In Amherst, a peace protester will be heading back to college after a judge said UMass can no longer ban him. UMass was violating the First Amendment to the US Constitution, lawyer Jon Cubetus told the Valley Post on February 18. Cubetus works for the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. The Guild was representing the student, Kiv de Montebello. Ending war is de Montebello's goal. UMass takes money from military contractors to do research.

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There will be a No Kings march in Brattleboro on March 28 at 10 a.m., one of the organizers, MD Baker, told the Valley Post. Details will soon be at www.NoKings.org, she said. Information about marches on the same day in the Pioneer Valley is already at the No Kings web site.

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In Brattleboro, since 2011, Jason Cooper has been a member of a Friends of the West River Trail committee. On February 18, 2026, he told the Valley Post the group is working on creating a rail trail for bicycles and pedestrians from the Brattleboro Amtrak station to a defunct train bridge over the Connecticut river. The new trail will be about one mile long. The bridge will be opened to bicycles and pedestrians and will connect to an existing network of rail trails that goes to the New Hampshire city of Keene, and beyond.

Cooper said, “The New Hampshire Southwest Regional Commission is currently arranging for an engineering study of the old railroad bridge. Once that is complete they can begin working on decking. Friends of the West River Trail have secured permission to build the trail on town and oil company land. We are applying for the permit to begin building the trail next week. This will let us know what regulatory hurdles we might have. Then we develop a budget and begin fundraising. Work could begin this spring and would probably be completed in 2027. We are hoping the bridge work might be on the same time frame.”

Citing a recent study, Cooper said the Brattleboro region will benefit economically from the project. The study is available by contacting Cooper via https://WestRiverTrail.org.

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On February 15, workers at Stop and Shop supermarkets throughout the Pioneer Valley had a victory. They voted to approve a new union contract that includes raises and other gains. The workers have a web site at www.ufcw1459.com.

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In a victory for nature, a 309 acre forest near Brattleboro has been permanently protected from development. The deal was announced on February 4. The land is in Townshend, Vermont. Details are at:

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/vermon...