Here are today's headlines:

Advocates push for safe injection sites in western Mass.

NORTHAMPTON - The first time Cara Moser considered the idea of a safe, legal place for her daughter Eliza Harper to use opioids was in 2018 after seeing Eliza dead. Her family discovered her following an overdose at age 26."I saw my daughter in rigor mortis," Moser said, sitting in her office at the...

Easthampton sidewalk project to improve access, pedestrian safety along South Street

EASTHAMPTON -The city is making a concerted effort to create a safer walk to Mountain View School with new access ramps and sidewalks along South Street.Crews from Warner Brothers of Sunderland, who have been contracted by the city, have been installing accessible ramps at the intersection of South...

Hadley Town Meeting approves ban on single-use plastic bags

HADLEY - Hadley is joining several of its neighboring communities in prohibiting businesses from using single-use plastic bags, foam containers and plastic straws.By a majority vote at Thursday's annual Town Meeting, and after about 30 minutes of discussion, residents adopted the plastic reduction...

Architect by day, artist by night: Scott Tulay conjures fantastical drawings from his experience creating blueprints

It wouldn't be accurate to say Scott Tulay is moonlighting. The Northampton architect spends a good number of his evenings and weekends drawing, and he earns some money from it, but drawing is much more a passion for him than a second job.Then there's the connection between his day job of creating...

Baseball: Belchertown bests Wahconah behind Aidan Torna, wearing No. 5 for a fallen friend

BECHERTOWN - Joey Mankowsky crouched in the parking lot as his Belchertown baseball teammates filed into the dugout.The junior opened a Bang energy drink and took a sip, gazing over the parking spot memorial set up for his classmate Zachary Fraleigh. Fraleigh died in a car crash Monday. Friday's gam...

Guest columnist Gabbi Perry: Why it's hated, why we need it

Rent control in Massachusetts has long been shrugged off as a failed policy that ultimately harms tenants, landlords and the housing stock. But in a time of exorbitant rental costs and increasing evictions, it is imperative that Massachusetts legalize rent control once again - and the Tenant Protect...

Valley Bounty: Starting strong: Bare Roots Farm in Chesterfield raises 'useful, organic plants'

Each spring like clockwork, Eastern bluebirds magically return to nesting boxes alongside valley fields. These sightings and other signs of the changing seasons coax many local gardeners out of their winter burrows with visions of prolific flower beds or fresh, fragrant produce. Given variability in...

2021-22 Gazette Girls Basketball of the Year: Bianca Ortiz, Holyoke

Even now, Holyoke girls basketball coach Dre Enright remembers the first time she saw Bianca Ortiz play. It was the kind of moment that stays with you, even though Ortiz says she doesn't remember it.Enright wasn't coaching at Holyoke yet, but she'd heard about this middle-schooler who was lighting...