From Other Sources: News For And About Amherst (#37). This Week’s Focus: Local News Roundup

This feature offers links to selected articles that might be of interest to Amherst readers. I favor in these postings, with a few exceptions, material that is not hiding behind a paywall. Hence, I have reduced my postings from sources like the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, which are doing some great reporting but which make their articles inaccessible without some sort of payment. But on occasion, an article seems too important to not mention, and in such cases I will post it, and leave it for the reader to decide whether to pay for access. If you have read something that is germane to what I’ve been posting in this feature, please share the link in the comments section below.

This week I focus on local news and opinion that did not make it into The Indy during the last month. Collectively, this reporting and sharing of opinion highlights the importance of local media for our ability to know what is going on around us and hence for sustaining democracy and civic engagement.  Where would we be without The Indy, The Gazette and The Bulletin? What would our lives be like without access to the information in these  stories? 

My featured article this week – When The Local Paper Shrank, These Journalists Stated an Alternative  (New York Times) looks at The New Bedford Light, an ambitious,  free, online news service that took over the responsibilities for keeping the community informed after the Gannett-owned New Bedford Standard Times, began to shut down in 2019. 

LOCAL NEWS
Juneteenth Officially ‘Called Into Being’: Amherst Celebrates A “Rich, But Extremely Difficult” History by Luis Feldman (6/20/21). On the 156th anniversary of Union soldiers marching into Galveston, Texas, to liberate the last slaves after the Civil War, a ceremony at the West Cemetery on Saturday recognized and honored some of the very same soldiers who were there June 19, 1865 — the day that became known as Juneteenth. The opening event for celebrations in Amherst for Juneteenth, now a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, took place at the gravesite for members of the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts 5th Cavalry from Amherst. Texas was the last state to concede after the Civil War, and the last state to liberate former slaves. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Amherst Teen Dies After Blackout Challenge by Scott Merzbach (6/28/21). An Amherst Regional Middle School student died last week after suffering critical injuries during an online challenge in which people choke themselves until they lose consciousness, according to a member of his family. A public GoFundMe appeal established by a relative of Nate Squires states that the 13-year-old eighth grader, the son of Rachel Vieu and David Squires, died at a hospital Monday, June 14. “Both Rachel and Dave want the world to know of the circumstances that surround Nate’s death to ensure that this does not happen to another family,” writes Samantha Thomas of Belchertown, the sister-in-law to Squires’ parents. “On June 12th, Nate was found unresponsive at home after attempting to do what is known on social media platforms as the ‘black out challenge.’” (The Amherst Bulletin)

More Than Just A Library: Umass Science Fiction Society Fights For A Home On Campus by Julia Taliesin (6/24/21). The Science Fiction Society at UMass Amherst has a library of over 8,000 books, including many rare editions. The society functions as a book club, a community, and an inclusive haven for many on campus, but last week members packed every book into storage after losing their permanent home due to a university policy change. Now, they are making noise about the true loss this represents. Over 2,500 people have signed a petition calling on the university to relocate the library and society to a permanent home. Elodie Carel, senior and society treasurer, noted that the society operates a lending library, a function that isn’t possible out of lockers or storage boxes. The society also shared a room with the Game Hobbyist League and the Anime and Manga Club, and together all three had a media library of over 9,200 sources. (Boston.com)

Wait Goes On For Ranked Choice Voting In Amherst by Scott Merzbach (6/24/21). A July 1 deadline set by the Town Council to have the state Legislature adopt a home-rule petition allowing ranked-choice voting to be implemented for the Nov. 2 town election is unlikely to be met.Even though a conventional town election in which the top vote-getters earn election appears to be all but certain, town officials, joined by state Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, and state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, this week made appeals to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Election Laws to pass House bill H.777 as soon as possible. At a session Wednesday, Domb said the Legislature needs to allow Amherst to implement the ranked-choice elements embedded in the town charter adopted in 2018. Domb said an “extensive and impressive” report from the Ranked Choice Voting Commission was unanimously endorsed by the Town Council. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Free Outdoor Film Series In Mill District This Summer by Staff  (6/27/21).  An outdoor cinema series featuring three musicals begins in the Mill District in North Amherst on Wednesday evening. Sponsored by the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and in coordination with the Amherst Cinema, UMassFive College Credit Union and North Square Apartments, the first film will be “Get on Up,” a biopic about soul singer James Brown. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. at the Cowls Road location, and the film will be shown at 9 p.m. “Whether indoors or out, films are best experienced on the big screen and in community — where we may laugh out loud, scream and cry, or in the case of this summer’s musicals, get up and dance,” Amherst Cinema Executive Director Yasmin Chin Eisenhauer said in a statement. (The Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Let The People In And The Laughter Out: Yiddish Book Center Reopens With An Exhibit Of Comic Art by Steve Pfarrar (6/28/21). It’s taken a while. But after 15 months of being closed to the public, the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst has reopened its doors, with a new art exhibit on display and public programs being contemplated for the fall.The reopening is somewhat limited, according to Lisa Newman, the book center’s director of publishing and public programs, with  reduced hours and safety protocols, such as requiring all visitors to wear face masks, in place. Meantime, a number of virtual programs at the Amherst site, which were considerably expanded during the past year, are continuing and will remain on tap even as a gradual return to full in-person visitation takes place, she noted. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

