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: 21,735 (-1981)
Last Week: 4764 (+44)
Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 Days: 9540 (-482)
Last Week: 2117 (-4)

TOP FIVE MOST-READ STORIES LAST WEEK
1. Space Crunch Expected at Elementary Schools. Pressure Builds To Move Sixth-Graders In 2022 by Toni Cunningham
2. Override Vote For School Project Targeted For November 2022 by Toni Cunningham
3. Town Manager And Community Safety Working Group At Odds Over Next Steps by Art Keene
4. A Primer On Juneteenth by Demetria and Amilcar Shabazz
5. CRC Recommends Adoption Of Revised Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw by Art Keene

WHAT”S IN THIS ISSUE?

NEW / BREAKING
National Pollinator Week Day 3: Pollinator Gardens, Pollinator Lawns, and Sidewalk Strips by John Root

Special Needs Families May Have Choice On Sibling Enrollment Starting In Fall 2022 by Toni Cunningham

National Pollinator Week Day 2 :Think Big! Plant Trees, Shrubs, Vines, And Canes For Pollinators. by John Root

National Pollinator Week is June 21 – June 27. Let’s Make Our Community A Pollinator Haven! by John Root

Public Comment: This Is What Anti-Racism Looks Like. Fully Fund CSWG Recommendations. Ellisha Walker and. Brianna Owen

Public Comment: Amherst Sunrise Calls For Rejection Of Proposed Town Budget Marisol Pierce Bonifaz

Public Comment: Amherst’s Embrace Of Reparations Will Inspire Other Communities To Do The Same by Michele Miller

Letter: Racism Is A Public Health Problem. Support The Ongoing Work Of The CSWG To Promote Racial Equity In Our Town by Nancy Gilbert

COVID-19 Weekly Update by Art and Maura Keene

Juvenescence: Graduation Reflections by Annalise Peterson

ARTS
Windows Into Art: A Celebration Of The Arts In Amherst’s Downtown Center

Culture Club: Mural Festival Honors Street Art Pioneers by William Kaizen

Photo Of The Week: Loon On Lake Wyola by Susan Panlilio

CAMPUS
UMass Offers Online Class On Organic Vegetable Production

UMass Students Publish New “Massachusetts Catalog of Commoning,” Profiling BerkShares, Mass Mesh, Kestrel Land Trust, and More

Mark The Summer Solstice At The UMass Sunwheel

COVID-19
COVID-19 Weekly Update by Art and Maura Keene

Board of Health Seeks Public Input About Town’s Pandemic Response

DEMOCRACY
Many Municipal Zoom Meetings To Resume Next Week. Remote Meeting Provisions Extended To April 2022 by Art Keene

Lawsuit Over Wrongful Signature Disqualifications Expands To Include Federal Claim Of Civil Rights Violations by Art Keene

UMass Project Will Explore Whether Digital Technologies Increase Public Participation In Amherst’s Municipal Government and Civic Life

DOWNTOWN
Will Proposed New Zoning Promote More Retail Downtown? Planning Board Debates Mixed-Use Zoning Amendment by Maura Keene

Windows Into Art: A Celebration Of The Arts In Amherst’s Downtown Center

ENVIRONMENT / NATURE
National Pollinator Week Day 3: Pollinator Gardens, Pollinator Lawns, and Sidewalk Strips by John Root

National Pollinator Week Day 2 :Think Big! Plant Trees, Shrubs, Vines, And Canes For Pollinators. by John Root

National Pollinator Week is June 21 – June 27. Let’s Make Our Community A Pollinator Haven! by John Root

Opinion: Love, Justice, And Climate Change. News Items – Troubling and Encouraging by Russ Vernon-Jones

Almanac: Fun With Water Chestnuts by Stephen Braun

Photo Of The Week: Loon On Lake Wyola by Susan Panlilio

EVENTS
National Pollinator Week is June 21 – June 27. Let’s Make Our Community A Pollinator Haven! by John Root

Board of Health Seeks Public Input About Town’s Pandemic Response

Mark The Summer Solstice At The UMass Sunwheel

Windows Into Art: A Celebration Of The Arts In Amherst’s Downtown Center

FEATURES
National Pollinator Week Day 3: Pollinator Gardens, Pollinator Lawns, and Sidewalk Strips by John Root

National Pollinator Week Day 2 :Think Big! Plant Trees, Shrubs, Vines, And Canes For Pollinators. by John Root

Juvenescence: Graduation Reflections by Annalise Peterson

A Few Questions For Fire Fighter Nick Chirekos by Kitty Axelson-Berry

Almanac: Fun With Water Chestnuts by Stephen Braun

Culture Club: Mural Festival Honors Street Art Pioneers by William Kaizen

States Are Passing Laws Banning The Teaching Of Critical Race Theory. What Is It And Why Is It Important? A Guide To Resources by Amilcar Shabazz

Photo Of The Week: Loon On Lake Wyola by Susan Panlilio

HISTORY / HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Historic Commissions Form Ad Hoc Committee To Preserve Historic Houses On West Side of North Pleasant Street by Hilda Greenbaum

Letter: Historic Structures Report Needed Before Jones Library Expansion Project Can Move Forward by Terry S. Johnson, Sarah McKee, Carol Pope, and Christina Platt

HOUSING
Letter: Town Planners Should Try Harder To Preserve The Affordable Housing That We Have by Ken Rosenthal

ISSUES & ANALYSES
Zoning Primer: A Guide to Amherst’s 24 Zoning, Overlay, And “Other” Districts by Kitty Axelson-Berry

