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By WILLIAM LAMBERS

It’s urgent we send aid to Turkey, Syria and the Middle East following a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has killed and injured thousands. There are ways everyone can take action to help. And it’s needed desperately.The horrific numbers of...

By TOLLEY JONES

‘Look, girls!” my mother whispered to my sister and me, surreptitiously pointing. Ahead of us, a white girl with a long, thick braid of blond hair reaching to her waistline strode briskly through the mall. My sister and I watched wistfully as her...

By Joanna Buoniconti

The smell of harsh antiseptic stings my nostrils — even through my mask. Every six months it’s the same routine for the physical therapy re-evaluation, which is a requirement for me to receive insurance authorization approval for the treatment of my...

By SEN. JO COMERFORD and REP. NATALIE BLAIS

On any given week, our email inboxes reflect the concerns of our constituents. For years, emails have poured in about COVID-19, education, climate change, infrastructure, and more. This winter, a top concern is the price of energy. We share this...

By BILL NEWMAN

I keep thinking about Tyre Nichols. And the depravity of the five Memphis cops who killed him.   The videos show that this 29 year-old Black man, the father of a four year-old son and a Fed-Ex employee, did nothing wrong, and yet the cops pulled him...

What can be done? Can’t Congress pass legislation that would stop the violence by police officers against people who use violence without cause?The recent case in Memphis, Tennessee, shows that there is something that can be done. The five officers...

By ALLEN WOODS

I wrote most of this column in July 2021, but never submitted it, fearing I would be quickly pigeonholed as just another old-man-grouch. But a group of Brooklyn teenagers, recently featured in The New York Times, have given me the strength and...

By ROB OKUN

Days in January: 31. Number of mass shootings in the United States as of Jan. 31: 52. (I pray the number hasn’t gone up by the time you read this.)From cries of madness to tears of rage; from citizen fury to congressional prayers, we careen toward a...

By STEVEN E. KRAMER

The brutal killing of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers resulted in their prompt dismissal and initiation of murder prosecutions against them. Anyone who witnessed footage of the officers’ actions has to be saddened and...

By JON HUER

On May 18, 2021, while processing their divorce, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda confirmed their decision to leave “only 10 million dollars” for each of their three children, a pledge they had made earlier (the oldest being 17 at the time). Indeed,...

By JIM and LISA MCGOVERN

You have cancer. Words nobody ever wants to hear — but each year, nearly two million of our fellow Americans hear them. More than 600,000 die annually after battling these diseases, including over 12,000 people in Massachusetts alone.But it does not...

By RICHARD WITTY

There are amazing transportation assets and services locally, most prominently the free Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) and its inexpensive driving services for seniors.Still, the majority of transportation needs in Franklin County are met...

By GENE STAMELL

My mother was a big advocate for guilt. “Guilt builds character,” she would say. “If you feel some guilt, you will become a better person.” I’m not sure her opinion influenced my choice of spouse, but my wife of 43 years once told me that she has...

By J.M. Sorrell

Ray Bradbury’s classic book, “Fahrenheit 451,” shows a dystopian fascist future where people take pills and watch state-run TV to stay compliant in a world where books are outlawed and burned when found. The only hope for the future of humanity is the...

By STEPHEN HUSSEY

The recent column “Chalk Talk: An AI earthquake in eduction” (Recorder, Jan. 21), betrays the peculiar assumption that whatever new toy tech has trundled out has to be worked into the nation’s classrooms whether we like it or not. This nearly...

By SHERRILL HOGEN

I was in Palestine last October. It had been three COVID years since I had seen my adoptive family there. I prepared for the trip by buying gifts for all eight of them: my “sister,” her husband, their six grown children, and innumerable grandchildren....

By JUDY WAGNER

So for a while it looked like all of January was going to be a thaw. Once, the January thaw was a short reprieve, a brief reminder that winter would eventually end. This year after one hard cold snap we were left wondering when winter might begin.One...

By CAROLE GARIEPY

We all wear armor, yes we do. Sometimes we wear a full suit, sometimes just a small breastplate. A recent trip to the Worcester Art Museum made me think about armor in a broader way.The museum was gifted with the vast armor collection from the Higgins...

By Jonathan Kahane

Grüezi mitenand. After a three-year hiatus, I find myself back in Switzerland again visiting family and friends. Before Covid, I would come here to enjoy camaraderie, alpine vistas, skiing, hiking, chocolate, watches, cheese, it’s touted “purist...

By JON HUER

The Week magazine (Jan. 20) has an interesting article on why people fail with their New Year’s resolutions (80% of them by February). Why do we fail to maintain our own self-promises?Naturally, the Week magazine asks psychologists who typically...