Magazine Archive
Magazine Archive
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Home is where the heart is - and where the heat is - if you take care of your heating systems. Berkshire Heating and Air Conditioning not only helps customers service their existing systems, but they also provide new alternatives to traditional systems. Invest your tax refund in the future of your heating and cooling systems and you’ll soon see the returns.
Alternative Energy Options For Your Home
Home is where the heart is - and where the heat is - if you take care of your heating systems. Berkshire Heating and Air Conditioning not only helps customers service their existing systems, but they also provide new alternatives to traditional systems. Invest your tax refund in the future of your heating and cooling systems and you’ll soon see the returns.
Game On: From Noho to the Majors
“This is the dojo here. This is all our stuff,” says Erik Ostberg, gesturing toward two open duffel bags stuffed with gear that spills onto the floor. He clears off two metal chairs for Jack Power and me, then takes a seat behind the desk at Complex Sports Academy (Plex) in East Longmeadow. Ostberg, 27, and Power, 20, settle in and sip their Reign energy drinks. Last night was a late one in the cage.
The two Northampton-born athletes have lived and breathed baseball since they could wield a bat. Now Ostberg is a bona fide Major Leaguer, Power a Division I rising star. When they aren’t playing with the Tampa Bay Rays or the Long Island University Sharks, Plex is their home.
Balancing Business & Family: Meet the Millers
Balancing business and family isn’t an easy feat, but in the Miller Family, trying to find and share the solution is part of the daily equation. One of the many busy families of Longmeadow, they strive to strike the work/school/volunteer/life balance - but it isn’t without its complications!
“Work/life balance is a constant struggle, and I am the first one to admit that,” says Robyn Miller. “When you work remotely, work and family life all become one big blur and it is a job in itself to untangle that. But having the support of others around you, especially other mom’s who understand the battle, to help lift you up, is an essential part of reaching your goals. We have to help one another.”
What about Mom?
Funny how you can spend a quarter century raising kids with your blood, guts, tears and bottomless love. Then one day something changes and you don’t have a clue how to keep your family together. And then, finally, you begin to wonder if it’s your job anymore.
When my mom was 50 she was left with a daughter in her first year of college and three older sons who could be aimless at times. We were trying to figure out our young adult lives without Dad. But what about Mom?
A Cable TV Exodus
Am I the only one that thinks that cable companies are a bunch of thieves? Actually, I know I’m not. I hear the same thing from my clients all the time. But this is getting out of hand. Every other day, I see someone make a post about it, or I get a call from someone who is fed up with their cable bills. While the numbers are not exact, from my experience, monthly bills are ranging from $230-$290 a month! That's insanity.
Celebrating Pi Day with Mathnasium
Happy Pi Day!
Every March 14th, math students and teachers around the world come together to celebrate Pi Day, the holiday that honors the mathematical constant pi. Pi, or 3.14159…, is the distance around a circle divided by the distance across its middle, or the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
Labor of Love: For Carlos McBride, Enlightenment is a Commitment
On the first day of class at Holyoke Community College, the teacher arrived early. He walked past rows of empty desks to the chalkboard, where he scrawled his last name, McBride, next to the title of the course, Introduction to Sociology. On the table in front, he put down his stuff, including the syllabus featuring readings by Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim. Then he adjusted his fitted cap, grabbed his hip hop magazine, and walked to the back row. His sneakers scuffed the floor when he took a seat. The pages of the magazine fluttered as he leafed through them. The people filing in barely glanced at the middle-aged man of color whom they assumed was a fellow student. Forty of his peers sat down and waited to learn.
Suddenly, McBride got up and eased his way through the rows. But instead of taking his place at the board, he walked out of the room.
Building a Life in Longmeadow - One Slice at a Time
For the Ferrentino family, it was always Longmeadow - and nearly every morning - it’s coffee at the Shoppes. “We get morning coffee every day at Starbucks with a group of friends known as the “Delaney Market Club,” said Marissa Ferrentino, 31.
Traditions like this are important to the Ferrentino family, and there are plenty of family members taking part! Marissa and Frankie live in Longmeadow with their two-year-old daughter, Francesca - but when you add in Frankie’s Italian family, and Marissa’s Portuguese family, the Thanksgiving table gets pretty long.
