110 at Rally

In Northampton about 110 people were at a union rally on September 21. “I was very pleased with the turnout,” Ellyana Stanton told the Valley Post in a voice phone interview on September 28. She was one of the organizers, and she is a member of the actors' union. Stanton grew up in Amherst and lives in the Pioneer Valley town of Belchertown, Massachusetts. The union has a web site at www.sagaftra.org.

Locals Among 75,000 at Climate March

Four buses, two from Northampton and two from Vermont, went to the climate march in New York city on September 17. In the city, 75,000 people marched. The number one cause of climate change is overpopulation. Details are at:

www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/climate/

The group 350 Vermont organized the Vermont buses. The group did not reply to a September 18 email asking how many people from the county that's home to Brattleboro got on the buses.

On September 17 in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts about 35 people attended a climate rally.

Rallies Lead to Victory for Tenants

In Holyoke on September 13, about 45 people attended a rally for tenants' rights. The event was organized by the group Neighbor to Neighbor. According to that group's web site, "An elite few have created a housing crisis here in Massachusetts. A handful of lawmakers -- and the real estate speculators, corporate developers and landlords that fund their campaigns -- jack up rents, destroy affordable options, and price us out of the neighborhoods we call home. No matter how much money you have in your wallet, you should be able to make a home in Massachusetts."

Holyoke Rally Set

There will be a rally for tenants' right on September 13 at 3 p.m. outside Holyoke city hall. The event is being organized by the group Neighbor to Neighbor. According to that group's web site, "An elite few have created a housing crisis here in Massachusetts. A handful of lawmakers -- and the real estate speculators, corporate developers and landlords that fund their campaigns -- jack up rents, destroy affordable options, and price us out of the neighborhoods we call home. No matter how much money you have in your wallet, you should be able to make a home in Massachusetts."

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Workers Unite

On August 25 in Hadley, Massachusetts, all the workers at the Barnes & Noble corporate chain bookstore walked off the job to protest the company's refusal to hire enough workers. Hadley borders Northampton. The walk-out lasted from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Photos show dozens of people marching outside the store. The workers have a web site at www.ufcw1459.com.

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Homeless in the Rain

On August 18 Christian MilNeil told the Valley Post his thoughts about Northampton's plan to re-design Main street. He works for a group that has a web site at www.streetsblog.org. MilNeil said, “I encourage people to take a look at Concord, New Hampshire's Main street redesign, which was done about a decade ago. It's very similar to what Northampton is contemplating: they went from a four-lane roadway with fairly narrow sidewalks and diagonal parking to a two-lane street with diagonal parking on one side and parallel parking on the other, with much wider sidewalks and shorter crosswalks.”

175 Rally

About 95 people attended a rally in Northampton on August 13. "We called for the resignation of the officers involved in the incident, Officer John Sellew and Officer Jonathan Bartlett, as well as the resignation of Police Chief Jody Kasper," Miranda Groux told the Valley Post. She works for the Amherst Survival Center, but was speaking as a private citizen, not on behalf of the Center. The incident in question happened on April 4, when Bartlett and Sellew of the Northampton police department tackled and pepper-sprayed a 60-year-old woman because her car had a broken headlight.

From Parking Lot to Park?

Twenty people attended a peace rally in Greenfield on August 5. “We stood for peace and a ban on all nuclear weapons, just one day before the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bomb ‘test’ that destroyed Hiroshima. A second, plutonium, bomb was 'tested' on another civilian target three days later, destroying the city of Nagasaki on August 9,” Anna Gyorgy told the Valley Post. She works for a group that has a web site at www.traprock.org. The bombs killed about 200,000 people.

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200 March, Rally

Isaac Evans-Frantz lives in Brattleboro. Last year, he ran for U.S. senate and was endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party (VPP). Vermont's current lieutenant governor is a member of VPP. On August 4, 2023, Evans-Frantz told the Valley Post that “dozens” of people attended a LGBTQIA rights march in Brattleboro on August 2.

60 Rally

In Northampton on July 25, about 45 people attended a rally to protest Chase bank's support of the fossil fuel industry. The Brattleboro area was hit hard by floods this month. The floods were made worse by climate change. The Northampton rally organizers have a web site at http://climateactionnowma.org. Russ Vernon-Jones was one of the organizers. He told the Valley Post, "It was a great success.