In Holyoke, people are fighting to save a 23 acre forest. “The lawn signs have been a big success,” Kerry Anne Schoeffel told the Valley Post in a voice phone interview on October 17. She is a member of the group Save Elmwood Forest. “We're asking people to put them up. They can get the signs from us. People should also contact the city council. We are not endorsing candidates in the upcoming election but we encourage people to ask the candidates about the forest.”

A developer wants to cut down the forest to build a Volleyball Hall of Fame. “It should go across the street in the abandoned Kmart plaza,” Schoeffel said. “People in the neighborhood walk their dogs in the forest. I live two houses away from the forest. I've walked my dog there twice a week for three years. I have lived in this house for 20 years. I'm fourth or fifth generation Holyoke. My mom did payroll for Holyoke Gas and Electric. My dad worked for the city. He was a custodian at city hall and then at two schools. I'm an application analyst for a nonprofit in Springfield. I am lucky to work from home.”

The group can be contacted via SaveElmwoodForest@gmail.com and:

www.facebook.com/groups/2076089419522214

People can donate at:

www.gofundme.com/f/save-elmwood-forest-legal-support-needed

********

In Brattleboro, and in cities and towns around the Pioneer Valley, there will be marches and rallies to protest Trump on October 18. The organizers have a web site at www.NoKings.org. The site lists the groups that are organizing the protests. They include environmental groups, unions, and others. One of the unions is the American Federation of Teachers, which also represents healthcare workers, including many of the workers at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Information about the Brattleboro workers' ongoing struggle for justice is at:

https://valleypost.org/2025/06/25/some-520-workers-brattleboro-memorial-...

********

The group Connecticut River Defenders will rally at the intake of FirstLight corporation's Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage facility. The rally will be at the Riverview picnic area on Ferry Road in the Pioneer Valley town of Northfield on October 19 at 1 p.m. 

The goal is to get politicians to “stop the massive destruction of fish and related river life” by the facility, which is on the Connecticut river near the Vermont – Massachusetts border. The rally organizers have a web site at https://ctriverdefenders.org.