Athol Daily News Logo

Search Results

All these search terms are true at the same time:

By Line search: By SCOTT MERZBACH


‘We’ve lost a good one’: Donald R. Dwight remembered as passionate advocate for local journalism
05-07-2025 4:02 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HOLYOKE — With family roots in the newspaper industry and many years serving as chairman of Newspapers of New England, Holyoke native Donald R. Dwight, who died at the age of 94 on Sunday, is being recalled for a life lived by the same principles that guided his commitment to locally owned, independent journalism.

Displaying articles 1 to 20 out of 63 total.
|<
1
2
3
4
>|

Leaders at Five Colleges push back on cuts, threats
04-30-2025 4:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — A restructuring of the progressive New College of Florida by that state’s Republican leadership in 2023 prompted Hampshire College to offer students there a respite and opportunity to continue their studies in Amherst.


Status restored for 13 UMass international students
04-29-2025 11:56 AM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Federal officials are restoring the previously terminated student immigration statuses for 13 international students at the University of Massachusetts, according to information posted on the university’s federal actions page Monday.


UMass must turn over records about marmoset experiments to PETA as part of lawsuit settlement
04-25-2025 5:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — People for Ethical Treatment of Animals will receive all videos, photos and other documentation associated with experiments involving marmoset monkeys in a University of Massachusetts laboratory, according to a settlement agreement announced Tuesday.


U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern announces death of daughter, Molly McGovern, who battled cancer
04-24-2025 1:08 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Molly McGovern, the daughter of U.S. Rep. James McGovern and Lisa McGovern and sister to Patrick McGovern, died unexpectedly in Italy while visiting a good friend and his family, according to a statement the congressman’s family issued Thursday morning.


Local officials advocate for more state highway money
04-17-2025 2:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

For a town like Hatfield, annual road maintenance has become increasingly challenging over the past 12 years, as state Chapter 90 money declines even as the price of hot mix asphalt rises substantially.


State senators organize Trump defense: Comerford a leader on Response 2025 initiative
04-14-2025 3:03 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Farms across western Massachusetts losing important grants, such as those that support produce getting from fields to schools and those that help protect the environment. The University of Massachusetts having National Institutes of Health grants stripped, as colleges and universities see their academic freedom impeded.


Feds revoking visas, terminating student statuses of four more UMass students, bringing total to 10
04-10-2025 2:01 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Federal authorities are revoking the visas and terminating the student statuses of four more international students at the University of Massachusetts, increasing to 10 the number of pupils at risk of not being able to continue their studies on the Amherst campus.


‘Whole campus’ approach: UMass working to help six students whose visas, status were revoked
04-08-2025 12:28 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts officials are offering a series of rapid responses to help six international students continue their studies on the Amherst campus, even as their visas are revoked and their student statuses are terminated by the Trump administration.


MTA president offers ways for legislators to address ‘unprecedented dangers’ to K-12 education in state
04-02-2025 11:47 AM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Potential layoffs of educators at K-12 schools across the state next fiscal year, which Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page said could be catastrophic, is prompting his organization to ask the Legislature to take a three-pronged approach to addressing the problem — use Fair Share Amendment surpluses, find ways to increase corporate tax revenues and dip into the state’s reserves.


UMass Chancellor Reyes outlines changes amid financial uncertainty under Trump administration
03-31-2025 3:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — More stringent oversight of spending on salaries, capital projects and various non-personnel expenditures at the University of Massachusetts, and both reducing graduate admissions in some departments and notifying some prospective graduate students that they will not be able to study in Amherst, are underway, according to a letter sent to the campus from UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes.


Legislators: State’s school funding formula has ‘left us out’
03-27-2025 1:49 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Five years after its approval, legislation aimed at improving K-12 education statewide known as the Student Opportunity Act is not infusing school districts in western Massachusetts with much-needed additional funding as promised.


Leader of Food Bank of Western Massachusetts worried about SNAP reductions
03-23-2025 3:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Though Massachusetts is not one of at least six states that will lose out on $500 million in food deliveries promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the leader of the region’s largest food bank remains concerned about future cuts.


Feds target UMass over charges of antisemitism on campus
03-18-2025 2:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Alleging there has been antisemitic discrimination and harassment at 60 colleges and universities across the country, including at the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is warning of potential enforcement actions, according to a letter sent on Monday.


Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Amherst for 45 years ID’d for closure
03-10-2025 9:33 AM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The Natural Resources Conservation Service office for Massachusetts, located at 451 West St. since 1980, could close as part of 748 lease terminations posted online this week by the Trump administration.


UMass Amherst Chancellor Reyes was finalist to lead West Virginia
02-27-2025 10:44 AM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Less than two years since taking the helm as chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Javier Reyes interviewed as a finalist to become the next president of West Virginia University.


Sen. Velis-led panel on antisemitism tangles with teachers union reps over pro-Palestinian resources
02-16-2025 3:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Over the course of two hours Monday, legislators sitting on the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism presented numerous pro-Palestinian exhibits — resources that educators might use in their classroom — drawn from a members-only section of the Massachusetts Teachers Association website.


Western Mass legislators pan study of ways towns could tap Quabbin water
02-10-2025 10:25 AM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

A preliminary report showing how the 12 communities in the Quabbin Reservoir watershed might be able to get potable water from the resource falls short of a comprehensive study being sought by legislators representing the Quabbin region.


UMass launches federal actions webpage to inform community of Trump administration actions
02-03-2025 1:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A briefly considered White House federal funding freeze order and other possible changes in how federal money is disbursed, including for grants related to diversity, equity and inclusion projects, is prompting University of Massachusetts leaders to keep researchers regularly updated about possible funding shortfalls and disruptions to their ongoing work.


UMass planning major public-private campus housing overhaul
01-28-2025 2:00 PM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes is seeking a new public-private partnership that could bring to the University of Massachusetts campus affordable, mixed-use housing for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as possible options for non-students — an initiative that could reduce the pressure on the area’s housing stock.


Outside report calls UMass protest breakup reasonable but raises questions
01-22-2025 11:50 AM

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts officials acted reasonably and prudently in breaking up pro-Gaza encampments on campus last spring, but different enforcement tactics might have cut down on the number of arrests, as well as reduced the fraying of trust between students, faculty and staff and the UMass administration, according to an independent review released last week.

Displaying articles 1 to 20 out of 63 total.
|<
1
2
3
4
>|

By using this site, you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience, measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users

Copyright © 2023 to 2025_ by Newspapers of Massachusetts, Inc. All rights reserved.