In Amherst, organizers say they expect hundreds of people to attend an October 5 rally to protest the USA's support of Israel's wars on Gaza and Lebanon. The rally starts at 1 p.m. at the Amherst town common. Organizer Hoang Phan said, “Israel has expanded its nearly 12-month genocide and war of aggression in Palestine to Lebanon. The weapons and planes used in Israel’s military assaults on civilian populations have been supplied and funded by the United States government.

In Springfield there will be a rally to save the postal service. The rally will be on October 1 at noon outside 1860 Page Boulevard. FedEx and UPS would benefit if the postal service was to close. Louis DeJoy, who runs the postal service, has for many years given money to Republicans like Trump. Trump nominated DeJoy’s wife to be the U.S. ambassador to Canada. Biden can't fire DeJoy. The postal service is run by a board that can fire DeJoy. The nine members of the board are appointed by the president, with senate approval, for seven-year terms that are staggered.

In Springfield on September 11, there was a rally to protest fee increases at the West Street Village mobile home community. “It went well,” Rose Webster-Smith told the Valley Post. She works for a group that has a web site at www.SpringfieldNoOneLeaves.org. About 15 people were at the rally.

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In Brattleboro on October 24 at 5 p.m., there will be a farmworker rights rally outside the Hannaford supermarket. The organizers have a web site at https://migrantjustice.net.

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On September 3 in Springfield, PVTA bus drivers voted 125 to 68 to approve a new union contract. Thirty-two workers did not vote. The national union posted on its Facebook page a link to an August 30 WWLP report. The local union has a web site at https://atulocal448.com. The vote total is from a later WWLP report.

In the Springfield area, bus drivers voted 181 to two on August 22 to give their elected union leaders permission to call a strike. Forty-two drivers did not vote. The strike would start September 1. Issues are wages and bus schedules that are impossible for drivers to keep up with, leading to angry passengers. The workers have a web site at https://atulocal448.com. They drive PVTA buses but they work for a government sub-contractor.

In a victory for environmental protesters, a proposed battery facility near Greenfield will not be built. On August 6 the battery corporation made the announcement. The facility would have been in Wendell, Massachusetts. Wendell borders Montague, which borders Greenfield.

On April 20, 2024 bicyclists joined the Solar Rollers River Ride near
Greenfield from the Great Falls Discovery Center to Unity Park.
Kayakers and canoeists arrived at the Riverview Picnic area for a
rally. Walkers joined a march. There was music and there were speakers

About 30 people were at a rally in Springfield on July 29. The goal was to get the state to provide good quality homes for homeless people. “The rally went well,” a spokesperson for one of the groups that organized the rally told the Valley Post. The group has a web site at:

www.SpringfieldNoOneLeaves.org

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When N.L. Dennis was singing in a recording studio with Toots and the Maytals, Bob Marley stopped by to listen. Marley praised Dennis's delivery. Today, Dennis lives in his native Jamaica and joins hundreds of Jamaicans who come to Vermont every summer in search of better paying work. Most of them work on vegetable farms and at apple orchards. Dennis works as a reggae musician.

On July 28 at 11 a.m., Dennis and the Thunderballs will play a free concert at the Putney, Vermont farmers' market. Putney is near Brattleboro. Donations are appreciated by the band.

On July 17, some of the 134 people who were arrested in Amherst on May 7 for protesting UMass's support of Israel's war on Gaza had a court date. The protest was peaceful. The UMass professors' union president said he supports the protesters. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author Colson Whitehead responded to the arrests by canceling his planned speech at the UMass graduation ceremony, which was on May 18. Whitehead also won a MacArthur fellowship (the annual award is now $800,000) and the National Book Award. The protesters have a web page at:

www.instagram.com/umass_sjp

In a victory for education and workers' rights, protesters in Northampton got some of what they wanted July 2 when the city council voted to approve the mayor's revised school budget, Rachel Maiore told the Valley Post. She is a member of the city council and former director of the Valley Women's March, which brought thousands of people into the streets of Northampton the day Trump became president, and every year of his presidency. Photos of the 2019 march are at:

https://valleypost.org/2019/01/19/photos-northampton-womens-march