Opinion

Guest columnist Marietta Pritchard: Birthdays to remember

By MARIETTA PRITCHARD

Nothing surprises me more than the advancing ages of our sons. Your own age is a given, and somehow you get used to it, and in my case at least, tend to anticipate the next annual changeover. I think of myself now as 88, although that won’t officially...

Richard S. Bogartz: Biden v. Trump, the tale of the tape

By RICHARD S. BOGARTZ

 I began this series by mistakenly proposing to discuss Joe Biden and omit Donald Trump as a reaction to the abundance of ignorance about Biden. I was wrong. The vital choice we are faced with demands contrasting their views. Here I do that on...

Meg Gage: Pull the plug on the Jones Library plan

I have hesitated taking a public position about the expansion of the Jones Library, even though it seems a reach too far, more than we can afford, especially given the branch libraries and top-notch academic libraries to which many of us have access....

Bob Greeney: Suspend spending on Jones Library project

Please do not spend more money on a project that no longer has majority community support. At the very least suspend all spending on this project until another town wide referendum is held. If $2 million dollars had been spent on creative and...

Lois Gagnon: Party disenfranchisement is not what democracy looks like

Regarding your insulting editorial cartoon on Monday, May 13, how would your readers respond if that trashcan had Democratic Party candidate on it instead of third party? Interesting how those claiming to value democracy have no clue what it is. The...

Paul Siqueira: UMass no confidence vote a ‘shameful proceeding’

I was a participating member of the UMass Faculty Senate vote of no-confidence in the Chancellor Javier Reyes on Monday. I entered the meeting with an open mind and a desire to hear from both sides of opinion that would frame the vote. Instead, I have...

Michele Craig: Deerfield church should follow pope’s lead

I’m writing in response to the article “Senior Center opts not to renew lease with church,” [Recorder, May 8]. The Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in South Deerfield requested that the Senior Center avoid advertising it’s Rainbow Elders luncheon...

Brooks Ballenger: Our confused view of immigrants

The recent Gazette article on the difficulties immigrant doctors face in getting licensed to practice, reminded me of our national confusion about immigration. There’s a serious shortage of doctors and nurses in the U.S., yet when qualified people...

Guest columnist Alexander Taylor: UMass — Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind

By ALEXANDER TAYLOR

‘If you build it, they will come,” comes the now famous line from the heartwarming baseball movie “Field of Dreams.” UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes is no Kevin Costner, not just because only Kevin Costner can be Kevin Costner, but also because Reyes...

Guest columnist Rev. Peter Kakos: The saving grace of college protests

By THE REV. PETER KAKOS

 What, after all, is the purpose of higher education, if not to debunk hateful myths, that continue, like Furies, to haunt us with debasing beliefs of our fellow human beings?Racism, alive and as ugly as ever, leads the ruthless madness, conjuring up...

Michael DeChiara: Don't ‘Quabbin-ize’ push for clean energy

The Quabbin Reservoir is a powerful reminder of towns being steamrolled by state government to get its way. Almost 100 years after construction began, the same dynamic is at play again, this time motivated by a narrow interpretation on how to expedite...

Stephen B. Constant: Applauds UMass response to protests

Fortunately for us and the state of Massachusetts, our state has some semblance of law and order. UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes and his team should be rewarded for their response to this chaos and potential destructive behavior on the UMass Amherst...

Lora Wondolowski: Condemning the UMass response to student protests

The Peace Development was founded in Amherst in 1981 by anti-war activists as a means for supporting the peace movement. As an organization rooted in support of grassroots organizing we are deeply troubled by the mass arrest of peaceful protesters at...

Richard S. Bogartz: Biden’s not the lesser of two evils

By RICHARD S. BOGARTZTo counter the dribble-spit that Biden is the lesser of two evils, I endorse social media’s “He’s not the lesser of two evils. He’s the far better human and it’s not even close,” and move to citing some of his accomplishments.With...

My Turn: Quabbin region will never see any bounty

By MIKE MAGEE

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Never again should the residents of the Quabbin region be fooled into believing that they will see any benefits from the Quabbin Reservoir.In the 1930s, the state took the entire towns of...

Darcy Dumont: Three-town electricity aggregation approved

By DARCY DUMONTMunicipal electricity aggregation is the most powerful action cities and towns can take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It is projected to do so by our Amherst Climate Action and Resilience Plan. We’ve been working on getting...

Frank Higbie: Don’t cancel student debt

I visited Northampton on the first weekend of May and picked up a copy of the Gazette and a front-page article about the pains of student debt caught my attention. All too often I read similar articles about today’s snowflake generation pleading for...

GurujiMa: Walk for peace In Gaza

On Saturday, May 18, the Village of Light Ashram in Leverett is sponsoring a Walk for Peace in Gaza.This walk, beginning at the Leverett Town Hall and ending at the Peace Pagoda, is meant to include everyone. It is a testimony of the heart that seeks...

Jeanne Horrigan: Amherst seniors grateful for ARPA support

The Amherst Senior Center is pleased to be the recipient of $2.5 million in ARPA funding, to be used for building renovations. These funds represent more than their dollar amount, they are an investment in the needs of the ever-growing population of...