GazetteNET - News and Information from Northampton, MA by the Daily Hampshire Gazette

Easthampton schools to adopt concussion policy

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

EASTHAMPTON - A proposed concussion policy that puts the city schools in line with new state regulations is on track to be approved by the School Committee Feb. 27. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the policy on its first reading Feb. 13.

Sen. Scott Brown's campaign has collected more than 20,000 signatures for ballot

AP Wire — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

BOSTON (AP) - U.S. Sen. Scott Brown has collected more than twice the number of signatures needed to secure a spot on the GOP primary ballot in September.

Brown's campaign announced it gathered more than 20,000 signatures.

U.S. Senate candidates in Massachusetts need at least 10,000 certified signatures to get on the ballot. The deadline for collecting the signatures is May 8.

Study offers evidence that colonoscopy cuts colon cancer death risk

AP Wire — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

LOS ANGELES - Millions of people have endured a colonoscopy, believing the dreaded exam may help keep them from dying of colon cancer. For the first time, a major study offers clear evidence that it does.

Stocks close lower a day after Dow briefly passed 13,000

AP Wire — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

NEW YORK - A day after Dow 13,000, investors took a break.

Stocks closed lower Wednesday for the first time in four trading days. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 27.02 points to finish at 12,938.67. The day before, it briefly passed 13,000 for the first time since May 2008.

Rosealine Hoffman, longtime Amherst resident

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

HADLEY - Rosealine "Rose" (Peloquin) Hoffman, died peacefully at home Feb. 21, 2012.

Born June 5, 1944, in Holyoke, Rose was a longtime South Amherst resident and moved to Hadley 5 years ago.

Film offers virtual tour of Leonardo da Vinci masterpieces in high-def

StevePfarrer — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

In Great Britain, it's the show of the year - perhaps of the century thus far. For the first time, rare paintings and drawings by Leonardo da Vinci have been brought together in an exhibit at London's National Gallery. Since the show opened in November, "Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan" has been viewed by record numbers. The show is so popular, in fact, that tickets are reportedly being resold for as much as $700 apiece.

Editorial: Hope for housing market

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

Hampshire County houses sold more briskly and at higher prices in 2011 than 2010, and that's a hopeful sign for businesses and residents eager to shake off the sluggish economy of recent years.

But it's disappointing that most of the gains were in houses costing more than $500,000.

Megan Zullo lifts UMass women's basketball to key victory over Rhode Island

mattyv424 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

AMHERST - With 4 minutes, 7 seconds left in the last game she'd ever play in the Mullins Center, University of Massachusetts senior guard Megan Zullo drove to the basket.

Rhode Island had just cut UMass' lead to five points, but Zullo laid it in.

Media General explores sale of newspaper operations

AP Wire — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Newspaper publisher and TV station owner Media General said Wednesday that it is exploring the sale of its newspaper operations, which produce nearly half its revenue.

Amherst Regional High School brings ‘Guys and Dolls’ to the stage

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

Even as they shimmied and stretched their way through a warm-up routine at the beginning of a rehearsal last week for "Guys and Dolls," the big mid-winter musical at Amherst Regional High School, the theater students couldn't resist putting their all into every step.

UMass rival Temple may bolt for Big East

mattyv424 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

University of Massachusetts John McCutcheon isn't commenting on how Temple's potential move to the Big East, which appears imminent according to several media reports, affects UMass yet but he has to be thinking about it.

Don Robinson: Explosive political developments

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

ASHFIELD - When he took office, Barack Obama thought that governing on the basis of post-partisan compromise was possible. After all, the main element of his financial rescue package, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program to save failing banks, had been designed during George W. Bush's last months in office; his health care reform package was modeled on then-Gov.

Police search for reported gunman on Route 10 in Northampton

Charliesdad — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

NORTHAMPTON - State and local police descended on the house at 321 Easthampton Road this afternoon after receiving a 911 call stating that a man, possibly armed with a handgun, was attempting to break in.

Poll shows President Obama benefits from improving economy

AP Wire — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is reaping political benefits from the country's brighter economic mood. A new poll shows that Republicans and Democrats alike are increasingly saying the nation is heading in the right direction and most independents now approve the way he's addressing the nation's post-recession period.

Netflix bolsters its video library as new threat looms

AP Wire — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

SAN FRANCISCO - Netflix's Internet video service is adding more marquee attractions as it braces for a new competitive threat from cable-TV provider Comcast Corp.

Charlotte Allen: Liberals are maddening

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

A few years ago Ann Coulter published a book titled "How to Talk to Liberal (If You Must)." With all due respect, Coulter, one of my favorite conservative eye-pokers, was wrong. There is no "how" in talking to a liberal. You can't talk to a liberal, period.

Westfield rallies to deny Amherst Regional boys basketball league title

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

AMHERST - Amherst Regional boys basketball senior Tchuijo Nkamebo popped a balloon that wafted down from the rafters inside the walls of the Hurricanes' gymnasium as play was stopped during the second quarter of a key Suburban League game with his team comfortably ahead by eight points Wednesday.

President Obama seeks corporate tax rate cut, loophole limit

AP Wire — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama rolled out a corporate tax overhaul plan Wednesday that lowers rates but also eliminates loopholes and subsidies cherished by the business world. A long-shot for action in an election year, the plan nevertheless stamps Obama's imprint on one of the most high-profile issues of the presidential campaign.

Winterpills celebrate new CD with concerts, art exhibits

kmaiuri — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

"I lost August, September and October. I barely went outside," said Philip Price, frontman of the band Winterpills, recalling the serious work it took to record the band's new album at home - in fact, in the very same room this interview was taking place, with shingles on the inside, big windows and three cats coming and going.

Diana Wagman: Conservatives also maddening

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0500

I recently played poker with a bunch of Republicans. My husband and I, both bleeding-heart liberals, are part owners of a cabin in the Sierra outside Fresno, Calif., a very conservative area. The Camp Sierra Association president has an annual poker game, and this year we, the newcomers, were invited.