Ruth Moody will play at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton on May 12 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $23. You can hear one of her songs at:
April 16, 2019
Climate March is April 22
In Northampton on April 22 there will be a march calling on politicians to do more to fight climate change. The march will start at 5 p.m. at 129 Main Street. Details are at:
www.facebook.com/events/249294522680797
On April 9, five people from the Brattleboro area were among hundreds who completed a 65 mile, five-day march to the Vermont statehouse calling on politicians to do more to fight climate change. Among the five were Tara Bossard-Kruger, Nancy Braus, Byron Stookey, and Ann Zimmerman. The march organizers have a web site at www.350vermont.org.
April 11, 2019
31,000 Stop and Shop Workers Strike
On April 11, hundreds of Stop and Shop workers in the Pioneer Valley went on strike. They joined 31,000 Stop and Shop workers in other parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Pioneer Valley workers have a web site at www.ufcw1459.com. They need people to boycott Stop and Shop, and show up at their picket lines if they are going to win.
Low wages are one of the main reasons workers went on strike. Stop and Shop is owned by a corporation based in Holland that has about 370,000 employees, including about 2,000 in western Massachusetts.
April 09, 2019
Rally: Tax the Rich
On April 11 at 7 a.m., a bus will leave Springfield to bring people to a rally in Boston to call for raising taxes on rich people to help poor people and the environment. The bus will leave from 1381 Liberty Street. The Fair Share amendment is a proposal to amend the Massachusetts constitution. It would create a tax of an extra 4 percent on the part of a person’s annual income above $1 million. The new revenue, approximately $2 billion a year, would be spent on public schools, public colleges and universities, and public transportation, among other things.
April 02, 2019
Local News Round-up
The union for public school teachers in Northampton held a well-attended rally to demand that all workers in the schools make at least $15 an hour. Starting pay for cafeteria workers is $11.64 an hour; for custodians it's $12.01. The rally was on March 28. About 100 people were there. A phone number for the union is at www.MassTeacher.org.
March 26, 2019
Wins for Nature
On March 23 Brattleboro's annual budget for fighting climate change went from $10,000 to $100,000. Brattleboro is home to about 11,000 people. Once a year the town holds a meeting where 155 elected representatives can overrule anything the select board does. The select board is the equivalent of a city council. Brattleboro doesn't have a mayor.
March 24, 2019
Concert Review: Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls performed an excellent concert in Northampton on March 22. Tickets sold out in January. The concert was at Smith College in a theater that appeared to hold around 2,000 people. The audience sung along to many of the songs and applauded enthusiastically. The band will release a new album this year or next year.
The Indigo Girls have sold more than 7 million albums and won a Grammy award. The Indigo Girls are Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, plus a changing lineup of musicians on their records and at some of their concerts. Ray and Saliers live near Atlanta, Georgia.
March 24, 2019
Photos: Latinos March
On March 24 in Springfield hundreds of people marched to demand that state politicians pass a law so undocumented immigrants can get driver's licenses. Vermont passed this law years ago. One of the groups that organized the march has a web page at:
March 19, 2019
Hundreds March
On March 15 in Springfield about 50 people attended a rally calling on politicians to pass stronger gun control laws. The first photo, below, shows the rally. James Debney is CEO of gun maker Smith & Wesson, which is based in Springfield. The photo is by Liz Steinhauser. To enlarge the photo, click on it, then scroll down and click “see full size image.” The two groups that organized the rally have web sites at www.bPeaceForJorge.net and www.PioneerValleyProject.org.
March 12, 2019
Photo: Eastern Screech Owl
This photo of an Eastern Screech Owl was taken in Northampton. "Eastern Screech Owls are active at night and are far more often heard than seen—most bird watchers know this species only from its trilling or whinnying song," according to Cornell University's web site. To enlarge the photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size image."
photo by Joe Oliverio