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By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — In videos shared over social media platforms, a robot dog with an attached machine gun illustrates the ease some people could have weaponizing this advanced technology, bringing new dangers to the public from drones and various robotic...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Back in April, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts distributed 1 million pounds of food to its 172 food pantries and meal sites, a sizable increase from the 750,000 pounds of food that went to the same locations just two months earlier.While the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — Upon moving to Shutesbury in 2017, Samantha Spisiak discovered a weekly story time at M.N. Spear Memorial Library, often bringing her toddler to the get-together with other families.“This has been a really big part of our lives,” Spisiak...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — On his travels around Northampton, city resident David Edwards sees people he once went to school with or worked alongside whose lives have been upended by poverty, now living on the streets or regularly relying on the help of social...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Peter Pouncey, Amherst College’s 16th president, who led the college from 1984 to 1994, died on May 30 at 85, according to the college.Pouncey’s tenure began at a time of unrest and transition, following the unexpected death of President...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Even as a number of states have moved to prohibit gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors through legislation and policy changes, a University of Massachusetts economist has co-authored a just-released report showing that...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio is seeking a legal review of the potential transition of state employee positions that handle University of Massachusetts advancement and fundraising functions to the private UMass Amherst Foundation.The auditor...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HOLYOKE — Twice facing the trauma of eviction and once making a vehicle home for herself and her four children, as well as living inside a mold-filled apartment, Shaundell Diaz of Springfield brings firsthand knowledge of homelessness.Now the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — A panel known as the Select Committee on Pesticide Reduction in 2019 issued a report to the Northampton City Council urging municipal leaders to consider eliminating the use of pesticides.“If deemed absolutely necessary, any pesticide...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The University of Massachusetts Amherst has unveiled a new seal featuring the spire of the Old Chapel and a new brand mark designed to give the flagship Amherst campus its own identity within the University of Massachusetts system.The...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Area legislators are joining with more than 90 of their colleagues across the state in appealing to the state Department of Public Utilities to reconsider its decision that allowed utility companies to increase customer rates for the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Smoke drifting into New England from wildfires in the western United States last summer, tracked by sensors in Holyoke, Greenfield and other area communities, gave residents real-time information about its causing poor air quality.The...