Blazing a Trail: How a Local Realtor Cornered a Niche Market
My career has always centered on railroads – marketing rail freight and managing the operations of several transloading facilities in the northeast. In 1994 a regional publisher who admired my background in railroad history contracted me to write three books on the conversion of former railroad corridors into trails. The books were hits, but some people were still fearful or angry about trail conversions. I couldn’t understand why and wanted to help. I became an advocate for the conversions and helped to organize local “Friends of the Trail” groups. Eventually, I was hired by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) and worked for them for seven years in policy development at the state level. I like to say that I am a battle-hardened veteran of nearly every rail-trail war within 150 miles of Northampton. When RTC left the region, I became a realtor with a related niche: I sell houses near rail trails. The primary reason people opposed trail conversions was a decrease in property value. But I’m very successful in my specialty. You could say I’ve cornered the market.
Discovering "Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser"
I’m a Star Wars nerd. I’ll admit it. I love binge watching the movies (in order of course!) and whenever I’m at Disney World, I love hitting up Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios is now the mecca for anyone Star Wars fan. There are Star Wars themed rides, restaurants, and loads of characters walking around.
Schools of Thought
If you have a child who will start elementary, middle or high school in the fall, you may be deciding on where they will go. Here are your primary options
Bring Boston’s Books to You
Storrs Library gives you access to bunches, boatloads, buckets, and bushels of beguiling books and materials. We can even help you get access to the Boston Public Library (BPL) system. Wait! Drop those car keys and take off those boots. No need to drive across any slushy streets to get to Boston. The BPL is as close as your nearest computer.
Education & Empowerment: The Londraville Family
If you haven’t seen the Londraville family, you might need to have your eyes checked - because they are everywhere from the soccer fields, to the hockey rink, basketball courts to Batch, classrooms, author talks, and sidewalks. They’ve been in town for a decade - and they don’t plan on leaving a place they’ve come to love.
Our United Way Makes History: For 100 Years, Northampton Has Been in Good Hands
When Holly Martineau joined the United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region last March, the first thing she did was celebrate. That’s because 2022 marked the organization’s 100th year of extraordinary service.
“The 100th anniversary of any nonprofit is a huge event,” says Martineau, director of development for the Northampton-based branch. “But the United Way is funding organizations that serve those most in need, and those needs are constantly changing. So that means we need to evolve as well.”
Holiday Hustle
‘Tis the season for big buys, frequent returns, and, we hate to say it: skeevy scams. We talked to tech expert Scott Haselkorn about what to note before you answer that urgent email from Amaz0n. (And no, that’s not a typo. It’s just more reason to read on.)
Doctor's Orders
Dr. Jonathan Bayuk, a board-certified allergist and clinic immunologist in Northampton, gets real with us about covid-19 vaccine injuries, pandemic tee-shirt slogans, and the good old days of Encyclopedia Britannica.
LIVING BEYOND 120 - BUILD YOUR LONGEVITY PORTFOLIO
We are living longer. The average life expectancy in 1860 was 39; today it’s 81!
Personally, I’m planning to live to 148 and my wife Lorie to 156. I often get a reaction of shock from people, as they picture me as a shriveled 148 year old prune in a wheelchair. But I’m talking about living to 148 healthy, active, and vibrant.
Impossible? Think again.
Is Solar Right For You?
Everyone has an opinion…or more like, everyone shares regurgitated facts based on the opinions of those whom have caught their ear…
The facts are that, like most things in life, every scenario is different - not just based on the house, location, shading or even amount of electricity needed. Your goals should be the deciding factor. Ask yourself these questions:
Is this my “forever home"?
What are my immediate and long term goals for my monthly budget?
Is there a home improvement project such as a new roof that I wish I could make happen without bleeding money?
Brush with Grace: Zachariah Vaughan Gives Refugees a New Start
This is a story about grace. Not religious grace, per se, although there’s an element of spirituality. Not Grace Paint and Tile, specifically, although the company plays a large role. At its heart, it’s about a guy who lost his way for a while, who has become a mentor to Northampton High School athletes and Afghan refugees. It’s about his most recent crew of painters, football stars and former soldiers, who didn’t always understand each other but knew that when lunch rolled around, they would lay down a drop cloth, take off their shoes, and share a pot of stew. And it’s about his community, our community, that emerged from isolation eager to merge worlds.