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Parties in the Park returns to Northampton

Jul 7, 2026 | Hampshire County, Local News, Northampton

Parties in the Park returns to Northampton

NORTHAMPTON — The city’s free Parties in the Park weekly outdoor DJ series is returning with its 2026 lineup and is set to kick off July 8 for another summer of good fun and music in downtown Northampton.

Trent Levakis

tlevakis@thereminder.com | + posts

Data center committee proposal sent to Holyoke City Council

Jul 7, 2026 | Hampden County, Holyoke, Local News

Data center committee proposal sent to Holyoke City Council

HOLYOKE — Although Holyoke recently banned future developments of data centers in the city, the conversation regarding the controversial buildings continued during an Ordinance Committee meeting on June 30.

Tyler Garnet

tgarnet@thereminder.com | + posts

Funding to help ease financial burden of Chicopee youth sports

Jul 7, 2026 | Chicopee, Hampden County, Local News

Funding to help ease financial burden of Chicopee youth sports

CHICOPEE — A $50,000 state earmark was celebrated on June 25 for the future of Chicopee by ensuring that financial barriers will not prevent children from participating in sports.

Tyler Garnet

tgarnet@thereminder.com | + posts

Parties in the Park returns to Northampton

Data center committee proposal sent to Holyoke City Council

Funding to help ease financial burden of Chicopee youth sports

CHICOPEE — A $50,000 state earmark was celebrated on June 25 for the future of Chicopee by ensuring that financial barriers will not prevent children from participating in sports.

Easthampton recount confirms $6.9 override passed

EASTHAMPTON — A recount of the Proposition 2 1/2 vote confirmed that the $6.9 million override did indeed pass during Easthampton’s June 9 Special Election.

Sarno sounds off on courthouse decision

SPRINGFIELD — Days before the Fourth of July, Mayor Domenic Sarno provided his own display of verbal fireworks, taking aim at state officials’ decision to place a new courthouse on Liberty Street.

Free concerts return to Longmeadow throughout summer

LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow’s “Concerts on the Green” is back for the summer, bringing live music to residents with triple the bands performing across July and August nights.

Totally Adaptive receives grant from Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism

EAST LONGMEADOW — East Longmeadow’s Totally Adaptive will enhance programming and increase accessibility to its specialized fitness services for individuals with autism and other disabilities after receiving $6,500 through the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism’s Community Impact Grant.

MLK Charter School of Excellence receives state cybersecurity grant

Local principal writes children’s book to celebrate school community

SPRINGFIELD — Danielle Delgado is so grateful to be the principal of Brightwood Elementary School that she wrote a children’s book to celebrate it.

Sounds of Springfield instruments bring musical experience

SPRINGFIELD — Tucked into a corner of Tower Square Park are six large-scale harmonic instruments. Far from being labeled “do not touch,” people are urged to experiment with the massive instruments, dubbed the “Sounds of Springfield.”

Cliff Clark

Southwick Recreation Center needs volunteers for The National

SOUTHWICK — When the annual Southwick National comes to town on July 11, it brings more than just the best professional motocross riders in the world; it also brings crowds of people with cars and trucks that need parking, which the Southwick Recreation Center has and uses for its largest and only fundraiser each year.

Amy Porter

Huntington Summer Music series kicks off with picnic

HUNTINGTON — The 2026 Huntington Summer Music Series in the Gazebo at Route 20 and 112 will kick off on July 9 from 5:30-8 p.m. with entertainment by Sam Chevalier and Ray Dolat of Acoustic Thunder, who will play favorites from many genres.

Cliff Clark

Southwick Select Board member proposes original purchasing system

SOUTHWICK — Select Board member Joseph Deedy received pushback from fellow member Russ Anderson after proposing that the town’s department heads submit a purchase order for every purchase, no matter how small.

Sarah Heinonen

EMS memorial convoy honors ‘unsung heroes of public safety’

SPRINGFIELD — Sirens could be heard echoing off the buildings in downtown Springfield on June 29, announcing the arrival of six ambulances and emergency medical services vehicles.

Trent Levakis

DC Station offering workshop on financing and leasing of EVs

NORTHAMPTON — Ten months after opening DC Station on 5 Fulton Ave., owner Bruce Volz wants people to know that the EV hub is not only a place for charging, but also education.

Cliff Clark

Westfield City Council nixes request to fund assistant fire chief

WESTFIELD — Although an outside firm recommended that the city hire an assistant fire chief and the chief requested funding for the position, the Westfield City Council still voted unanimously against it, though for different reasons.

Easthampton recount confirms $6.9 override passed

By Trent Levakis | Jul 6, 2026

EASTHAMPTON — A recount of the Proposition 2 1/2 vote confirmed that the $6.9 million override did indeed pass during Easthampton’s June 9 Special Election.

