West Springfield Police are part of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement task force, according to documents obtained by The Shoestring. Reporting By Jonathan Gerhardson.

According to a federal class-action lawsuit, Baystate’s website transmitted patients’ health care-related activity, including clicks, search terms, and appointment requests, to the tech companies for more than two years. Reporting by Joe Douglass.

With an endowment of more than $2.5 billion and around 100 rental units in Northampton, Smith College is the wealthiest landlord in Northampton. Since June, tenants in the West Street neighborhood have been getting organized, demanding repairs, increase caps, and more. Reporting by Stacey Zhang.

For more than 500 days, unionized staff members working for the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been negotiating a new contract, but disagreements over pay increases and working conditions continue. They say that the university has requested a state-appointed mediator. By Sarah Robertson.

In the past few months, MassLive has published hundreds of articles that were computer generated. This was first noted by journalist Andrew Quemere last month. At the time of writing, there appear to have been about 200 such pieces published on MassLive. Reported by Jonathan Gerhardson.

The Shoestring found that state police and Boston police still participate in a federal task force that the Trump administration has directed to focus on "anti-capitalism" or "extremism" on race, gender, and migration as indicators of terrorism. By Brian Zayatz: theshoestring.org/2025/11/15/c...

Now in its fifth year of operation, the Massachusetts Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF) Advisory Council spent more than $60 million in Fiscal Year 2025. A review of the fund expenditures by @binjreports.bsky.social found $13 million in discrepancies. Reported by Jonathan Gerhardson.

About 300,000 low-income Massachusetts residents could lose their health coverage in the next decade as a result of federal policy changes. This story originally appeared in the Montague Reporter. Reported By Sarah Robertson.

We've gotten the message loud and clear: our readers want more municipal government coverage, and we want to provide it by hiring a reporter dedicated to just that next year. And right now, tax-deducible donations to The Shoestring are matched 4x. Can you give today? theshoestring.org/give

After municipalities faced budget crunches and educator layoffs in recent years, candidates across the region ran on similar messages: increase school funding. Overall, school-funding candidates saw mixed results on Tuesday evening. Reported By Dusty Christensen.

already anticipating municipal post election anxiety? join The Shoestring on Dec 10th at 7pm for trivia night at the Marigold Theater to look back on the year in local news and politics and laugh with your community about the wild ride we've been on. this is a fundraising event for western MA news

In the days leading up to Tuesday’s general election in Northampton, campaign finance reports shed light on who is financially supporting each candidate and how candidates are spending donations to their political campaigns. By Brian Zayatz and Julia Pretsfelder.

In Greenfield, a battle is brewing over the future of the city’s public schools ahead of Tuesday’s election in which three four-year terms on the School Committee are up for grabs. The race has pitted a progressive-backed slate of candidates against another group of three. By Dusty Christensen.

Quoted in this interesting piece on consolidation and private equity in the funeral industry. theshoestring.org/2025/10/28/t...

One private equity-backed firm recently bought more than 10% of funeral homes in western Mass, where corporate consolidators now own a quarter of mortuaries — part of a nationwide trend in the death care industry. Reporter @jongerhardson.bsky.social investigates: theshoestring.org/2025/10/28/t...

New illustration in @theshoestring.bsky.social theshoestring.org/2025/10/22/s...

Check out my latest article for @theshoestring.bsky.social theshoestring.org/2025/10/28/t...

Earlier this year, the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts decided to “open up” its communications to the broader community by launching a Facebook page. A post intended to promote "open mosque day," accumulated a sudden spark of harmful and threatening comments. By Joe Douglass.

Springfield residents are once again facing the revival of a proposed wood-burning "zombie plant" that has been stalled for over a decade by community opposition. Irina Costache and Regine Spector report: theshoestring.org/2025/10/22/s...

There are currently two candidates running for one City Council seat to represent Ward 2 in Northampton. The Shoestring asked each candidate an identical set of questions in preparation for these profiles, which are listed in the same order as they’ll appear on the ballot. Reported by Haley McQuick

Last week, those in Greenfield may have been curious about the drones and helicopters flying over the fairgrounds. The event’s purpose was simple: to recruit children into law enforcement careers, and to meet other public safety employees. Reporting by tommy lee.

Jill Brevik, community organizer and mother of two, running for one of District 1’s seats on Amherst’s Town Council, discussed her campaign, and her leap from community organizing into politics, with The Shoestring's Dan McGlynn.

Across western Mass, leftists and progressives are looking for victory at the ballot box, reflecting a faith that local voters are ready to fight for progressive platforms. By Dusty Christensen and Melanie Duronio. theshoestring.org/2025/10/08/t...

Tenant organizing is on the rise across the region. New efforts have taken aim at specific local landlords, like Smith College, and at state law itself. The Shoestring's Sarah Robertson has our latest dispatch on the festering housing crisis in western Massachusetts.

Unionized nurses at Northampton's Cooley Dickinson Hospital say they will hold a strike authorization vote next month — the first step toward possibly walking off the job. Our latest from the labor beat, by @dustyc123.bsky.social:

From @binjreports.bsky.social comes the story of James Ware, a terminally ill incarcerated man serving a life without parole sentence he was handed at age 20. Eliza Dewey chronicles his efforts to secure his release for his final months on Earth: theshoestring.org/2025/09/19/p...

