Upon review, panel not behind any ballot questions

By CHRIS LISINSKI

The next phase in the fight over half a dozen major and pressing policy proposals kicked off Wednesday with a common feature on Beacon Hill: lawmakers recommending that the Legislature not to take action.A special committee tasked with overseeing the...

Sportsman’s Corner: Orange Gun Club’s Kids Derby

By Mike RocheThe Orange Gun Club is inviting everyone up to age 14 to participate in the club’s annual Kids Fishing Derby. Located off West River Street in Orange, this is the oldest gun club in Massachusetts and they hold an outstanding event for...

DA to announce breakthrough in 1989 unsolved homicide

GREENFIELD – Authorities have scheduled for Thursday morning a press conference to announce a major breakthrough in the effort to identify human remains found in Warwick in 1989.Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, First Assistant...

Royalston Selectboard backs Town Meeting warrant

By GREG VINE

ROYALSTON – The Selectboard Tuesday night closed the warrant for the upcoming Annual Town Meeting and have recommended passage of all 30 articles. The town’s Finance Advisory Committee will decide which articles it will support at its meeting tonight...

Earl Sweat seeks seat on Phillipston Selectboard

By GREG VINE

PHILLIPSTON – Earl Sweat, a member of the Board of Assessors, has thrown his hat into the ring for a one-year term on the Selectboard.He joins fellow resident Nicole Gough in the contest to serve out the remaining year of former board member Dan...

Lobby push aims to propel doggie day care standards

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — Animal advocates from around the state focused their annual lobbying push Tuesday on bills calling for safety standards in the doggie day care industry, banning the use of big animals in circuses, and pushing back against dog breed...

Orange Selectboard declares armory as surplus property

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — The Selectboard has voted to designate the Orange Armory as surplus property, the first step for the town in ridding itself of the 111-year-old structure.The armory, located at 135 East Main St., has fallen into disrepair. The Selectboard...

Court rulings may force action on home equity theft

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — After a state judge ruled this month that Massachusetts law governing municipal home equity takings “requires Legislative correction,” a state senator who has filed a related bill for years said Monday that he is ready to start demanding roll...

Partnership hopes to address Lake Ellis stormwater runoff

By GREG VINE

ATHOL – Steps are being taken to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff that makes its way into Lake Ellis.Planning and Development Director Eric Smith told members of the Lake Ellis Watershed Management Partnership that the town plans to apply for a...

Pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampment at UMass flagship, joining growing national movement

By ALEXA LEWIS

AMHERST — Student protesters at the University of Massachusetts began pitching tents near the W.E.B. DuBois Library Monday morning in solidarity with Palestinians, following the example of many of their peers at campuses across the country who have...

Franklin Tech student welds ‘artistic’ bench for French King Bridge

By LIESEL NYGARD

ERVING — Drawing inspiration from the French King Bridge, Franklin County Technical School senior Laynie Coates, 17, put her welding skills to the test.The result, a green bench with lettering that says “Gateway to the Mohawk Trail” and a bridge-like...

Wendell Special Town Meeting to decide on battery storage bylaw

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL – Residents are being summoned to Town Hall on Wednesday to have their voices heard on a bylaw proposed to regulate battery energy storage systems.A Special Town Meeting is slated to begin at 7 p.m., with two articles on the warrant – one...

McGovern, Gobi visit development sites in Greenfield, Wendell

By DOMENIC POLI

Though they lay dormant now, the former Wilson’s Department Store in downtown Greenfield and the former depot store and post office in Wendell were once bustling hubs of thriving communities.On Friday, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and Director of Rural...

North Quabbin Notes, April 27

Town Of Athol Cemetery Division noticeATHOL – The Town of Athol, Department of Public Works – Cemetery Division, is requesting that all baskets and winter arrangements be removed from town cemeteries before Saturday, May 4, to allow the department to...

Cannabis sales in Massachusetts top $1B for third straight year

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — Looking to sidestep controversy over the Cannabis Control Commission leadership, regulators highlighted the increasing profitability of the industry Thursday while discussing their work to implement a state law promoting diversity in the...

Athol town-wide cleanup deemed ‘a huge success’ by organizers

By GREG VINE

ATHOL – Green Clean Athol, the annual town-wide cleanup campaign, was, according to event co-organizer Heidi Strickland, “a huge success.”Approximately 90 volunteers showed up outside the Athol Senior Center at Lord Pond Plaza on Saturday, April 20,...

PHOTO: A valuable simulation

What are the protocols for emergency transport of infants?

By LIESEL NYGARD

When it comes to protocols for providing emergency medical transportation to infants, the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and ambulance manufacturers voice similar expectations.But...

State documents show Northfield EMS chief’s paramedic license suspended over failure to transport infant

By LIESEL NYGARD

State regulators suspended Northfield EMS Chief and Orange EMS Capt. Mark Fortier’s paramedic license over his alleged failure to properly assess a 2-week-old infant during a house call and for refusing the child transportation in an ambulance,...