Sarno sounds off on courthouse decision

By Chris Maza | Jul 2, 2026

Free concerts return to Longmeadow throughout summer

By Peter Tuohy | Jul 2, 2026

LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow’s “Concerts on the Green” is back for the summer, bringing live music to residents with triple the bands performing across July and August nights.

Totally Adaptive receives grant from Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism

By Peter Tuohy | Jul 2, 2026

MLK Charter School of Excellence receives state cybersecurity grant

By Sarah Heinonen | Jul 2, 2026

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield charter school recently received a helping hand in the everlasting battle against cybercriminals and bad actors. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School of Excellence received a $35,000 state grant to replace its cybersecurity hardware....

Easthampton recount confirms $6.9 override passed

By Trent Levakis | Jul 6, 2026

EASTHAMPTON — A recount of the Proposition 2 1/2 vote confirmed that the $6.9 million override did indeed pass during Easthampton’s June 9 Special Election.

Sarno sounds off on courthouse decision

By Chris Maza | Jul 2, 2026

Free concerts return to Longmeadow throughout summer

By Peter Tuohy | Jul 2, 2026

LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow’s “Concerts on the Green” is back for the summer, bringing live music to residents with triple the bands performing across July and August nights.

Totally Adaptive receives grant from Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism

By Peter Tuohy | Jul 2, 2026

MLK Charter School of Excellence receives state cybersecurity grant

By Sarah Heinonen | Jul 2, 2026

Local principal writes children’s book to celebrate school community

By Sarah Heinonen | Jul 2, 2026

SPRINGFIELD — Danielle Delgado is so grateful to be the principal of Brightwood Elementary School that she wrote a children’s book to celebrate it.

Annual Mt. Caramel Society Italian Festa returns July 31

Worthy Brewfest draws crowds to sample beer, cider at The Landing

Wyben Fourth of July organizers announce lineup, marshals

DiFranco family retires from coaching East Longmeadow High School baseball

Cliff Clark

Westfield’s ‘Pay-As-You-Throw’ trash program start date pushed back

WESTFIELD — Citing logistics challenges, the Board of Health recently pushed back the start of its “Pay-As-You-Throw” program from July 1 to Sept. 1.

Sarah Heinonen

Western Mass. lacking is programs to help victims of trafficking

Not every childhood is the same. From the age of 3 until she was 13 years old, Talia, who did not want her last name used for privacy reasons, was trafficked for sex in the Baltimore area.

Cliff Clark

Hampton Ponds Association to celebrate July 4

WESTFIELD — The Hampton Ponds Association will host its 68th annual Fourth of July parade to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary, featuring decorated floats, clip-clopping horses, a tribute to local veterans and speeches by local officials.

Peter Tuohy

Longmeadow Select Board sets date for fall Special Town Meeting

LONGMEADOW — With Longmeadow’s Annual Town Meeting and town elections complete, attention now turns to the Special Town Meeting.

Debbie Gardner

Cooling centers open to combat heat wave

As of June 30, the National Weather Service had upgraded the Excessive Heat Warning for Western Massachusetts to an Extreme Heat Warning for the period of July 1 to 5, with the worst of the predicted heat to occur Thursday, July 2 into Friday, July 3.

Tyler Garnet

Chicopee City Council approves $283.5 million budget for FY27

CHICOPEE — A generally straightforward budget season officially came to an end in Chicopee after the City Council passed a budget of approximately $283.5 million for fiscal year 2027, a 2.6% increase over FY26.

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Sarah Heinonen

Panel discussion to follow autobiographical play about clergy abuse

NORTHAMPTON — This July, Easthampton resident Jay Sefton will stage a production of his one-person show “Unreconciled” at the Academy of Music in Northampton.

Trent Levakis

Thunder in the Valley returns with fireworks, music festival

EASTHAMPTON — In celebration of the Fourth of July and the 250th anniversary of America, the Thunder in the Valley concert and fireworks festival returns to Easthampton to provide the community with its biggest celebration yet.

Peter Tuohy

‘La Casita Experience’ to transform MassMutual Center

SPRINGFIELD — The MassMutual Center will soon host one big celebration of community, blending music and dance, live performances, DJ sets and interactive visuals to represent the high energy nightlife experience rooted in Puerto Rican culture.

Trent Levakis

Paradise City Arts Festival returns for 31st year later this month

NORTHAMPTON — The nation’s premier destination for lovers of the handmade and high-end is once again gracing the region over Memorial Day weekend.

Trent Levakis

New theater group introduces itself with first production

EASTHAMPTON — In an effort to bring fresh, queer and gender diverse stories to the local theater scene, a new theater group, Why’s It Gotta Be?, has formed here in Western Massachusetts.