What’s In This Issue?

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ANALYTICS 
(numbers in parentheses reflect the + or – change since last week)
Number of Unique Page Views:
Last 30 days: 14,184 (+2,141)
Last Week: 3428 (-252)
Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 Days: 7021 (-+1,111)
Last Week: 1822 (+145)

MOST READ: TOP FIVE MOST READ ARTICLES IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER (updated stats through December 31)
1. Parent Group Urges Teachers To Push Union Back To The Negotiating Table –by Toni Cunningham
2. Opinion: Expanding The Jones Library Comes At Too High A Cost – Toni Cunningham
3. 85 Percent of Hampshire County Towns Have Had In-Person Learning—When Will We? – Allecia Reid
4. After Contentious Debate, Council Postpones Vote On New Zoning Priorities To January 4 – by Maura Keene
5. Covid-19 Surge At UMass Slows, But Amherst Public Schools Still Closed Amid Region’s Growing Caseload by Marla Goldberg Jamate

MOST READ: TOP FIVE MOST READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. After Contentious Debate, Council Postpones Vote On New Zoning Priorities To January 4 – by Maura Keene
2. COVID-19 Daily Update – by Art and Maura Keene
3. Letter: An Open Letter To Amherst Town Government. Your Proposed Zoning Changes Require Input From The Community – by Ira Bryck
4. Holiday Celebrations Find New Home At North Amherst’s Mill District – by Hilda Greenbaum
5. Editors Brooke Hauser and Mike Moran To Leave Daily Hampshire Gazette – by Jennifer Page

WHAT”S IN THIS ISSUE?

COVID-19
As Amherst’s Public Schools Stay Remote, Increase In “Distance Learning Center” Capacity Is Planned by Marla Goldberg Jamate

COVID-19 Daily Update by Art and Maura Keene

December Archive: COVID-19 Daily Update by Art and Maura Keene

FEATURES
Indy Editor’s Picks: Recommended Good Reads From 2020 by Art Keene

Photo Of The Week. Farewell To 2020 By Jennifer Kramer

LETTERS / OPINION
Letter: Master Plan Mandates Preserving and Protecting The Character of Amherst’s Neighborhoods by Ira Bryck

Letter: Town Council Must Study Impacts Of Proposed Zoning Changes And Close Loopholes Before Voting On New Priorities by Janet Keller

Letter: Proposed Changes To Zoning Priorities Require Community Impact Review by Pamela Rooney

Letter: Zero Waste Amherst Is Exploring Hauler Reform As A Path Towards a Greener Amherst by Christina Platt, Chad Fuller, Laura Rojo MacLeod, and Darcy Dumont

Letter: Opposed To Vote On New Zoning Amendments by Suzannah Muspratt

Proposed Zoning Priorities Ignore Town’s Master Plan by Jayne Pearl

Letter: Amherst Residents Must Speak Out Against Rushed Vote On New Zoning Priorities by Hilda Greenbaum

Letter: Jones Library Renovation And Expansion Is An Important First Step In Meeting Amherst’s Climate Action Goals by Alex Lefebvre and Lee Jennings.

Letter: Amherst Deserves A Larger, Updated Jones Library by Michael Robbins

Letter: Jones Library Project Is Too Extravagant by Rosemary Kofler

LIBRARY
Letter: Jones Library Renovation And Expansion Is An Important First Step In Meeting Amherst’s Climate Action Goals by Alex Lefebvre and Lee Jennings.

Letter: Amherst Deserves A Larger, Updated Jones Library by Michael Robbins

Letter: Jones Library Project Is Too Extravagant by Rosemary Kofler

Opinion: 2030 – The View From Amherst by Meg Gage

Opinion: December Retrospective 2020 by Russ Vernon-Jones

MEDIA
Editors Brooke Hauser and Mike Moran To Leave Daily Hampshire Gazette by Jennifer Page

SCHOOLS
As Amherst’s Public Schools Stay Remote, Increase In “Distance Learning Center” Capacity Is Planned by Marla Goldberg Jamate

SOLID WASTE /RECYCLING
Letter: Zero Waste Amherst Is Exploring Hauler Reform As A Path Towards a Greener Amherst by Christina Platt, Chad Fuller, Laura Rojo MacLeod, and Darcy Dumont

TOWN GOVERNMENT
Public Forum Regarding CPA Appropriation For Community Housing Is Set for Monday, January 4

Letter: Zero Waste Amherst Is Exploring Hauler Reform As A Path Towards a Greener Amherst by Christina Platt, Chad Fuller, Laura Rojo MacLeod, and Darcy Dumont

ZONING
Letter: Master Plan Mandates Preserving and Protecting The Character of Amherst’s Neighborhoods by Ira Bryck

Letter: Town Council Must Study Impacts Of Proposed Zoning Changes And Close Loopholes Before Voting On New Priorities by Janet Keller

Letter: Proposed Changes To Zoning Priorities Require Community Impact Review by Pamela Rooney

Letter: Opposed To Vote On New Zoning Amendments by Suzannah Muspratt

Proposed Zoning Priorities Ignore Town’s Master Plan by Jayne Pearl

Letter: Amherst Residents Must Speak Out Against Rushed Vote On New Zoning Priorities by Hilda Greenbaum