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