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By MADDIE FABIAN

Local child therapist Alice Barber says that she could discharge all 45 of her clients — children as young as 2 or 3 years old — and her practice would fill back up within a couple of weeks, “no questions asked.” Barber has colleagues who get 10 calls...

By MADDIE FABIAN

The hearts of Jewish and Palestinian Americans in western Massachusetts are aching.Over the last nearly four months, hundreds of community members have united at protests in the form of rallies, sit-ins, and letter signings for a permanent cease-fire,...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Less than a month after it began enforcing a longstanding policy restricting the use of anesthesia during colonoscopies and other procedures, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is pausing that action after physicians statewide lobbied the insurer...

By MADDIE FABIAN

As the state considers the governor’s proposed $4.13 billion Affordable Homes Act — a comprehensive roadmap for affordable housing across the Commonwealth — a group of 16 western Massachusetts legislators are advocating for amendments to meet housing...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final article from the Western Mass. Solar Forum series. The first three forums took place in September, and another series of forums is in the works for this spring.AMHERST — Most experts agree solar energy is...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Ask almost any conservationist about an Endangered Species Act (ESA) success story and they will tell you about the bald eagle.“Growing up, I would have never seen a bald eagle in western Massachusetts,” said Jeff Collins, senior director of...

By MADDIE FABIAN

For farms across western Massachusetts, the effects of climate change were tangible during the 2023 growing season.At Red Fire Farm in Granby, co-owner Sarah Voiland said that after the May frost event, the farm’s full harvest on multiple acres of...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Editor’s note: This is the third of four articles from the Western Massachusetts Solar Forum series taking place in September.AMHERST — At Joe Czajkowski Farm in Hadley, not only does the broccoli field produce fresh vegetables, but rows of solar...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Editor’s note: This is the second of four articles from the Western Massachusetts Solar Forum series taking place in September.AMHERST — At the site of the old Mount Tom Station coal-fired power plant stand around 17,000 solar panels generating enough...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of four articles from the Western Massachusetts Solar Forum series taking place in September.AMHERST — Massachusetts has 15 to 18 times the amount of solar potential it needs to support decarbonization...

By MADDIE FABIAN

In making a pitch for a new comprehensive health program for the country nearly 78 years ago, President Harry S. Truman said this to Congress: “With the help of Federal funds, it should be possible to meet deficiencies in hospital and health...

By MADDIE FABIAN

EASTHAMPTON – Flora Majumder, age 88, enjoys taking a 20-minute walk every day. Where she lives — at Lathrop Retirement Community in Easthampton — paths, trails and exercise classes that accommodate the use of a cane or walker are plentiful.But, due...

By MADDIE FABIAN

NORTHAMPTON — Registered pharmacists in Massachusetts can now prescribe hormonal birth control under a bill passed in the state budget this week.The legislation, “An Act Relative to Hormonal Contraceptives,” which is co-sponsored by state Rep. Lindsay...

By MADDIE FABIAN

AMHERST — Medication used to halt the growth of cancer cells might one day become an effective treatment for Lyme disease, according to a new study led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst team at the New England Regional Center of Vector-Borne...

By MADDIE FABIAN

NORTHAMPTON — On a cloudy and humid Thursday morning, John Briggs was doing the same thing he has done since 2014: placing mosquito traps and collecting them for testing in the lab.But this time, recent prolonged heavy rains and heat meant that he was...

By MADDIE FABIAN

In July 2021, heavy rainfall caused a beaver dam to burst, leading to the collapse of a 20-foot-long portion of East Street in Belchertown and causing property damage to nearly half a dozen homes.While the beavers faced the brunt of the blame,...

By MADDIE FABIAN

By the end of this decade, if not sooner, bicyclists will be able to hop on the rail trail at the J. Elwell Conservation Area in Northampton, cross the Connecticut River, and travel across the state 104 miles on the same path all the way to Boston.As...

By MADDIE FABIAN

BOSTON — A new interactive Priority Trails Network vision map created by the Massachusetts Trails Team (MassTrails), an interagency government collaboration, provides a centralized account of key shared-use rail trail projects across the state,...