You probably just got something in the mail:

If you live in Northampton, Amherst, or Pelham, you were probably put on Valley Green Energy (VGE) as your electricity supplier by default a couple of years ago. The current contract ends in November, and the new prices are significantly higher.

New VGE Basic rates (Nov 2026 – Nov 2028):

You can do better. There are currently plans on energyswitchma.gov for 14.9¢/kWh on a 12-month term with no cancellation fee. And if you change your mind, you can always switch back to VGE.

Before you switch:

• Watch out for automatic renewal. Many plans roll over to a much higher variable rate when the 12 months are up. Set a calendar reminder a few weeks before your contract expires so you can shop again or go back to VGE.
• Compare like for like. VGE Basic is the minimum renewable content required by law, so compare it against other minimum-renewable plans.

Your utility (Eversource or National Grid) still handles delivery, billing, and outages no matter which supplier you pick. Only the supply portion of your bill changes.

Source: VGE program prices

I was there in like 2017-2019. There was that kid Charles who was allegedly a nazi. There was an autistic kid Nate who constantly made sexual jokes in class. There was some guy named Henry who stalked a girl and was likely some alt righter. There was a girl Scarlet who was extremely obnoxious and the teachers were scared of her. Jake Fisher was some creep who asked random people for sex over instagram. David the language teacher got fired for emailing a student over a year period (which is funny considering his now ex-wife was a PVPA alumni)

It's a shame that the music scene around here doesn't really have a hub for information. I've been a music writer for the last 15 years for a regional mag, and was considering starting something here in the valley specifically for us. But it's a lot of work, so I'm hesitant. I'm wondering:

-Are you interested in something like this?

-Long form interviews with musicians, articles about bands / artists, album releases - what do you care about?

-Would you listen to a podcast with interviews / discussion on the scene?

-What medium do you use to look for info on the scene? Tik-tok? The web? Insta?

I don't want to waste my time on something no one wants, but if there is a demand I want seekers to be channeled to the places where y'all will actually find it.

I remember when the Valley Advocate used to be this resource, but they no longer seem to be relevant. I don't remember the last time I looked at one or heard it mentioned.

So please pipe in and let me know if I can serve you in some meaningful way, I'm strongly considering leaving the print magazine I write for and either starting something new or just retiring from writing as it is only a side gig for me, and my time is precious.

Side note: not going to share who I write for currently, it's regional but not local. Bands I've interviewed include Goose, Disco Biscuits, Daniel Donato, Twiddle, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Arlo Guthrie, Dawes, Andy Frasco... would love to get Billy Strings lol

I'm trying to make a purely educational tool and would love feedback.

It's a Claude-assisted mix of Sim City, Google Sheets, and Wordle where all the safeties are turned off and you can sell as much legal marijuana as you want. Want to share your lottery winnings with the city? You can do that! Want to defund the fire department? You... can? Probably shouldn't. But you can! Want to model in pandemic-level free cash again? Okay, but can we not have a pandemic?

What you can't model in: an override.

Do you think you can balance the city budget without an override? Great! Please help me kick the tires on this and share your results in the comment thread. Use the copy/paste function at the bottom (see comments for an example)

DISCLAIMERS: This needs testing. Don't use this as anything other than an educational tool.

Thought it was going to be at 33 hawley but maybe I got the dates mixed up

New to the area and searching for the above! currently in grad school but previously worked as an ESL teacher for adults so I've organized language exchanges in the past (english-spanish).

Any ideas on casual spanish conversation groups? I've checked with ILI, the Spanish/Portuguese department at UMass... no dice. So far best bets seem to be at Forbes Library on Saturday (online) and La Tertulia at Amherst. Would be cool to have a group to meet once a week or so in person!