The Lone Wolf Closes After 17-Year Tun In Downtown Amherst by Scott Merzbach. (6/3/21). The Lone Wolf, a 17-year restaurant in downtown Amherst, will not be reopening as the COVID-19 pandemic eases. Owner and chef Rob Watson announced in a letter to customers on the restaurant’s Facebook page that he has decided not to resume operations of the sit-down breakfast and lunch cafe at 63 Main St., which temporarily closed in spring 2020, reopened last summer, but then shut down again through the winter. “You all have helped create a warm and welcoming family vibe that has been an integral part of the atmosphere at The Lone Wolf,” Watson wrote in his farewell message to customers. He anticipates the catering side of the business to return in the fall and that he will be fully recovered from knee replacement surgery he had while the business was closed. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

ARHS Boys Tennis Wins Western Mass Title by Kevin Schuster. (6/24/21).
Winning his No. 1 singles match in three back-and-forth sets, senior James Serhant secured the Western Massachusetts Division 1 title for Amherst on Wednesday. The Hurricanes defeated East Longmeadow 3-2, doubling down on their previous win over the Spartans only two weeks ago. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Northampton Synagogue Examining Reparations From Jewish Faith Perspective by Esther Muhlman (7/1/21). The synagogue’s board of directors voted unanimously on June 13 to adopt a resolution in support of the community taking tangible steps to examine the importance of reparations, insights Jewish texts might offer about the subject, and the best ways in which the congregation should take action. The Tikkun Olam Reparations Working Group, a fusion of people from CBI’s Abundance Farm, Tikkun Olam committee, and members of the congregation, has been at the forefront of this effort… The synagogue’s intent to study reparations and take action aligns with other movements that are taking place both locally and throughout the country dedicated to the same cause. In Amherst, a reparations fund was established last month for its Black community. The recent reparation efforts of Evanston, Illinois have served as a guide for Amherst during this time. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

‘Helping People At The Time They Need Help’: New Clinician Working In Collaboration With Area Police by Mary Byrne (6/18/21). In an effort to bring services directly to those who need them in a moment of crisis — and ideally divert people from jails or unnecessary hospital transport — three local police departments have formed a regional collaboration with Clinical & Support Options (CSO). As part of the pilot program, which is funded by CSO, licensed clinician Kaitlin Richotte has been assigned to the Greenfield, Deerfield and Montague police departments. In her role, she responds to calls with officers and serves as an immediate contact to individuals who may be in need of mental health or other social services. She is not, however, an employee of the police departments. (Greenfield Recorder) 

Activists To Urge Northampton Council To Slash Police Budget by Brian Steele (6/15/21). Northampton Abolition Now is expected to renew its call for the city to slash the Police Department budget by 50% on Thursday night, urging its members and other activists to attend the City Council’s virtual meeting, at which a final vote on Mayor David Narkewicz’s proposed $121.7 million budget will be taken. In addition to calling for the 50% budget cut, NAN members, who call Narkewicz’s budget plan “racist,” will also push for twice as much money as Narkewicz proposed for a new Department of Community Care, which would be independent of the police and respond to some nonviolent calls with unarmed responders. (Daily Hampshire Gazette) 

Northampton Council OK’s Budget After Emotional Meeting Over PD Funding by Brian Steele 6/13/21. At the five-hour mark of a meeting that aired emotional arguments for and against reallocating half of the Police Department budget, the City Council approved Mayor David Narkewicz’s fiscal 2022 budget in an 8-1 vote early Friday morning. The $121.7 million spending plan increases Police and School department funding and restores full-time staff to the Senior Services and Health departments. A Proposition 2½ override approved by voters in March 2020, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will go into effect at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. Ward 7 Councilor Rachel Maiore was the only councilor to vote against the budget. She cited her concern that the new Department of Community Care did not receive adequate funding to be fully operational by the start of fiscal 2023. (Daily Hampshire Gazette) 

