Scott Merzbach

AMHERST — A Juneteenth banner now stretches across South Pleasant Street, marking a milestone for the organizations that have helped make the holiday a fixture in town.

Shawn Palmer takes on new role as president and CEO of Newspapers of New England, bringing decades of news media leadership to the role.

LEVERETT — A new playground with three slides, several ramps and a variety of stairs, poles and bars, joined by a series of sensory panels, a communication board and a buddy bench, opened at Leverett Elementary School this week.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Shawn Palmer, publisher of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Greenfield Recorder and Athol Daily News, is set to add being president and chief executive officer of Newspapers of New England to his responsibilities.

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AMHERST — A decade ago when she began renting her home in Amherst, University of Massachusetts staff member Andrea Lydick was paying $2,100 a month.

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HADLEY — A new Planning Board hearing on a standalone battery energy storage system for a site on Breckenridge Road will begin next month, 18 months after a Hampshire Superior Court lawsuit was triggered when planners turned down the necessary permits for the project.

AMHERST — Chalk messages written on the sidewalks that circle Crocker Farm School convey the sentiments of many students: they will truly miss Derek Shea, their outgoing principal.