Rick Cohen lives in Keene and is one of the richest people in the world. In 2013, he had a “net worth” of more than $11 billion, according to an article published that year in Bloomberg News. Massachusetts is home to 11,000 or so people who make more than $1 million a year. Vermont has about 500 people like that. By taxing these people, the government could build homes for all the homeless people in the Valley.

On July 18 in Springfield there will be a rally to stop a giant corporate bank from evicting a low-income family from the family's home. The group that's organizing the rally has beaten banks in Springfield in the past. A photo of one such victory is below. The group has a web site at www.SpringfieldNoOneLeaves.org. To enlarge the photo, click on it, then scroll down and click “see full size image.” This photo is by Joe Oliverio. He can be reached at joeoliverio@comcast.net.

The rally will be outside 98 Welland Road at 6 p.m.

Critical Mass bicycle rides started in 1992 in California and have since spread around the world. Hundreds of people ride together in a group on roads, forcing cars to go at bicycle speed. They often chant, “Critical Mass, don't use gas!”

On May 17 there will be a Critical Mass bike ride in Brattleboro. The ride starts at 6 p.m. at the town common. The goal is to get politicians to deal with climate change, which the world's leading scientists say is a major threat to earth's ability to support human life. Details about the ride are at:

www.facebook.com/events/2144426155641240

On May 2 at 7 p.m. in Hadley, Massachusetts townspeople will decide whether to invest government money to protect farmland. Hadley borders Northampton and Amherst. The annual town meeting will be at 131 Russell Street. The 193 acre Szala Farm hangs in the balance. The USA is losing 6,000 acres of open space every day.

Hundreds of Stop and Shop workers in the Pioneer Valley went on strike and won. The strike started on April 11. On April 22, the strikers went back to work, victorious. One of the main reasons for the strike was low wages. The workers have a web site at www.ufcw1459.com.

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.

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.

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.

On March 10 in Chicopee, Massachusetts hundreds of Stop and Shop workers came to a union meeting and voted unanimously to give their elected union leaders the power to call a strike. Chicopee borders Springfield and Holyoke. Low wages are one of the main reasons workers voted yes. Stop and Shop is owned by a corporation based in Holland that has about 370,000 employees, including about 2,000 in western Massachusetts. Stop and Shop workers in the Pioneer Valley have a web site at www.ufcw1459.com.

A Springfield group is planning a march against police brutality. In about a decade, from 2006 to 2017, police brutality lawsuits cost taxpayers in Springfield some $3.9 million. On January 30, 2019, a jury ordered the city to pay another $250,000 to another victim of police brutality. “The march will be in May or early June,” Ellen Graves told the Valley Post in a phone interview on February 4. She works for Arise, a group that has organized well-attended marches in the city in recent years. The group has a web site at www.AriseSpringfield.org.