What’s in This Issue?

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ANALYTICS
Numbers in parentheses indicate change from the previous week.

Number of Unique Page Views:
Last 30 days: 64,128 (+3143)
Last Week: 17,281 (-348)

Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 days: 35,967 (+875)
Last Week 8899 (-1612)

Number of Active Users
Last 30 Days: 18,272 (+35)
Last Week: 4767 (-1738)

TOP FIVE MOST-READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. Update: All Public Participation at Special Town Council Meeting on April 14 Will Be Virtual by Maria Kopicki
2. What to Do if the Insurrection Act Is Invoked by Daniel Hunter
3.Amherst Forward Girds for Library Project Funding Battle by Jeff Lee
4. Town Council Defeats Proposal to Rescind Borrowing for Jones Library Expansion: Paves the Way for Town Manager to Sign Construction Contract by Maura Keene
5. Visas Revoked for 13 UMass Amherst Students. Trend Accelerates Across the Nation’s Campuses by Art Keene

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?

ARTS

• What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene

BUDGET

• Jones Expansion Funding Assurances Collapse Under Scrutiny by Jeff Lee
• Amherst’s Early Education Center Prepares Children for Kindergarten by Maura Keene
• Public Comment: Jones Library Fiscal Assurances – How Will That Work? by Ira Bryck
• Letter: Cutting CRESS and DEI Budgets Is A Step Backward in Town’s Progress Toward Social Justice by the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee of the Town of Amherst
• Letter: Supporting Our Library Means Walking Away from Unaffordable Expansion by Laura Quilter
• Opinion: Town Council Grants Blank Check to Jones Library Expansion Project by Art Keene

CAMPUS

• UMass Faculty Senate Adopts Mutual Defense Compact by Art Keene
• Majority of Americans Distrust Elon Musk’s Efforts to Cut Federal Spending
• The Annual Eqbal Ahmad Lecture Features Noura Erakat: How the US-Backed War on Palestine Is Expanding Authoritarianism at Home. by Maura Keene

CLIMATE / ENERGY / ENVIRONMENT / NATURE

• Amherst Sustainability Festival, April 26
• Opinion: Love in a Time of Crisis by Russ Vernon-Jones
• Photos of the Week: Woodsy Surprises by John Root
  

DEMOCRACY

• UMass Faculty Senate Adopts Mutual Defense Compact by Art Keene
• Majority of Americans Distrust Elon Musk’s Efforts to Cut Federal Spending
• The Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List
• Opinion: Love in a Time of Crisis by Russ Vernon-Jones

EVENTS

• The Annual Eqbal Ahmad Lecture Features Noura Erakat: How the US-Backed War on Palestine Is Expanding Authoritarianism at Home by Maura Keene
• Amherst Sustainability Festival, April 26
• Gospel Concert to Benefit A Better Chance Program Tuesday, April 29
• What’s Happening in Amherst? by Art and Maura Keene

FEATURES

• Helping the Unhoused with Radical Compassion by Nick Grabbe
• Photos of the Week: Woodsy Surprises by John Root

HOUSING

• Helping the Unhoused with Radical Compassion by Nick Grabbe

ISSUES & ANALYSES

• Jones Expansion Funding Assurances Collapse Under Scrutiny by Jeff Lee
• Opinion: Town Council Grants Blank Check to Jones Library Expansion Project by Art Keene

LIBRARY

• Jones Expansion Funding Assurances Collapse Under Scrutiny by Jeff Lee
• Town Council Defeats Proposal to Rescind Borrowing for Jones Library Expansion: Paves the Way for Town Manager to Sign Construction Contract by Maura Keene
• Public Comment: Jones Library Fiscal Assurances – How Will That Work? by Ira Bryck
• Letter: Focus on the Unmet Needs in Our Community by Angelika Kratzer
• Letter: Supporting Our Library Means Walking Away from Unaffordable Expansion by Laura Quilter
• Opinion: Town Council Grants Blank Check to Jones Library Expansion Project by Art Keene
  

OPINION

• Public Comment: Jones Library Fiscal Assurances – How Will That Work? by Ira Bryck
• Letter: Focus on the Unmet Needs in Our Community by Angelika Kratzer
• Letter: Cutting CRESS and DEI Budgets Is A Step Backward in Town’s Progress Toward Social Justice by the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee of the Town of Amherst
• Letter: Supporting Our Library Means Walking Away from Unaffordable Expansion by Laura Quilter
• Letter: Common Share Food Coop Seeks Board Members by Lisa Depiano, Monica Garcia, and Madeleine Charney
• Opinion: Town Council Grants Blank Check to Jones Library Expansion Project by Art Keene
• Opinion: Love in a Time of Crisis by Russ Vernon-Jones

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY

• Town Implements Water Use Restrictions in Response to Mild Drought
• School District Responds to Mold Concerns at Amherst Regional Middle School 
• Tips for the Beginning of Tick Season by Stephen Braun
• Letter: Cutting CRESS and DEI Budgets Is A Step Backward in Town’s Progress Toward Social Justice by the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee of the Town of Amherst

RESOURCES

• The Western Mass Resistance Calendar and Supplemental Reading List by Art Keene
• Tips for the Beginning of Tick Season by Stephen Braun

SCHOOLS

• Amherst’s Early Education Center Prepares Children for Kindergarten by Maura Keene
• School District Responds to Mold Concerns at Amherst Regional Middle School 
• Gospel Concert to Benefit A Better Chance Program Tuesday, April 29

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

• The Annual Eqbal Ahmad Lecture Features Noura Erakat: How the US-Backed War on Palestine Is Expanding Authoritarianism at Home by Maura Keene
• Letter: Focus on the Unmet Needs in Our Community by Angelika Kratzer
• Letter: Cutting CRESS and DEI Budgets Is A Step Backward in Town’s Progress Toward Social Justice by the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee of the Town of Amherst

TOWN GOVERMENT

• Jones Expansion Funding Assurances Collapse Under Scrutiny by Jeff Lee
• Town Council Defeats Proposal to Rescind Borrowing for Jones Library Expansion: Paves the Way for Town Manager to Sign Construction Contract by Maura Keene
• Town Engineer Explains How Road Repairs Are Prioritized by Maura Keene
• Town Implements Water Use Restrictions in Response to Mild Drought
• Amherst’s Early Education Center Prepares Children for Kindergarten by Maura Keene
• School District Responds to Mold Concerns at Amherst Regional Middle School 
• Amherst Sustainability Festival, April 26
• Public Comment: Jones Library Fiscal Assurances – How Will That Work? by Ira Bryck
• Letter: Cutting CRESS and DEI Budgets Is A Step Backward in Town’s Progress Toward Social Justice by the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee of the Town of Amherst
• Opinion: Town Council Grants Blank Check to Jones Library Expansion Project by Art Keene
  

TRANSPORTATION /ROADS & SIDEWALKS

• Town Engineer Explains How Road Repairs Are Prioritized by Maura Keene