Northampton’s long traditions of caring for the vulnerable and advancing the cause of women continue to this day. Leslea Newman writes here for The Advocate in “Greetings from Lesbianville U.S.A.: grrrls, goddesses, and Gloria Steinem! Northampton, Mass., is the Sapphic center of America, tucked away among New England academia”: In 1851 the famed diva Jenny Lind, […]
Continue reading Northampton Worth Fighting For: “Greetings from Lesbianville”
From “Who was Sojourner Truth?” at noho.com:Sojourner Truth came to Northampton in 1843 to live at the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, a utopian community in Florence. Born a slave in upstate New York in approximately 1797, she labored for a succession of five masters until the Fourth of July, 1827, when slavery was […]
Continue reading Northampton Worth Fighting For: Sojourner Truth
Northampton is the home of Smith College, founded in 1871 with a bequest from Sophia Smith. Smith is the nation’s largest liberal arts college for women.In her will, Sophia Smith wrote:“I hereby make the following provisions for the establishment and maintenance of an Institution for the higher education of young women, with the design to […]
Continue reading Northampton Worth Fighting For: Smith College
Northampton has received widespread recognition as a good place to live. Here is a selection from recent awards listed on the city’s website:“Top 10 Family Friendly Towns” by Parenting Magazine, May 1997“100 Best School Districts in the U.S.” by Offspring: The Magazine of Smart Parenting, September/October 2000“Number One Best Small Arts Town in America” by author […]
Continue reading Northampton Worth Fighting For: Awards and Recognition
Some people have wondered why Capital Video chose Northampton for a porn shop. A USA Today article from 2003 suggests a reason…Until the 61-foot-tall sign appeared one morning along Interstate 70, no one from Abilene, Kan., knew that the former Stuckey’s truck stop just outside of town had been remade into an “adult superstore” that […]
Continue reading USA Today: “Sex shops infiltrate small towns”
NoPornNorthampton invites all citizens concerned about the proposed King Street porn shop to attend a public meeting. ServiceNet has graciously agreed to provide an air-conditioned conference room at their 129 King Street offices. This location is at the corner of King and North Streets in Northampton, across the street from Dunkin’ Donuts. The meeting will […]
Continue reading NPN Calls Public Meeting of Concerned Citizens
Earlier in July, NPN visited Kittery, Maine and spoke with the town manager and the police chief. Kittery (population 10,000) is smaller than Northampton (population 29,000). Its Capital Video porn shop, Amazing.net, is estimated to be about 4,000 square feet in size. It contains 16 viewing booths. The proposed site for Capital Video’s shop in […]
Continue reading Substantial Traffic at the Kittery Porn Shop
Local radio host Monte Belmonte at WRSI 93.9 FM makes his contribution to the debate with Porn in the USA, a musical parody of The Boss’s famous lyric from the 80s. We’re not quite sure where Monte stands on the issue, but the song is pretty entertaining. Listen to it here.
Continue reading WRSI’s Monte Belmonte Immortalizes the Porn Issue in Song
July 21: From the Gazette’s report on the July 20 Northampton City Council meeting… “‘The 20 viewing booths is really what gets me,’ Gregory Squire, of 25 Summer St. told the council. He said he is ‘blessed with a panoramic view of 135 King St.’ from his home…. “The Rev. Joseph Soltysiak, of St. Valentine’s […]
Continue reading Gazette: “Northampton residents speak out against porn shop”
July 20: Springfield CBS affiliate WSHM reported on Northampton citizens’ objections to the proposed King Street porn shop: “‘The more we found [out], the more we were concerned and most people are too,’ said Adam Cohen, who is against the shop being in his neighborhood…. “Residents say the content isn’t necessarily the problem…they’re concerned about […]
Continue reading WSHM Springfield: “Northampton Residents Protest Porn Shop”