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: 15,269 (+1,085)
Last Week: 5850 (+2422)
Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 Days: 7306 (+ 285)
Last Week: 1680 (-142)

MOST READ: TOP FIVE MOST READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. After Contentio us 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?

AROUND TOWN
Amherst Bridges Digital Divide, Implements New Soofa Signs

COVID-19
Teachers’ Union Officials & School Committee Meet After Long Impasse In Attempt to Rebuild Working Relationship by Marla Goldberg Jamate

UMass Amherst Partners With State To Establish COVID-19 Vaccination Site In Western Massachusetts For First Responders

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

DC RIOTS
Amherst Town Manager and School Superintendent Issue Joint Statement On The Violence In Washington D.C

UMass Chancellor’s Statement On The Mob Assault On The Capitol Building In Washington D.C.

Opinion: Impeach Trump Again And Bar Him From Future Office by Ben Clements, John Bonifaz, and Ron Fein

FEATURES
Culture Club: Dua Lipa’s Retro Chic by William Kaizen

Town Manager Report For 1/4/21

Photos Of The Week. Winter Ice and Winterberries by Earthwise Landscaping

HOUSING
Public Forum On Buying Belchertown Road Parcels For Affordable Housing, Followed By Regular Town Council Meeting by Maura Keene

Letter: The Town Of Amherst Is For Sale by Denise Barberet

LETTERS /OPINIONS
Letter: The Town Of Amherst Is For Sale by Denise Barberet

Letter: Designers of Future Jones Library Must Consider What A Post-COVID Library Should Look Like by Bonnie MacCracken

Letter: Jones Library Cannot Currently Meet The Needs Of Amherst Community by Elisa Campbell

Letter: Support the Jones Library Expansion by Rebecca Fricke

Letter: Jones Library – Don’t Let The Cart Pull The Horse by Anne Burton

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

Opinion: Impeach Trump Again And Bar Him From Future Office by Ben Clements, John Bonifaz, and Ron Fein

Opinion: Local and Green (#20): 2020 – Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish, Or How Did We End Up With This Trash Hauling Deal? by Darcy DuMont

Opinion: Town Council’s Contempt For Public Input Is Undisguised by Art Keene

Opinion: Town Council Has Mandate To Implement Ranked Choice Voting For November Election by Jennifer Page

Opinion: Dumb Growth Reprise by Michael Greenebaum

LIBRARIES
Council Asks Jones Trustees For More Detail On Project Costs by Toni Cunningham

Jones Library System 2020 Highlights by Terry S. Johnson

Letter: Designers of Future Jones Library Must Consider What A Post-COVID Library Should Look Like by Bonnie MacCracken

Letter: Jones Library Cannot Currently Meet The Needs Of Amherst Community by Elisa Campbell

Letter: Support the Jones Library Expansion by Rebecca Fricke

Letter: Jones Library – Don’t Let The Cart Pull The Horse by Anne Burton

POLICE
Community Safety Working Group Schedules Public Forums On Amherst Police And Public Safety Services

RECYCLING /SOLID WASTE
Opinion: Local and Green (#20): 2020 – Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish, Or How Did We End Up With This Trash Hauling Deal? by Darcy DuMon

SCHOOLS
Teachers’ Union Officials & School Committee Meet After Long Impasse In Attempt to Rebuild Working Relationship by Marla Goldberg Jamate

MSBA to Amherst: Sixth Grades Must Move If Fort River and Wildwood Are Consolidated by Toni Cunningham and Maria Kopicki

Kids: Don’t Take Our Snow Days! by Toni Cunningham

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

SOCIAL JUSTICE
Sojourner Truth School Announces Spring Classes by Renee Moss

Community Safety Working Group Schedules Public Forums On Amherst Police And Public Safety Services

TOWN GOVERNMENT
MSBA to Amherst: Sixth Grades Must Move If Fort River and Wildwood Are Consolidated by Toni Cunningham and Maria Kopicki

Planning Board Raises Concerns About Implementing 40R Zoning Downtown by Maura Keene

Community Safety Working Group Schedules Public Forums On Amherst Police And Public Safety Services

Council Asks Jones Trustees For More Detail On Project Costs by Toni Cunningham

Zoning Board Of Appeals Debates Garage Conversion On Strong Street by Hilda Greenbaum

Public Forum On Buying Belchertown Road Parcels For Affordable Housing, Followed By Regular Town Council Meeting by Maura Keene

Council Approves New Priorities for Zoning In Amherst by Maura Keene

Council Re-elects Griesemer As President, Elects Evan Ross As VP by Maura Keene

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

Opinion: Town Council Has Mandate To Implement Ranked Choice Voting For November Election by Jennifer Page

Town Manager Report For 1/4/21

UMASS
UMass Professor’s Novel To Be Made Into Movie

UMass Amherst Partners With State To Establish COVID-19 Vaccination Site In Western Massachusetts For First Responders

ZONING
Planning Board Raises Concerns About Implementing 40R Zoning Downtown by Maura Keene

Zoning Board Of Appeals Debates Garage Conversion On Strong Street by Hilda Greenbaum

Council Approves New Priorities for Zoning In Amherst by Maura Keene

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

Opinion: Dumb Growth Reprise by Michael Greenebaum