The Shoestring

Springfield Residents Demand Justice for the Murder of Community Leader Jafet Robles By Andrea Schmid It has been a year since Jafet Robles’ body was found by a town parks employee at Szot Park in southern Chicopee. Robles had gone missing the night before, after leaving a recording session that he was participating in with […]

  A look at the pro-police flag proliferating in Southeastern Massachusetts By Brian Zayatz If you’ve visited Cape Cod during this year’s tourist season, it was probably one of the first things you saw. Coming down Route 6, the Cape’s main artery, you start to see them on highway overpasses: Exit 5, halfway between Exits […]

Mayor Narkewicz declares Sept 6 Usher Syndrome Awareness Day and requests funding for two local parks by Blair Gimma On Thursday, September 6, the Northampton City Council held their fourteenth meeting of the year. Approximately 6 people were present. At the start of the meeting, Council President Ryan O’Donnell announced that there were now four […]

Is it just a bad joke? BY Will Meyer and Blair Gimma Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, as we have noted before, enjoys dunking on and insulting his critics on Twitter. After The Shoestring criticized the police department’s plan to purchase riot gear and less-lethal weapons in April, Narkewicz got creative and wrote a multiple part […]

Financial Reports, an Order to strengthen democracy in public housing, and empty cans of iced tea by BLAIR GIMMA On Thursday, August 16th, the Northampton City Council held their thirteenth meeting of the year. Councilors Gina-Louise Sciarra (Ward 4) and Bill Dwight (At-Large) did not attend the meeting. Approximately 12 people were present. Public Comment […]