After a lighthearted “Ask the Editor” segment, Sarah and Mike gradually descend into the doom and gloom of budgetary drama in our local towns, by way of two building projects that voters will consider this year. Listeners who stick it out through this morass will be rewarded with discussion of a sweet human interest story from the January 29 edition, plus some unexpected tips on winter sinus health from our editor!

Send your editor questions to podcast@montaguereporter.org! And direct your words of encouragement and wiiiiiidddddeee format photos to editor@montaguereporter.org.

In our first episode of the new year, Sarah and Mike acknowledge the overwhelming national and international backdrop of the current moment before diving deep into a different time altogether—1893 Turners Falls. They discuss the special archival section from the New Years Day edition of the paper and answer listener questions about it. Then, back to the present for some bread-and-butter Montague Reporter content: a dam gets undammed and a pit gets filled. Looking at the future, a glut of elections is forecast for this year in Montague.

Submit your own question for the editor at podcast@montaguereporter.org!

Catching up after a little gap, Sarah and Mike recap a potpourri of stories from the last 6 weeks:

• Permits don’t last forever! A prospective solar development in Wendell whose permit was approved in 2018 hits yet another snag— will this be the final blow?
• Industrial buildings don’t last forever! We get an update on the ongoing Strathmore mill demolition saga.
• Police chiefs don’t last forever! Montague is getting a new one.
• Dogs sometimes don’t last forever when they are deemed dangerous by the town selectboard and that is sad for everyone (but all dogs considered in the recent hearings are still around!)
• Empty lots in the Patch don’t last forever! New apartment buildings are going up!

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