Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

Maura and I will be traveling in the Southwest for the next three weeks. As a result, the next two issues of the Indy will likely be smaller than usual.  We are currently in New Mexico attending a family wedding and then plan to do some hiking in a couple of national parks, and we’ll then spend a week with grandkids in Texas. We’ll be back in time for the September 28 issue.

While we are gone, we will endeavor to put out an issue of the Indy each week, but we’ll be doing a lot of driving and will likely not have internet every day. So, the time available for production is going to be limited. Hence,  we’re reaching out to see if you can give us and our regular volunteer staff a little help.

There is a lot that is going to happen in town this month. On Monday, the Town Council will decide whether to seek information that will allow the town to calculate costs of the propsoed new hauler bylaw that has been under consideration for more than two years. Our new school superintendent and the school committee will be working on devising strategy for contending with the draconian budget cuts that have been demanded of them. The Community Resources Committee (CRC) will discuss the proposed solar siting/permitting bylaw, and the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee will continue to try to get some information on the secret town committee that is apparently planning some kind of teen center. There will certainly be protests on area campuses around the Gaza war and new rules designed to constrain protest and free speech. And then there’s the Jones Library demolition/expansion project. So much going on with that, including some hair-raising concerns about financing.

And there will be events, lots of interesting cultural events, that are worth attending and talking about.  

There will be many things for which we would all benefit if we continue to shine some light on them. 

So here’s the ask. Would you please consider writing something for the Indy in our absence? Covering a local news event would be really helpful (it’s not difficult, you just attend, take some notes on what happened, and write up a summary), but an op/ed or letter or comment following an article also helps keep vital civic discussions alive and keep us asking important questions, and seeking answers to them, and solutions to the challenges that we face as a community. 

Also: for the past several years (excluding the pandemic) Maura and I have produced a photo essay on the Town Block party on Thursday September 19, (e.g.  https://www.amherstindy.org/2023/09/22/photo-of-the-week-block-party-2023-gallery/).  We won’t be there this year but many of you will be. Would you take some photos and send them to us, and we’ll endeavor to pull together the collection from afar? 

We also need someone to cover the CRC meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 6:30 p.m. where they will be taking up the town’s proposed solar bylaw.  No link has been posted yet, nor is there any new information in the packet but there will be. Please consider helping us keep the solar bylaw in the public eye and drop us a note if you plan to attend and write a summary. 

Well that’s it.  Thanks for reading!

Best wishes,

Art

Art Keene
Managing Editor