What’s in This Issue?
Photo: Dreamtime. Creative commons
Welcome to our Table of Contents. You can also receive a listing of all new items in the Indy each week by dropping us a note with your contact information at amherstindy@gmail.com. The subscription is free and will deliver to your inbox a listing of all new content, each Saturday at 6 a.m. We promise that we will not share your email address, nor will we send you any additional emails to clog up your inbox (except in the case of truly urgent breaking news, in which case we’ll send out a special dispatch).
ANALYTICS
Numbers in parentheses indicate change from the previous week.
Number of Unique Page Views:
Last 30 days: 60,985 (+6731)
Last Week: 17,629 (+4643)
Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 35,092 (+4677)
Last Week 10,511 (+3359)
Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days: 18,237 (+3474)
Last Week: 6505 (+2589)
TOP FIVE MOST-READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. Updated: Hands Off Massachusetts – Mobilization Against the Trump Musk Agendas, Saturday April 5 by Art Keene
2. What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art & Maura Keene
3. Photos of the Week: Tesla Takedown in Hadley by Kitty Axelson-Berry
4. Details of Costs/Funding of Jones Library Expansion Remain Elusive by Art Keene
5. Letter: Town Is Hurtling Toward an Obligation It Cannot Afford by Ira Bryck
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?
ARTS
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
BUDGET
- Town Council Approves More Money for Schools but Not Enough to Cover Shortfall by Maura Keene
- School Superintendent Presents Midyear Self-evaluation. Shannon Bernacchia Appointed School Finance Director by Maura Keene
- Public Comment: Former Jones Treasurer Says Town Cannot Responsibly Sign a Contract for Library Expansion by Bob Pam
- Public Comment: We Can Both Meet the Moment By Using Reserves for a Targeted Purpose and Do the Work to Plan for the Future to Right-Size the Budget by Michele Miller
- Letter: National Catastrophe Makes Jones Expansion Too Risky by Meg Gage
- Letter: It’s Time to Embrace an Alternative to the Increasingly Unaffordable Jones Library Expansion by Ken Rosenthal
CAMPUS
- Visas Revoked for 13 UMass Amherst International Students. Trend Accelerates Across the Nations’ Campuses by Art Keene
- Lecture: How Can Universities Navigate the Current Moment
- Lecture by Historian Tiya Miles Will Explore the Early Life of Harriet Tubman
- Stephen Salaita Will Present 2025 Baldwin Lecture: The Meaning of Academic Honesty
- Letter: Silence Is Not an Option by Aaron Berman, Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, Jeffrey W. Gold and co-signed by 106 others.
CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE
- Environmental Assessment of Jones Library Project Open for Public Comment until April 28 by Mickey Rathbun
- Letter: Library Demolition Undermines Sustainability by Lydia Vernon-Jones
- Paving over Historic Beauty: A History of the White House Rose Garden that Trump Plans to Rip Up by Mickey Rathbun
DEMOCRACY
- Visas Revoked for 13 UMass Amherst International Students. Trend Accelerates Across the Nations’ Campuses by Art Keene
- Amherst Joins the Nation in Protesting Trump and Musk’s Assault on Democracy by Art Keene
- What to Do if the Insurrection Act Is Invoked by Daniel Hunter (for Waging Nonviolence)
- Lecture: How Can Universities Navigate the Current Moment
- Opinion: A Call for a Town-wide Conversation on the Mission and Values of the Amherst Police Department by Gerry Weiss
EVENTS
- Special Town Council Meeting on April 14 Will Consider Motion to Rescind Borrowing for the Jones Library Expansion Project by Maria Kopicki
- Lecture: How Can Universities Navigate the Current Moment
- Lecture by Historian Tiya Miles Will Explore the Early Life of Harriet Tubman
- Stephen Salaita Will Present 2025 Baldwin Lecture: The Meaning of Academic Honesty
- What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene
FEATURES
- The Mills and Industrial History of North Amherst, Part 2 by Hetty Startup
- Michele’s Allegory Aims to Be a Go-to Gift Shop by Maura Keene
- Paving over Historic Beauty: A History of the White House Rose Garden that Trump Plans to Rip Up by Mickey Rathbun
- Town Manager Report for April 7, 2025
- Photos of the Week: Empty Bowls by Meg Gage
HISTORY / HISTORIC PRESRVATION
- Amherst Historical Commission Postpones Vote on Jones Library MOA Approval by Art Keene
- Lecture by Historian Tiya Miles Will Explore the Early Life of Harriet Tubman
- The Mills and Industrial History of North Amherst, Part 2 by Hetty Startup
- Paving over Historic Beauty: A History of the White House Rose Garden that Trump Plans to Rip Up by Mickey Rathbun
ISSUES & ANALYSES
- Amherst Forward Girds for Library Project Funding Battle by Jeff Lee
- What to Do if the Insurrection Act Is Invoked by Daniel Hunter (for Waging Nonviolence)
LIBRARY
- Special Town Council Meeting on April 14 Will Consider Motion to Rescind Borrowing for the Jones Library Expansion Project by Maria Kopicki
- Environmental Assessment of Jones Library Project Open for Public Comment until April 28 by Mickey Rathbun
- Amherst Forward Girds for Library Project Funding Battle by Jeff Lee
