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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Money targeted for both strategic investments and deferred maintenance on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus is being temporarily diverted to a new account that will ensure research continues uninterrupted, should federal grants and contracts be paused or ended.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Five years after its approval, legislation aimed at improving K-12 education statewide known as the Student Opportunity Act is not infusing school districts in western Massachusetts with much-needed additional funding as promised.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Though Massachusetts is not one of at least six states that will lose out on $500 million in food deliveries promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the leader of the region’s largest food bank remains concerned about future cuts.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Hayley Bolton, who for the past six years has led senior centers in Amherst and Bernardston, is poised to become Shutesbury’s town administrator in April.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

April Fool’s Day will also be the opening day for the Amherst Oyster Bar, the long-planned restaurant in Amherst center that will replace Judie’s Restaurant.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The Natural Resources Conservation Service office located at 451 West St. since 1980 could close as part of 748 lease terminations posted online last week by the Trump administration.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Many members of the federal delegation from Massachusetts, including U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, defended the commonwealth and the city of Boston, hours before an address by President Donald Trump before a joint session of Congress they anticipated would serve as an attack on the state.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — An archaeological survey and mapping of the historic Graves Ironworks site, located downstream from the 1774 Slarrow Sawmill, will be supported by a contribution from a National Trust for Historic Preservation grant program.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Famous for its giant popovers, Judie’s was a mainstay of Amherst’s dining scene, a popular place for people to go to on graduation, alumni and homecoming weekends and to celebrate special events for more than 40 years.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

The Massachusetts Teachers Association is removing links to potentially offensive images from a members-only section of its website, as well as any materials posted there that don’t aid students and teachers in better understanding the conflict in the Middle East.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Construction of a new track and field at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School, at a cost of $4.11 million, is expected to begin in late June.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Over the course of two hours Monday, legislators sitting on the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism presented numerous pro-Palestinian exhibits — resources that educators might use in their classroom — drawn from a members-only section of the Massachusetts Teachers Association website.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

PELHAM — A preliminary report showing how the 12 communities in the Quabbin Reservoir watershed might be able to get potable water from the resource falls short of a comprehensive study being sought by legislators representing the Quabbin region.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Both Shutesbury and Hadley are being recognized as Digital Inclusion Trailblazers by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, an Ohio-based nonprofit, for their efforts to close the digital divide for residents by providing access to affordable, high-speed internet and digital skills training.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts officials acted reasonably and prudently in breaking up pro-Gaza encampments on campus last spring, but different enforcement tactics might have cut down on the number of arrests, as well as reduced the fraying of trust between students, faculty and staff and the UMass administration, according to an independent review released last week.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A University of Massachusetts campus organization pushing for more socially responsible investments by the UMass Foundation, manager of the university’s endowment, is claiming a small win after the nonprofit made a commitment to invest in fossil fuel-free funds.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A 500-acre section of forested land connected to Mount Toby in Sunderland, west of Route 63, is being returned to the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band as a gift from W.D. Cowls Inc.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A New Hampshire timber company has closed on a massive land buy of nearly 2,400 acres in seven communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties, acquiring five parcels for more than $20 million from Amherst-based W.D. Cowls Inc.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Moments before a Danvers resident appeared ready to end his own life on the morning of Jan. 1, a Shutesbury police sergeant located the man’s vehicle parked off Route 202 and engaged in a conversation that convinced him to remain alive, and then be brought to a hospital for needed physical and mental help.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — A lawyer whose earlier professional life included covering land-use boards as a news reporter will be joining the town’s Conservation Commission, despite objections from some residents that the appointment could create complications for...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

WESTFIELD — A U.S. Department of Defense decision to assign at least 18 latest generation Air Force fighter jets to the Barnes Air National Guard Base is an indication of how state legislation supporting service members and military families benefits...