In this episode, after an Ask the Editor question about censorship goes existential, Mike and Sarah discuss a plot twist in the six-town school regionalization saga and revisit an EBT theft story that began in May. Plus: melons, blue comics, pessimism frosting, newspaper-themed weddings, and poetic indices. Intrigued? Confused? Listen to find out!

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After an ode to ice cream and popsicles, Sarah and Mike cover a few irksome news items of the summer. They discuss the potential impacts of a regional health insurer’s sudden rate increase and the results of a recent tax vote in Wendell, as well as a pending solary array development in that town. They then give a very humane, un-sensationalized recap of recent churn in the Montague Police Department. Plus, school merger fantasies and BULBS BULBS BULBS!

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River-related news has dominated the pages of the Montague Reporter so far this summer. Mike and Sarah discuss the recent drawdown of the Turners Falls dam, the vintage graffiti it revealed, and a new tax deal negotiated between the town and First Light Power. Plus, an update on a battery storage facility approved to be built outside Judd Wire. But first, learn how you and your little ones can fit fecal education and a Kate Bush flash mob workshop into one fun-filled day next week!

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Catching up with the cornucopia of late spring news, Sarah and Mike offer a smorgasbord of the major stories that have been reported since mid-May. They cover the turnover of both the Gill-Montague School District’s current superintendent and its graduating high school seniors, as well as write-in candidate Marina Goldman’s last-minute victory in the Montague selectboard election. Other topics include the Turners Falls Thunder’s victory in the state softball championship, Ben Gagnon’s series of articles on local food producers, and the opening of a new playground in Montague Center.

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In a sleeper hit of a 100th episode (!), Sarah and Mike debrief some heavy losses suffered by both SNAP recipients and youth service workers in Franklin County, and recap the highlights of annual town meeting season. Plus Mike finally reveals his favorite village in the town of Montague-- his answer will shock you!

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Sarah and Mike discuss several arboreal stories, as well as the denouement of the First Light hydroelectric relicensing saga, and a candidate's forum hosted by the Montague Reporter. Plus, Mike recaps a juicy scoop from the April 10th edition.

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Sarah is back as host, and Mike joins her to discuss what has changed at the newspaper in the last few months, along with updates on the Falls Farm story, local impacts of federal funding uncertainty, and the latest Big Picture interview with the managing attorney at Community Legal Aid.

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Stella and Mike catch up on a slew of mostly bad news from the last month and a half. Main topics include: a haunting reprisal of the Gill-Montague school district's annual struggle to secure needed state aid; the current and potential impacts of the Trump administration's unprecedented austerity measures on local life (and the particular case of Montague beekeepers They Keep Bees); and a monkey wrench in the planned demolition of the Strathmore mill complex. Plus, trainwrecks! Roofs caving in! Newspaper editors' chairs collapsing!

To read more from They Keep Bees and support their recovery efforts from hurricane and funding losses, check out their blog: https://www.theykeepbees.com/blog

Watch the Wendell trainwreck video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGLyI6nzbkE&t=253s

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