In Granby, Mass., near Northampton, teachers and administrators are breathing a sigh of relief as they prepare for the upcoming school year. Using stimulus grants and reserve funds, and by making minor cuts, Granby kept its school budget nearly identical to last year, despite the recession.
For Fiscal Year 2010, which began on July 1st, Granby lost $150,000 of state aid and faced an increase of $240,000 in contractual obligations over last year. To close this deficit, the town:
A rally for Jason Vassell was held on August 6 in Northampton following an evidentiary hearing related to a Motion to Dismiss filed by Vassell’s attorneys at the county courthouse there. The former UMass student was involved in an altercation with two non-UMass students in the Southwest dormitory complex on February 3, 2008. The rally was in support of the motion filed on Vassell’s behalf and to hear further information regarding recent court finagling over the defense’s discovery process.
On August 9 at 10:30 a.m. two groups of anti-nuclear activists will meet at the gates of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The Walk for a Nuclear Free Future will march to Northampton. The Solar Rollers will ride bicycles to Burlington. Both groups welcome anyone to join them for all or part of their routes. For information about the march call Daniel Sicken at (802) 387-2798 or e-mail Hattie Nestel hattieshalom@verizon.net
Solar Rollers schedule:
Sun. Aug 9 - Brattleboro area
Mon. Aug 10 - Springfield, Vermont
Tue. Aug 11 - Randolph
Wed. Aug 12 - White River Jct
A recent incident on a Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus has set off a surge of advocacy efforts in support of the right of mothers to breastfeed in public places. On June 16, a PVTA driver asked a woman to stop nursing her baby daughter. When she refused, he insisted that she, the baby, and her 7-year-old son get off the bus.
On June 20, the Winterpills played at the Iron Horse in Northampton. The audience was appreciative. The show wasn't sold out, but there weren't many empty seats. The band www.winterpills.com will play in Greenfield on July 17 at the Green River Festival www.greenriverfestival.com Some of the Winterpills live in the Valley. video by Eesha Williams
Negotiations between the Northampton teachers and the school board are heating up. The teachers belong to a union www.nea.org Mayor Clare Higgins asked the workers to forgo previously negotiated pay raises for next year.
On June 16, voters in Northampton will decide on the so-called “Proposition 2½ override,” which will affect the city’s budget.
The National Priorities Project www.nationalpriorities.org is a nation-wide non-profit based in Northampton. According to the group’s web site, the Iraq war had cost American taxpayers $790 billion as of October 2008.
On June 3 in Northampton there will be a vigil for Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who was killed last week. Lisa Unger Baskin is organizing the event. It will be at the First Churches of Northampton on Main Street from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Baskin is asking people to bring candles and signs.
"In this country, a woman's right to make a decision about her own body is in jeopardy," Baskin told the Hampshire Gazette newspaper.
The Northampton-based group Free Press held a public meeting in Washington, DC on May 14 about how the public can successfully lobby the government to increase public funding for journalism, and to create universal high speed internet access. Among the speakers at the event were Susan Crawford, a member of President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council and a graduate of Yale Law School. This one-minute video shows part of Crawford’s speech, and the line of people waiting to use computers with extremely slow internet connections at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, also on May 14.
Northampton’s Business Improvement District, created last month by the city council, has endured significant opposition, including about half the potential property owners choosing not to join, a lawsuit alleging it was created in violation of state law, and a protest march through downtown which resulted in two arrests.
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Food co-ops keep consumers’ money in the local community, unlike chain supermarkets like Stop and Shop or Price Chopper. The Greenfield food co-op opened in 1980; the Brattleboro one, also in business for decades, is the size of a small supermarket.