Trump must win to avoid criminal prosecution

If Trump loses the upcoming presidential election, he is fully aware he could be facing a trove of federal and state felonies which if convicted, sent to prison. The possible federal offenses include: obstruction of justice, obstruction of Congress,...

Turners Falls Battle

The massacre of natives May 19, 1676, at Gill/Turners Falls, is unthinkable. We ask ourselves, “How did this happen?” and how to best work toward reconciliation.King Philip’s War was the bloodiest per capita of any American war. During the period of...

The cult of Trumpism

By JOE JABONASKI

Trumpism is a cult — a social pathology — not a political movement. If it were a movement, people would be following the facts and making rational judgements based on how those facts help or hinder their goals. None of that happens with cult...

Editorial: A short history of color

According to Google, it was back in 1977 that color photographs started appearing regularly in daily newspapers. “The first uses, in front-page photos, caused a bit of a sensation,” wrote Robert Dixon, a Midwest editor, writer and independent...

Why a fee for paper bags at checkout?

By LOUISE AMYOT

I am writing today to thank Melina Bourdeau for the fine article she wrote about the single-use plastic bag ban that will take effect January 17. At the Friends of Reusable Bags, we had been wondering how aware the community was regarding this...

On the history of our forests

By RUTH MCDOWELL

I think it would be a good idea to look back at history before making a blanket law outlawing cutting and maintenance in Massachusetts State Forests.Before the advent of European settlers, much, but not all, of Massachusetts was forested land. The...

Editorial: History of job discrimination

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of guest editorials running between now and July 4, our nation’s Independence Day. These essays were solicited by the Franklin County League of Women Voters for the Recorder from several especially...

My Turn: An unwelcome present

By RUTH CHARNEY

There is probably no way to say this without sounding pitiful, so I will just say it. There are tiny black flecks, poppy seed-like deposits, on our windowsill. Not all of the windowsills, just two, but the two closest to the dining room table, so hard...

Deli complaints

There is an old Native American saying: Please do not criticize me until you have walked a mile in my moccasins. In other words don’t criticize how I am doing my job until you have done it yourself.Last week, we had a customer complaining about there...

Editorial: Railroad Salvage saga comes to a fiery finish

Saturday’s fire at the Railroad Salvage property put a longtime piece of Turners Falls history out of its misery.The past 20 years have not been kind to the building that lies between the power canal and Connecticut River in a section of the village...

FDR warned us about fascism

Franklin Roosevelt sent this message to Congress in 1938 on the verge of World War II. His words precisely analyze the situation we are in, and prophesy a fascist future we must, at all costs, avoid. He wrote: “Unhappy events abroad have retaught us...

Editorial: Student safety must always be a priority

Editorial: Student safety must always be a priority - Sending schoolchildren whose behavior threatens classroom order or the safety of students and teachers to a “calm-down” room remains a controversial subject among educators and parents. But there should be no debate over the need for safeguards to...