On April 12, Northampton’s Broad Brook Coalition hosted a presentation and nature walk by Heather Ruel of the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Heather presented this 15-minute video on vernal pools and their certification in Massachusetts, then led a tour through vernal pools in the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area. According to Broad Brook, “Vernal pools […]
Author: NorthAssocAdmin
Hula Hoop Break with Megan E. LaBonte
NorthAssoc was treated to an impromptu hula hoop performance on Market Street by Megan E. LaBonte. Megan was practicing to march in the March 30 St. Patrick’s Day parade in Holyoke. Turn the volume down on your computer (the music is loud!) and enjoy (31 seconds)…
NEAT Bulletin: “Phenomenal” outpouring from community headed off school closing
We are reprinting the April 4 bulletin from Northampton Education Action Team with permission. It gives details about the welcome events of last week and what concerned citizens can do going forward… NEAT BULLETIN The School Committee’s Budget and Property Sub-Committee met tonight (Thurs.) and voted to take off the table the decision to close […]
Just Released: Planner’s Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments
The Environmental Law Institute has just made available a Planner’s Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments as a free 25-page PDF download. This survey of today’s buffer management regimes holds several lessons for Northampton. Among them, the 10-foot buffer zones in our new Wetlands Ordinance are extremely narrow. Buffer zones in ELI’s survey range […]
Gazette: “Superintendent: Hold off on school closing”
Today’s Gazette reports on how Northampton school officials have moved away from considering the closure of an elementary school in the coming year: Responding to public outcry over the proposal, school officials are now urging the exploration of other options to close an anticipated budget shortfall of more than $800,000… “I think the superintendent was […]
Breaking News: School Closure Off the Table
The Northampton Education Action Team reports that the School Committee’s Budget and Property Sub-Committee voted yesterday to take off the table the decision to close a school next year. Details coming soon…
“Back to School for Planners”; “Why Johnny Can’t Walk to School”; “The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools”
As the fate of Bridge Street School–the most “downtown” of all Northampton’s elementary schools–hangs in the balance, it’s a good time to review “Back to School for Planners”, an article from the Fall 2004 issue of Planning Commissioners Journal. The author is Tim Torma, a policy analyst in the EPA’s Smart Growth Program. From “Back […]
Gazette: “Group sends letter to fight school closing”
Yesterday’s Gazette reports on the status of the Bridge Street School petition: Group sends letter to fight school closing Close to 600 city residents have signed a letter [link] protesting a proposal that threatens to close a city elementary school in order to whittle down what school officials say could be an $800,000 budget shortfall. […]
Letter to Gazette: “Don’t rush into a decision on school closure”
Saturday’s Gazette publishes a letter from Keith and Amy Wilson of Northampton. Keith is a member of Northampton’s Planning Board. Here the Wilsons are writing in their personal capacity as residents, asking city officials to take their time as they weigh the fate of our elementary schools: …the many factors that go into this decision […]
Polluted Runoff Helps Trash Two Ponds in South Hadley
As The Sustainable Sites Initiative reports, pollution from water runoff is no joke. “Contaminated stormwater runoff from developed land is the leading cause of water quality problems[23] and accounts for 70 percent of water pollution in urban areas.[29] Runoff from developed areas can contain oil, grease, excessive nutrients, pathogens (e.g., E. coli, hepatitis A), persistent […]