Tuesday's preliminary election in Northampton saw wins for incumbents and candidates backed by the Support Our Schools PAC, who will move on to November's general election. Read our full coverage: theshoestring.org/2025/09/17/v...

Northampton City Council will consider a resolution instructing the city treasurer and retirement board to divest city resources with entities complicit in violations of human rights and international law in Israel and Palestine. Stacey Zhang reports: theshoestring.org/2025/09/16/n...

Managing editor Brian Zayatz spoke to INN News about the difficulties of being a tiny nonprofit news outlet in 2025. We love giving people a chance to look under the hood of a small operation like ours — give it a read! news.inn.org/can-tiny-non...

With just four days left until a preliminary election in Northampton, newly published campaign finance reports offer a peek at the donors spending to elect candidates in the city. Reporting by Brian Zayatz and Dusty Christensen.

Northampton City Council Ward 5; Current Councilor Alex Jarrett isn’t running for re-election. Three are seeking to replace him: Vincent “Luke” Rotello IV, David Murphy, and Aline Davis. Reporting by Stacey Zhang.

There are four candidates running for mayor: one-term incumbent Gina-Louise Sciarra and challengers Dan Breindel, Dave Dombrowski, and Jillian Duclos. Two of the candidates will be eliminated in the upcoming preliminary election. Reporting by Brian Zayatz

Q&A: Jeromie Whalen, the teacher running against 36-year incumbent Richard Neal. Whalen, is the latest in a procession of left-leaning candidates to challenge Neal in recent years. We asked about his platform, his chances, and his thoughts on the Democratic Party. Reporting by Dusty Christensen.

Nearly 200 workers went on strike early Tuesday at Mount Holyoke College as part of a multi-union action, calling for fair wages and better working conditions. They represent a wide section of the college’s workforce. Reporting by Dusty Christensen and Melanie Duronio

Meet the candidates: Northampton City Council at-large; Six candidates, including one incumbent, vying for two at-large City Council seats and will face off in a September preliminary election. Reporting by Brian Zayatz

Massachusetts researchers and students returning to classrooms in the fall will be facing a lack of access to electronic resources which will disproportionately hurt small, rural communities and their schools due to President Trump’s unprecedented cuts to social support services. OpEd by Eric Poulin

Holyoke’s school district has finally regained some local control after a decade of state management — something several city officials have greeted with excitement. Not everyone, however, is expecting the coming school year to be a smooth ride. Reporting by divina cordeiro.

On Thursday evening, amid pouring rain, over 100 people from various local Jewish groups gathered inside the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, demanding an end to Israel’s U.S.-backed, “ongoing forced starvation in Gaza.” Reporting by Dan McGlynn

On July 8, the Massachusetts Legislature held hearings on several acts pertaining to the well being of youth in foster care. Among them was a bill that would establish a bill of rights for children in foster care. Reporting by divina cordeiro.

Case dismissals likely as bar advocate pay negotiations at standstill. Lawyers across Massachusetts who stopped taking on new indigent clients this spring over a pay dispute say that a statement put out by Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday set back negotiations. Reporting by Brian Zayatz.

Just about anywhere somebody goes in Chicopee — from public parks or city buildings to even their own homes — there’s likely a surveillance camera nearby that police can access. At the time of writing, there are 532 cameras in the network. Reporting by Jonathan Gerhardson.

"try to keep her inside, but even then it’s hard — I run 2 dehumidifiers and 3 air purifiers just to keep the air somewhat clean” Rivera said. “It makes me anxious because any bad air day can send us to the ER. It impacts our whole family. We feel trapped inside, constantly worried about her health”

Editorial: The time is right for public grantmaking for Mass media via @theshoestring.bsky.social

"Public grantmaking is an opportunity to build a grant process for local media that models accountability and transparency." - Brian Zayatz via @theshoestring.bsky.social‬ https://theshoestring.org/2025/07/19/editorial-the-time-is-right-for-public-grantmaking-for-mass-media/

The state’s last prison health care contract brought despair and congressional scrutiny. Our investigation indicates that the new vendor is off to a troubling start. Reporting by Eliza Dewey. This article is syndicated by the MassWire news service of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.

Editorial: The time is right for public grantmaking for Mass media. The situation is dire enough that we at The Shoestring feel it’s time for our leaders at the state level to try something new and bold. By Brian Zayatz

There are currently 124,000 people across western Mass who depend on some form of meal- or grocery-replacing food assistance in order to keep hunger at bay every month. In a new deep dive, Olivia Petty reports on the state of hunger locally: theshoestring.org/2025/07/17/a...

From many miles away, wildfire smoke is traveling to New England and hitting already-polluted areas hardest. "Watching your child struggle to breathe is terrifying," one parent of a child with asthma said. Our latest on the continuing local impacts of climate change from @dustyc123.bsky.social:

cc @theshoestring.bsky.social !

After a decade of receivership, members of the Holyoke Teachers Association feel the state’s exit plan comes up short of justice for the predominantly Hispanic district. Reporting by divina cordeiro. This is the first article in a two-part series on the state’s takeover of Holyoke Public Schools.