LIBRARIES
Letter: Historic Structures Report Needed Before Jones Library Expansion Project Can Move Forward by Terry S. Johnson, Sarah McKee, Carol Pope, and Christina Platt

OPINION
Public Comment: Amherst Sunrise Calls For Rejection Of Proposed Town Budget Marisol Pierce Bonifaz

Public Comment: This Is What Anti-Racism Looks Like. Fully Fund CSWG Recommendations. Ellisha Walker and. Brianna Owen

Public Comment: Amherst’s Embrace Of Reparations Will Inspire Other Communities To Do The Same. by Michele Miller

Letter: Racism Is A Public Health Problem. Support The Ongoing Work Of The CSWG To Promote Racial Equity In Our Town by Nancy GIlbert

Letter: Denied Extension To Complete Their Work, CSWG Continues To Examine Amherst Police Department Policies and Procedures by Brianna Owen

Letter: Historic Structures Report Needed Before Jones Library Expansion Project Can Move Forward by Terry S. Johnson, Sarah McKee, Carol Pope, and Christina Platt

Letter: DONA Committee To Monitor Eruptor Project in North Amherst. by The Dona Eruptor Neighborhood Committee

Letter: Town Planners Should Try Harder To Preserve The Affordable Housing That We Have by Ken Rosenthal

Opinion: The Struggle for Immigration Justice is Far from Over Shel Horowitz

Opinion: Let’s Learn From Our History And Avoid The Same Mistakes. DPW Facility Project Needs Diverse Perspectives At The Planning Table From The Beginning by Maria Kopicki

Opinion: Love, Justice, And Climate Change. News Items – Troubling and Encouraging by Russ Vernon-Jones

POLICE & FIRE
Town Manager And Community Safety Working Group At Odds Over Next Steps by Art Keene

Weighing Winston: APD Comfort Dog Brings Joy, Increases Police Presence At School by Olivia Cox

Letter: Denied Extension To Complete Their Work, CSWG Continues To Examine Amherst Police Department Policies and Procedures by Brianna Owen

A Few Questions For Fire Fighter Nick Chirekos by Kitty Axelson-Berry

PUBLIC HEALTH
COVID-19 Weekly Update by Art and Maura Keene

High Bacteria Levels At North Beach Puffers Pond And Wentworth Farm (Stanley Street)

Board of Health Seeks Public Input About Town’s Pandemic Response

RECREATION
High Bacteria Levels At North Beach Puffers Pond And Wentworth Farm (Stanley Street)

SCHOOLS
Special Needs Families May Have Choice On Sibling Enrollment Starting In Fall 2022 by Toni Cunningham

Juvenescence: Graduation Reflections by Annalise Peterson

Weighing Winston: APD Comfort Dog Brings Joy, Increases Police Presence At School by Olivia Cox

Decision On Site For New Elementary School Expected To Be “Sticky Wicket” by Toni Cunningham

SOCIAL JUSTICE
Public Comment: Amherst Sunrise Calls For Rejection Of Proposed Town Budget Marisol Pierce Bonifaz

Public Comment: This Is What Anti-Racism Looks Like. Fully Fund CSWG Recommendations. Ellisha Walker and. Brianna Owen

Public Comment: Amherst’s Embrace Of Reparations Will Inspire Other Communities To Do The Same by Michele Miller

Letter: Racism Is A Public Health Problem. Support The Ongoing Work Of The CSWG To Promote Racial Equity In Our Town by Nancy Gilbert

Town Manager And Community Safety Working Group At Odds Over Next Steps by Art Keene

Lawsuit Over Wrongful Signature Disqualifications Expands To Include Federal Claim Of Civil Rights Violations by Art Keene

UMass Students Publish New “Massachusetts Catalog of Commoning,” Profiling BerkShares, Mass Mesh, Kestrel Land Trust, and More

Opinion: The Struggle for Immigration Justice is Far from Over Shel Horowitz

States Are Passing Laws Banning The Teaching Of Critical Race Theory. What Is It And Why Is It Important? A Guide To Resources by Amilcar Shabazz

TOWN GOVERNMENT
Many Municipal Zoom Meetings To Resume Next Week. Remote Meeting Provisions Extended To April 2022 by Art Keene

Will Proposed New Zoning Promote More Retail Downtown? Planning Board Debates Mixed-Use Zoning Amendment by Maura Keene

TSO Approves Town Manager’s Nominations For Committee Appointments by Art Keene

Historic Commissions Form Ad Hoc Committee To Preserve Historic Houses On West Side of North Pleasant Street by Hilda Greenbaum

Lawsuit Over Wrongful Signature Disqualifications Expands To Include Federal Claim Of Civil Rights Violations by Art Keene

Interviews To Fill Openings On ZBA Scheduled For Wednesday by Art Keene

UMass Project Will Explore Whether Digital Technologies Increase Public Participation In Amherst’s Municipal Government and Civic Life

Zoning Primer: A Guide to Amherst’s 24 Zoning, Overlay, And “Other” Districts by Kitty Axelson-Berry

Letter: Denied Extension To Complete Their Work, CSWG Continues To Examine Amherst Police Department Policies and Procedures by Brianna Owen

Letter: Town Planners Should Try Harder To Preserve The Affordable Housing That We Have by Ken Rosenthal

Opinion: Let’s Learn From Our History And Avoid The Same Mistakes. DPW Facility Project Needs Diverse Perspectives At The Planning Table From The Beginning by Maria Kopicki

Decision On Site For New Elementary School Expected To Be “Sticky Wicket” by Toni Cunningham