OPINION
Let’s Honor Tulsa By Acting On Policing Locally. by Chelsea Klein (6/6/21). One hundred years isn’t that long ago. One need not look far for overwhelming evidence of insidious denial of Black humanity, lives and dignity. Take a moment to absorb that it’s only been a century since one of the largest American massacres was nearly successfully erased from history. The racism that is woven into the fabric of our nation is what allowed the silence to prevail over the ugly reality of what occurred in Tulsa. That same silence has allowed our policing system to function largely unchecked until only recently. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Stop ‘Kicking The Can’ Down The Road And Get A New Fire Station Built by Bonnie McCracken (6/17/21). Surely, a clean, safe central fire station that meets modern standards is not too much to ask for. The too-small and deteriorating condition of our historic, circa 1929, Amherst Central Fire Station is threatening the well-being of our community. We keep asking and expecting more than what this tired 92-year-old iconic fire house can give. It is at the end of its life cycle and is being held together with band-aids. There is no automatic sprinkler system, the ceilings and walls are crumbling, and running water in the sinks tests positive for lead. Our downtown fire station houses our Fire Department’s administrative headquarters, fire trucks, ambulances and a crew of firefighters working 24-hour shifts, overseeing fire, rescue and emergency medical services protection across our community. We are fortunate to have these brave and skilled firefighters there for us 24/7, especially during the pandemic, and they should not be subjected to these poor working conditions.  (The Amherst Bulletin) 

A Fire Station For South Of Downtown Amherst by Johanna Neumann (6/17/21). Last month my neighbor Erin turned to walk up her front steps, lost her footing, fell and shattered her ankle. I held her hand as she went into shock, calmly reminding her to breathe. After her wife called 911, emergency medical services personnel arrived and Erin was in good hands, getting the care she needed. Being able to call 911 and having trained emergency medical staff or firefighters show up minutes later is local government at its best and most basic level. But in parts of South Amherst timely emergency service is a challenge. Over the span of four decades, three separate town committees — in 1966, 1983 and 2006 — have recommended replacing our downtown fire station, which is the home of firefighters and EMTs like those who came to Erin’s aid, with one further south. In this column I aim to explain the need for a new fire station, how much it will cost, how we can afford it, and explain why it’s an investment worth making. (The Amherst Bulletin)

Why We Don’t Want More Of These Buildings by Nina Weyl (6/3/21).
Student housing in a college town is essential, but location is key. The entire ground floor of Kendrick Place’s “mixed use” area is rented by Mass Mutual, an international Fortune 500 corporation. This company is a great addition to Amherst but it belongs in the Amherst Office Park, our business center, not on the ground floor of a building downtown, offering nothing to foot traffic, and offering no parking to its employees. However, the sidewalk on Triangle Street, running along the length of the building, is so narrow that retail shops wouldn’t have been interested in renting a space. The building, with its 45-foot wall, is so close to the street that there’s no room for even a shoulder or a bike lane, making bicycling on the street dangerous. How do most of the citizens of Amherst benefit from this building in any way? Do these buildings raise our quality of life along with the profits? Designed well, we can have both. (The Amherst Bulletin)

There’s A Lot Not To Like About Archipelago Buildings by Alex Kent (6/3/21).  As a 20-year downtown Amherst resident, I wish to respond to Nick Grabbe’s guest column, “Why so much hate for these buildings?” (May 21, Bulletin). Mr. Grabbe’s claim that the two five-story buildings in question, Kendrick Place and One East Pleasant (developed by Archipelago Investments), make meaningful contributions to Amherst’s tax base is undeniable and, as a homeowner who pays approximately $9,000 per year in property taxes, most welcome. I would also enthusiastically support any efforts made by the town to attract other commercial ventures outside of the downtown business district. What I do not welcome, however, is the sheer bulk of the buildings, the lack of setbacks, and the way One East Pleasant in particular towers over the sidewalk, making a walk down that stretch of Amherst’s main thoroughfare a disagreeable plod through brick-lined shadows. (The Amherst Bulletin)

A Tale Of Policing In Three Cities And Nearby Towns by William Neuman (6/17/21). It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. The worst of times because people of color are still being killed by police without legal or moral justification; still being stopped for driving while Black; still being accosted in myriad ways for living while Black. Horrible and inexcusable and yet still routinely excused. And yet it also is the best of times — or at least potentially a big improvement over what has been. The country is coming to a reckoning with its racist past and present and grappling with a handmaiden of racism, police violence. (Daily Hampshire Gazette).