Opinion
Amy MacKenzie: But what about the bus driver’s efforts?
It was a relief to read that all students aboard the bus in Barre that was crashed into by a car are unharmed. It’s heartening to hear that the Quabbin Regional School District praised administrators, first responders, and students for handling the...
Columnist Daniel Cantor Yalowitz: Why we need civility now
By DANIEL CANTOR YALOWITZ
What brings a community — any community, our community — together? In times of upheaval, conflict, and transition, there are only truly a few things that matter in the evolution and sustenance of a community: honesty, integrity, trust, respect, and...
My Turn: Inventive approaches needed to solve city’s housing crunch
By SUSAN WORGAFTIK
I would like to thank former Mayor Wedegartner for her My Turn about housing in the commonwealth and in Greenfield. Yes, we are moving in the right direction, but we have a very long way to go. The UMass Donahue Institute stated that Franklin County...
Donald Moskowitz: Require tugboats for transiting ships
The recent crash of the ship Dali into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore harbor, and the attendant loss of life, the destruction of the bridge, and the economic impact reminded me of mariner concerns for the lurking dangers to ships entering...
Genevieve Harris-Fraser: U.S. policy condemns Palestinians
Congress recently passed legislation, signed into law by President Joe Biden, that banned funds for UNRWA. Are we becoming Nazis? Our behavior towards Palestinians reflects that trend. We seem to be using the Nazi playbook.Residents of Gaza, their...
The World Keeps Turning: March Madness magnified
By ALLEN WOODS
There’s true madness all around us: wars creating multiple military and humanitarian crimes; apocalyptic climate news daily; migrants fleeing deadly threats and facing more on their journey; our country so deeply divided that we may experience a...
Bill Lafley: The problems of drug smuggling
Several opinion writers on these pages are concerned about the migrants crossing the border in southern states and many mention a fear of drug smugglers. In 2017 our family spent a week with a family in Guatemala. One night at dinner the father, a...
Nina Keller: Are lithium batteries green?
A 1.6-mile-long bridge in Maryland recently was struck by a ship and collapsed. The trauma, colossal costs and infrastructure chaos loom. The gigantic container ship included transportation of hazardous waste from the United States to Sri Lanka off...
My Turn: Walking in light
By ALAN HARRIS
All the pundits and commentators are buried in duplicity or despair. The darkness is descending and we, mortal victims swim frantically for some shore where hands and faces greet with reassurance that mere survival is off the table and that one can...
My Turn: High school feasibility study prompts questions galore
By ROBERT W. MACDONALD
The article “Committee explores new high school” in the March 23 edition of the Athol Daily News really triggered my Grumpy Gene.First, it seems that $1.5 to $ 1.7 million is required for a “feasibility study” to deal with “the need to prevent...
My Turn: Protecting access to contraception: A winning issue for Democrats in November 2024
By CARRIE N. BAKER
In the wake of growing Republican restrictions on reproductive rights, Democrats in many states are introducing bills to protect access to contraception. In response, Republicans are blocking these bills, going on record as opposed to contraception....
My Turn: Settlement could dramatically shake-up real estate industry
By MICHAEL SEWARD
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently agreed to rules changes as part of a massive settlement. The new rules will put more negotiating power in the hands of consumers. Despite what professionals stated in a recent article in this...
My Turn: Discover and protect a Greenfield treasure
By WISTY RORABACHER
There is hidden treasure right here in Greenfield. Years ago, the treasure was in plain sight. Now it is practically unrecognizable except in the early spring. I discovered small nuggets of the treasure when Ted Watt, well-known naturalist and...
My Turn: Creating our own reality and staying grounded during times of chaos
By JEREMY WILLIAMS
Since what we focus on is where our energy flows, why not focus on good. We create our own reality, every moment of every day. Since this is the case, there is great news. We no longer have to focus on negative things unless we choose to.It has been...
Leo Ojala: Santos for Pence
Mike Pence has made it clear he’s not going to hang around. King Con needs a replacement. George Santos is the obvious choice. He’s another New York con man. Both men are made of the same moral fiber. They both have disrespect, disdain and disregard...
Mike Conboy: Blaming U.S. for war in Ukraine misguided
I applaud writer Patricia Greene’s efforts to support peace in the world wherever it is threatened [“There would be no war in Ukraine without the U.S.,” Recorder, March 23], but I am unconvinced of the claim stated in the headline of her column. I am...
Judge Laurie MacLeod: GCC key to literature program’s success
Thank you to reporter Anthony Cammalleri and the Recorder for publishing the article about the innovative programs supported by the Massachusetts Trial Court (“Promoting Justice,” March 21). I write only to make a minor correction regarding the...
David Parrella: Conspiracies and immigration
A recent My Turn in the Recorder blamed our problems at the border on a deliberate Marxist-Globalist conspiracy to destroy our country. Many of those who seem to hold these views are descendants of the Irish immigrants in the nineteenth century who...
My Turn: Greenfield’s record on housing strong, but more work to do
By ROXANN WEDEGARTNER
It’s hard to pick up a local or national newspaper that doesn’t have an article that is either about a housing issue or refers to a housing issue as a factor in the topic being discussed, whether it’s about a lack of affordable housing, or the need...
My Turn: To be or not to be — March’s dilemma
By JUDY WAGNER
This is March’s dilemma: Is it time to be spring or not? March has a tough role to play. It is haunted by the old saying: “In like a lamb, out like a lion; in like a lion, out like a lamb.” March is saddled with expectations of changeable behavior and...