- Amherst Historical Commission Postpones Vote on Jones Library MOA Approval by Art Keene
- Public Comment: Former Jones Treasurer Says Town Cannot Responsibly Sign a Contract for Library Expansion
- Public Comment: Former Jones Treasurer Says Town Cannot Responsibly Sign a Contract for Library Expansion by Bob Pam
- Letter: National Catastrophe Makes Jones Expansion Too Risky by Meg Gage
- Letter: Library Demolition Undermines Sustainability by Lydia Vernon-Jones
- Letter: It’s Time to Embrace an Alternative to the Increasingly Unaffordable Jones Library Expansion by Ken Rosenthal
- Letter: Town Is Not Ready To a Sign Contract for Jones Library Expansion by Sarah McKee
LOCAL BUSINESS
- Michele’s Allegory Aims to Be a Go-to Gift Shop by Maura Keene
OPINION
- Public Comment: Former Jones Treasurer Says Town Cannot Responsibly Sign a Contract for Library Expansion by Bob Pam
- Public Comment: We Can Both Meet the Moment By Using Reserves for a Targeted Purpose and Do the Work to Plan for the Future to Right-Size the Budget by Michele Miller
- Letter: National Catastrophe Makes Jones Expansion Too Risky by Meg Gage
- Letter: Library Demolition Undermines Sustainability by Lydia Vernon-Jones
- Letter: It’s Time to Embrace an Alternative to the Increasingly Unaffordable Jones Library Expansion by Ken Rosenthal
- Letter: Town Is Not Ready To a Sign Contract for Jones Library Expansion by Sarah McKee
- Letter: Prioritize the Wellbeing of All Residents by Continuing to Fund CRESS and DEI Departments by The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee and the Community Safety Working Group
- Opinion: A Call for a Town-wide Conversation on the Mission and Values of the Amherst Police Department by Gerry Weiss
- Letter: Silence Is Not an Option by Aaron Berman, Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, Jeffrey W. Gold and co-signed by 106 others
- Opinion: Holding Steady in Rough Seas: Thoughts on Weathering a Volatile Market by Christina Platt
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
- Visas Revoked for 13 UMass Amherst International Students. Trend Accelerates Across the Nations’ Campuses by Art Keene
- Letter: Prioritize the Wellbeing of All Residents by Continuing to Fund CRESS and DEI Departments by The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee and the Community Safety Working Group
- Opinion: A Call for a Town-wide Conversation on the Mission and Values of the Amherst Police Department by Gerry Weiss
SCHOOLS
- Town Council Approves More Money for Schools but Not Enough to Cover Shortfall by Maura Keene
- School Superintendent Presents Midyear Self-evaluation. Shannon Bernacchia Appointed School Finance Director by Maura Keene
- Elementary School Construction is “Doing Great!” by Maria Kopicki
- Amherst Education Foundation Announces 2025-26 Excellence Grants
- Public Comment: We Can Both Meet the Moment By Using Reserves for a Targeted Purpose and Do the Work to Plan for the Future to Right-Size the Budget by Michele Miller
SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE
- Lecture by Historian Tiya Miles Will Explore the Early Life of Harriet Tubman
- Stephen Salaita Will Present 2025 Baldwin Lecture: The Meaning of Academic Honesty
- Letter: Prioritize the Wellbeing of All Residents by Continuing to Fund CRESS and DEI Departments by The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee and the Community Safety Working Group
- Opinion: A Call for a Town-wide Conversation on the Mission and Values of the Amherst Police Department by Gerry Weiss
- Letter: Silence Is Not an Option by Aaron Berman, Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, Jeffrey W. Gold and co-signed by 106 others.
TOWN GOVERNMENT
- Special Town Council Meeting on April 14 Will Consider Motion to Rescind Borrowing for the Jones Library Expansion Project by Maria Kopicki
Environmental Assessment of Jones Library Project Open for Public Comment until April 28 by Mickey Rathbun - Amherst Forward Girds for Library Project Funding Battle by Jeff Lee
- Amherst Historical Commission Postpones Vote on Jones Library MOA Approval by Art Keene
- Town Council Approves More Money for Schools but Not Enough to Cover Shortfall by Maura Keene
- School Superintendent Presents Midyear Self-evaluation. Shannon Bernacchia Appointed School Finance Director by Maura Keene
- ZBA Advises New Owners to Comply with Special Permit Requirements by Hilda Greenbaum
- Public Comment: Former Jones Treasurer Says Town Cannot Responsibly Sign a Contract for Library Expansion by Bob Pam
- Public Comment: We Can Both Meet the Moment By Using Reserves for a Targeted Purpose and Do the Work to Plan for the Future to Right-Size the Budget by Michele Miller
- Letter: National Catastrophe Makes Jones Expansion Too Risky by Meg Gage
- Letter: Library Demolition Undermines Sustainability by Lydia Vernon-Jones
- Letter: It’s Time to Embrace an Alternative to the Increasingly Unaffordable Jones Library Expansion by Ken Rosenthal
- Letter: Town Is Not Ready To a Sign Contract for Jones Library Expansion by Sarah McKee
- Letter: Prioritize the Wellbeing of All Residents by Continuing to Fund CRESS and DEI Departments by The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee and the Community Safety Working Group
- Town Manager Report for April 7, 2025
TRANSPORTATION