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By CAROLYN BROWN

Holyoke artist Rosemary Barrett has worked in many mediums, but her upcoming show in Easthampton will highlight a collection of oil paintings. Barrett’s show, “The Awakening,” will be featured at Big Red Frame in Easthampton from Saturday, June 7, through Saturday, June 28, and will be featured in Easthampton’s June Art Walk on Saturday, June 7, from 4 to 7 p.m.

By CAROLYN BROWN

When the late Western Mass. artist Tom Bernard was in his 70s, he opted to turn his lifelong passion for the American West into a collection of handcrafted holsters for toy guns. Now his daughter, artist Gretchen Jennings, is showcasing her father’s love and work with an exhibition, “Cowboy Art.”

By ANN DARLING

I’ve gotta hand it to Gov. Maura Healey. She’s running a sharp strategy to get nuclear power back in the mix of Massachusetts power sources. Last legislative session, it was sneaking a provision that redefined nuclear power as “clean” into a high-stakes, last-minute bill that was also chock full of good things that lots of people wanted. In fact, nuclear power is filthy; the radioactive waste it creates contaminates and kills for generations.

The recent letter, ”Medicare hooey” [Gazette, May 6] is correct about Medicare’s woefully inadequate coverage, however is mistaken about Medicare for All. Medicare for All is very different. It is comprehensive health care coverage for everyone in Massachusetts, including employees, unemployed, employers, government workers, poor individuals, families, and anyone living in the state. There would be no premiums, deductibles, co-payments, and denials of coverage; Medicare for All would cover primary care, hospitalization, specialists, dental, behavioral health, addiction, hearing, and eye care. It will eliminate the insurance companies which not only profit substantially but add 30% percent in administrative costs for their role of middleman.

By SARA WEINBERGER

Many of us are navigating a daunting landscape. Since Jan. 20, barraged by a deluge of disastrous news that threatens to undo us, some have devised their own exit strategy, leaving for other countries, in search of a new home. Others try to adjust by turning the unthinkable into a new normal. Some, however, remain undaunted, refusing to be ruled by fear or to give in to cynicism. Their numbers are growing. I am, of course, referring to the ever-growing lines of protesters winding their way past Tesla dealerships, showing up at town squares, parks, and city halls. Their voices demand, “Hands off” of a laundry list of everything that matters. They make their way to bridges over highways, unfurling upside down American flags to signal distress. An enormous quilt of humanity spreads itself across the country, reaching out to others who join them along the way. This intrepid band of nonviolent protesters knows that giving up is not an option.

By CAROLYN BROWN

Holy Smokes Theatre, which used to be based in southern New Hampshire, now has a home in the Pioneer Valley — and they’re debuting a new show here this weekend.

How ironic that the cargo ship carrying food to Gaza that the Freedom Flotilla Coalition claims was bombed by Israel in international waters is called the “Conscience.” Has the world no conscience? How can we watch two million people starve to death? Sixty-six days of complete blockade — food, water, medicines, fuel. The health care workers of Gaza have called an emergency, as they have only two days of supplies and food left. As we celebrate Mothers’ Day, which was established as a call for peace, let us join with the mothers of Gaza to call for saving the lives of their children. Let us mourn with mothers missing their dead children. Today no one should starve to death. On a practical level, write to your elected representatives and ask them to join a diplomatic convoy to bring food to Gaza. Insist they stop approving money for arms — they need bread not bombs. Act on your conscience and feed the children. Thank you.

By Staff Report

AMHERST — Easthampton, Amherst and Pelham are in the first cohort of Department of Energy Resources’ Climate Leader Communities, recently announced by the Healey-Driscoll administration

In her May 7 column [”Tribe of Radical Allies Against Hate (TORAAH)”], J.M. Sorrell claims to be an ally of Jews, but her type of “allyship” does immeasurable harm. Jews are not monolithic. Jews share as wide a range of ideologies as any group, including far-right authoritarianism, and are just as capable of evil. To deny this is to deny our full humanity, as Jewish Currents editor Peter Beinart points out. No group is pure. I wish it were true that victims of oppression could never themselves become victimizers, but history shows us over and over again that this is, tragically, not the case.

By OLIN ROSE-BARDAWIL

Last month, I was at Umass Amherst attending a Q&A with CliffeKnechtle, a pastor who has gone viral on social media in the past few months for his arguments in support of Christianity. Originally a pastor at a church in Connecticut, Knechtle is partly compelling because of how compassionately and thoughtfully he states his positions. Unlike many evangelists, he does not seem interested in forcing his faith on non-Christians but rather presenting biblical teachings and letting people wrestle with their meaning.

By JOE GANNON

With all the dread and fuming about what Donald Trump is doing to America, a most common response is, this is not who we are! Maybe it is time to consider that this is exactly who we are — who we have become, slowly and carefully over the last 60 years or more.

Rents keep climbing, with no end in sight. So now we have to look elsewhere. Maybe out of state. It is sad.

By CAROLYN BROWN

EASTHAMPTON — The city will bid farewell to its outgoing poet laureate, Carolyn Cushing, and welcome its new poet laureate, Carolyn Zaikowski, this weekend.

I feel I have to react to the April 21 front-page Gazette article with the headline ”Opposition to apartments mounts,” about people trying to stop or downsize the proposed 54-unit apartment complex at the corner of Phillips Place and Hawley Street in Northampton.

By SARA WEINBERGER

The Jewish holiday of Passover, which ended on Sunday, recounts the story of the Jewish people’s escape from slavery in Egypt. Recounting the exodus from Egypt is a call to rise against all the pharaohs, including the pharaoh who occupies the White House. His thin disguise as a crusader against antisemitism is a ruse for decimating free speech and higher education, by scapegoating pro-Palestinians and the country’s most respected universities.

By OLIN ROSE-BARDAWIL

Regardless of where you stand politically, it is hard to deny that what Cory Booker did on March 31 was amazing.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) infiltrated the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) on March 20. In the flurry of raids and dismantling of government agencies you probably overlooked this egregious act. Don’t. IMLS is the primary source of federal support for U.S. libraries and museums. The agency supports them through grants, research and policy development. The agency has about 75 employees and half of them will be terminated. I live in Easthampton and the local library has been instrumental in providing not only books but courses, book clubs, story times for toddlers, and computer workstations. Over 3,000 people use this library each year. Although books are not being burned literally, conceptually they are being obliterated.

By TOLLEY M. JONES

“Soon ah will be done with the troubles of the world, goin’ home to live with God”

By JOE GANNON

When I saw the above-the-fold headline about a school meeting (“Northampton schools probe staff response to student’s unfulfilled IEP,” Gazette, March 31) I thought, ah jeez, here they go again?

It is a new year and seniors are on the chopping block. Housing is the worst. We cannot find anything. CHAMP (Common Housing Application for Massachusetts Programs) and many housing offices offer help but really give nothing. It is time to change the system. Seniors are people too. Seniors matter.