs throughout the county.Now, my understanding is that this whole idea has been going on since around 1980 as a...

Pay Hynes: No good reason for ‘shocking’ food insecurity

When I glanced at the Nov. 23 cover story in the Recorder headlined “Hunger skyrockets in region,” I expected it to be news about Gaza, where there is growing starvation and famine caused by the state of Israel’s blockade of aid, including food, into...

Donald Trump and the return of amateurism

We are confused. We cannot decide whether this Trump’s new government is an evolutionary continuation of American politics (alternating between Republicans and Dems) or a revolutionary break from the past (as some call it, Trump’s “hostile...

The World Keeps Turning: Rejoining the ‘loyal opposition’

By ALLEN WOODS

In the weeks since the gut punch of Donald Trump’s reelection, The Boston Globe reports that some fervent supporters of Kamala Harris have fully retreated from the political arena — an area which now feels like the Roman Colosseum where slaves and...

Nina Kleinberg: Giving thanks

On this Thanksgiving weekend, I would like to say “thank you” to all the people who make my life not just easy but possible. I don’t know them. I rarely see them. They are the people who:Make sure there is water when I turn on the faucet.Make sure...

My Turn: Long overdue U.S. apology for Indian boarding schools a first step

By CARRIE N. BAKER

On Friday, Oct. 25, at Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, President Joseph Biden delivered a formal apology on behalf of the United States to an assembly of Native American leaders for the genocidal impact of 150 years of U.S. Indian boarding...

Annette Pfannebecker: Help keep HIP benefits stable

Gov. Maura Healey and the Legislature need to hear from us to advocate to restore funding for the the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP).HIP is a state-funded program that provides SNAP recipients (also known as food stamps) extra funds monthly for...

Maria McGovern: Ship it early for the holidays

As the postmaster for 01340, I want to assure you that the U.S. Postal Service is primed and ready to deliver exceptional service during the 2024 holiday rush. Thanks to the substantial progress USPS has made under the Delivering for America plan — a...