Jonathan Mark Haber: Fund needed for police presence when free speech involved

Finally, I am responding publicly on the cancellation of an event I sponsored (with Flyby News) in the Community Room at the Greenfield Public Library on Oct. 9. It is the library’s policy to demand that I would pay for police presence if warranted....

My Turn: Just say no to polio and RFK Jr.

By ROXANN WEDEGARTNER

It’s the summer of 1950. I live in Laredo, Texas with my mother, father, and 14-year-old brother, Jerry. I’m 4 years old. One day, seemingly out of the blue, my parents sat me down and told me that my brother was hospitalized and was not returning...

Pushback: Elders want to age in place, not in ADUs

By AL NORMAN

Whatever you think an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is, it’s been damaged by state government.When ADUs were first introduced into Greenfield zoning, one of its main purposes was: “Provide older homeowners with a means of obtaining rental income,...

My Turn: Sharing the joy in Syria’s liberation

By SARA WEINBERGER

 Saturday night, Dec. 6 … just as I crawled under the covers, I heard the buzz announcing a message. Reaching for the phone, I read what I never expected to receive: “The Syrian Emergency Task Force is proud to announce that the Syrian people have...

Annette Pfannebecker: Season of giving

The spirit of Christmas came early this year. It arrived in a car and a tall man with white hair and a white beard knocking at my door. Hello, he said, my name is Peter Thomas. Years ago your children wrote letters to Santa and I am here to give you...

My Turn: Might makes wrong in Palestine

By CARL DOERNER

 Here we are, watching the snow pile up, while millionaires and billionaires who have always determined the fate of our country and the sum of their wealth dine with that convicted criminal who managed to fool enough people to obtain more winters...

My Turn: Forward is the right way for Kittredge Estate

By JOSHUA WALLACK

The Kittredge estate holds a unique place in Leverett’s history — a nearly 80-acre property whose next chapter deeply respects the character, values and “vibe of Leverett” and its neighbor Amherst. As someone who has spent decades creating projects...

Laurie Evans: Restore public access to the Gordon King Christmas tree farm in Leverett

The town of Leverett is home to a unique resource. This is a former Christmas tree farm now known as the Blueberry Patch kindly donated by Gordon S. King for community use. Recently its accessibility has been unjustly obstructed by no trespassing...

Cindy Snow: Syrian refugees still need support

As part of the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee, a group working to bring Syrian refugees (the Rimeh family) to our region, I want to thank the Recorder for your article and interview with our committee’s coordinator, Jackie Walsh. Given the recent...

My Turn: Cruelty is not a Christian value

By DANIEL A. BROWN

As Nativity scenes pop up in the center of most American towns this Christmas, it should be remembered that the family of the recipient of such adoration were refugees fleeing certain death. According to the New Testament myth (since discredited by...

My Turn: RFK, Jr. could bring change to America’s health woes

By OLIN ROSE-BARDAWIL

If you look at American public health data from the past few decades, one thing will be very clear: Americans are sicker now than perhaps at any time in our history.An estimated 129 million people in the U.S. have at least 1 major chronic disease,...

Barry Hirsch: RFK Jr.’s one good idea

Of all of Donald Trump’s policy proposals, the one I find most baffling is his endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to overhaul our food industry. The idea that highly processed, high-calorie fast foods are the major cause of the obesity...

Connecting the Dots: It comes to us all

By JOHN BOS

Dear Readers and Friends,This is my last “Connecting the Dots” column. My time has come. It’s kind of a life review time. I am surrounded and supported by my family and an old friend of 60-plus years. Also, I feel support from members of my writing...

Michelle Spaziani: High municipal employee turnover merits immediate review

The city of Greenfield has hired its third finance director this year. Consistent with my Oct. 22, 2024, letter to the dditor, the high turnover in the first year of Mayor Virginia Desorgher’s administration, especially the continued turnover in the...

Ira Helfand: A bomb survivors warn of nuclear danger

On Tuesday, Nihon Hidankyo, an association of survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, became the fourth organization to win the Nobel Peace Prize for work advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons.In accepting the award, Terumi Tanaka...

My Turn: Massachusetts’ health system is failing

By AVA LARKIN

Imagine walking into an emergency room in the middle of a mental health crisis, only to be told you’ll have to wait —possibly for days or even weeks — before receiving the care you need. This is happening every day in Massachusetts. The mental health...

As I See It: How Trump’s bloodless revolution was gifted by liberal Democrats

By JON HUER

In 1814, Napoleon escaped from the island of Alba where he had been exiled after the disastrous Russian campaign. The newspapers in Paris reported: “Devil escapes from Alba.” Upon the news of his escape, many former French soldiers joined him in his...

My Turn: America dodged a bullet

By SHERRY COWDREY

Now that Vice President Kamala Harris will never be President Harris, she should do America a favor and become a recluse so we won’t have to hear that cackle ever again.Honestly, this woman has been bizarre from the get-go. She’s never made any sense...

Virginia and Howard Hastings: Every saved kilowatt counts

Northfield isn’t called Northfield for nothing. Northfield was named for its fertile ancestral fields that have been cultivated for centuries.Farms, food and forests are in critical danger in western Massachusetts. Our beautiful flat fields are a...

William M . Coli: Reality check

The recent election by plurality, not majority, of Donald Trump to a second term is indeed a reality, albeit a sad one. It boggles the mind that people such a recent letter writer could feel that the Biden-Harris administration “has plunged our nation...