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By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Shannon O’Brien plans to appeal her firing as the chairperson of the Cannabis Control Commission directly to the Supreme Judicial Court, her lawyer said Tuesday, and one of her former CCC colleagues will take over as acting chair in the...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN and MADISON SCHOFIELD

Thanks to funding from the Massachusetts Office of Environmental Justice and Equity, Franklin County organizations will receive 21 of the total 213 air quality sensors being distributed statewide to help protect public health and fill in gaps in local...

By BOB KATZEN

Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from recent sessions.$650,000 for microloans to businesses (H 4800)House 155-2, overrode Gov. Healey’s veto of $650,000 (reducing funding from $1.5 million to $850,000) for loans...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

NORTHFIELD — A Contract Review and Negotiation Committee has been created following recent contention over Town Administrator Andrea Llamas’ contract negotiations.Selectboard Chair Bernard Boudreau and member Heath Cummings will represent the board...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

Advocates of a new state law that adds a third gender option on vital records and other state documents are applauding changes that went into effect in July, saying that the new rules are vital for non-binary and gender-nonconforming people to be able...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

At 17 years old, Quinn Mass is markedly younger than his colleagues on the Greenfield Human Rights Commission.Mass learned about the position from his father, and despite only being 16 at the time, sent in a letter of interest and was appointed to the...

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — A reimagining of the Lord Pond Plaza, several floodplain management efforts and numerous other climate-resiliency projects are slated to begin as millions of dollars in Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program grants head to...

By DOMENIC POLI

Scant internet access, inadequate public transportation and other barriers could pose additional problems for Franklin County residents during an emergency, according to a recent report published by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.The...

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Selectboard members gave their blessing this week to spending $2,850 to refurbish the floors in the first-floor meeting room and the mailroom at Town Hall.Brianne Bruso, administrative assistant to Town Administrator Matthew Fortier,...

By CLARENCE FANTO

PITTSFIELD — Vice President and likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will attend a campaign fundraiser in Pittsfield on Saturday.She’s the headliner at a star-studded event featuring author-historian Heather Cox Richardson and musical...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

The shock waves from the shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday have continued to reverberate across the country, including in western Massachusetts.Local politicians reacted to the shooting, which resulted in the death of an...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Lawmakers from both parties signaled Tuesday they share a government watchdog’s concerns about upheaval at the Cannabis Control Commission, but Democrats who wield decision-making power stopped short of indicating what kind of response they might...

By LISA MASCARO, ZEKE MILLER and SEUNG MIN KIM

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, in a letter to congressional Democrats, stood firm against calls for him to drop his candidacy and called for an end to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dismal public debate...

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — A resident has proposed unseating the appointed three-member Board of Assessors and appointing new assessors “because of the performance in that office.” Denise Andrews, who formerly served as state representative for the 2nd Franklin...

By DOMENIC POLI

When talking about affordable housing, as with anything, it is important to separate fact from fiction.It was with this in mind that the Franklin Regional Council of Governments partnered with the Boston-based Citizens’ Housing and Planning...

By SAM FERLAND

ORANGE — After receiving a letter in March advising them of a complaint alleging special treatment of Mission Covenant Church, Selectboard members, in collaboration with the assessors, have decided to bill the church $13,723.54 for taxes.Americans...

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — An organization dedicated to guaranteeing political distance between religious institutions and the government has not heard from town officials nearly three months after informing them of a complaint alleging special treatment of Mission...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Protesters angered by Israel’s most recent deadly attack in Gaza brought a metal trash can and an American flag to the sidewalk outside Rep. Jim McGovern’s Pleasant Street office on Tuesday.As passersby honked in support or shouted...

MONTAGUE — The town is wrapping up a multi-year effort to create a comprehensive plan, “Five Villages: One Future,” and will be holding two open houses to review the draft plan and its recommendations.The Montague Comprehensive Plan, last produced in...

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — In celebration of Bay State Bike Month and in anticipation of a new Franklin County Regional Bike Plan, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) welcomed cyclists to the John W. Olver Transit Center on Tuesday.With...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — More Massachusetts families would become eligible for subsidized child care and “transformational” grants that kept the early education system afloat during the pandemic under a bill the Senate unanimously passed late last week.It’s the...