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: 16,377 (+1,108)
Last Week: 4796 (+401)
Number of Unique Sessions
Last 30 Days: 7527 (+ 221)
Last Week: 2034 (+354)

MOST READ: TOP FIVE MOST READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK
1. Teachers’ Union Officials & School Committee Meet After Long Impasse In Attempt to Rebuild Working Relationship – by Marla Goldberg Jamate
2. MSBA to Amherst: Sixth Grades Must Move If Fort River and Wildwood Are Consolidated – by Toni Cunningham and Maria Kopicki
3. Zoning Board Of Appeals Debates Garage Conversion On Strong Street by Hilda Greenbaum
4. Planning Board Raises Concerns About Implementing 40R Zoning Downtown – by Maura Keene
5. As Amherst’s Public Schools Stay Remote, Increase In “Distance Learning Center” Capacity Is Planned – by Marla Goldberg Jamate

WHAT”S IN THIS ISSUE?

AROUND TOWN / EVENTS
Winterfest Ice Sculptures On The Common

In-Person And Virtual Activities Planned For Area Youth

2021 Daffodil Run Will Be Virtual Again This Year

Labor Notes & Western Mass Area Labor Federation Sponsor Virtual Trouble Makers School.

ARTS
Winterfest Ice Sculptures On The Common

Culture Club: Kim Gordon, Icon by William Kaizen

COVID-19
School Committee Plan to Open Buildings In February Draws Objections from Teachers’ Union by Marla Goldberg Jamate

Amherst Regional Schools Plan To Open Buildings For Higher Needs, Preschool Children In February by Marla Goldberg Jamate

APEA Taking Steps To Provide In-Person Learning For Specific Groups

Local COVID-19 Vaccine Update

Letter: What New Risks Will Increased UMass Spring Enrollment Create? by Mary Hoyer

COVID-19 Daily Update by Art and Maura Keene

FEATURES
Culture Club: Kim Gordon, Icon by William Kaizen

Photo Of The Week: Boulder, Ferns, Oak Leaves, Mosses. By Kitty Axelson-Berry

HOUSING
Affordable Housing Trust Reviews New Protections Against Eviction by Maura Keene

Letter: Public Housing Has Great Potential For Meeting Town’s Affordable Housing Needs by Craig Meadows

Letter: Student Rentals Do Not Produce Affordable Housing by Ira Bryck

LETTERS /OPINION
Letter: Amherst Fire Department Is Stretched Too Thin by Bonnie MacCracken

Letter: Public Housing Has Great Potential For Meeting Town’s Affordable Housing Needs by Craig Meadows

Letter: In College Towns, Zoning Changes Supporting Densification Usually Proliferate Student Rentals by Jennifer Taub

Letter: Student Rentals Do Not Produce Affordable Housing by Ira Bryck

Letter: My Big Concern Is Gentrification by Sherrill Harbison

Letter: What New Risks Will Increased UMass Spring Enrollment Create? by Mary Hoyer

Opinion: Slow And Opaque Progress On Elementary School Building Project by Toni Cunningham

Opinion: Seven Brief Perspectives In A Difficult Time by Russ Vernon-Jones

POLICE & FIRE
First Forum On Public Safety: Low Turnout, Big Questions by Art Keene

Letter: Amherst Fire Department Is Stretched Too Thin by Bonnie MacCracken