Riz Cuisine In Amherst

Confessions of a Chancellor in Contradiction

Effective November 30, 2025—a date chosen as deliberately as it is symbolically ironic—I resign as Chancellor of UMass Amherst. Leadership is messy. I enforce rules while celebrating those who bend them, reward excellence while being accused of favoritism, and uphold compliance while being condemned for bureaucracy. Universities have always been crucibles of moral posturing versus institutional necessity. Some things never change. Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, events, or institutions is purely coincidental. The opinions, actions, and statements expressed herein are entirely imagined—even the hashtags and emails are fictional....

Confessions of a Chancellor in Contradiction Effective November 30, 2025—a date chosen as deliberately as it is symbolically ironic—I resign as Chancellor of UMass Amherst. Leadership is messy. I enforce rules while celebrating those who bend…

Fort River Has Been Added to the Group

Fort River in Turmoil In the span of a few bewildering meetings, the School Committee managed to shortlist finalists for a new school name and reopen the ever-controversial question of whether sixth graders should be moved to the Middle School after all. What follows is not a group chat: a portrait of a town oscillating between reinvention and paralysis, committees drowning in their own process, and Fort River finally weighing in on the chaos swirling around the school that bears its name....

Fort River Has Been Added to the Group Fort River in Turmoil In the span of a few bewildering meetings, the School Committee managed to shortlist finalists for a new school name and reopen the ever-controversial question of whether sixt…

The original Charter Commission, envisioned a professional, accountable, and efficient Council–Manager government that could handle Amherst’s unique pressures: a high-participation environment, multiple campuses, and a transient population.

Amherst’s 2018 Charter Works Against Its Own Vision Amherst’s 2018 Charter was basically marketed like the town-government equivalent of an iPhone launch. Sleek. Professional. Efficient. “A Council–Manager system built to survive Amherst’s nonstop a…

Amherst vs. Northampton: A Tale of Two College Towns

Both towns are beloved but one has a map. The other keeps asking who took the map, who drafted the map, who has opinions about the map’s tone, and whether the map should be referred back to committee....

Amherst vs. Northampton: A Tale of Two College Towns Both towns are beloved but one has a map. The other keeps asking who took the map, who drafted the map, who has opinions about the map’s tone, and whether the map should be referred back to committ…

What’s Wrong With Amherst

The Charter Review Committee is doing important work right now, because the heart of Amherst’s struggle isn’t our people but our structure. What’s wrong with Amherst is that it has a modern Town Council operating inside an ambiguously written charter, interpreted through inconsistent norms, in a hyper-engaged environment, with college-town pressures and no systematic strategy to manage them. Our charter created a sleek new system, but left out the operating manual....

What’s Wrong With Amherst The Charter Review Committee is doing important work right now, because the heart of Amherst’s struggle isn’t our people but our structure. What’s wrong with Amherst is that it has a modern Town Co…

Amherst’s most passionate debates rarely happen in council chambers but happen in Facebook comment threads and front-yard conversations, where municipal budgets meet moral philosophy. The Jones Library renovation is Exhibit A. On paper, the $58 million expansion was supposed to symbolize civic progress: sustainability upgrades, accessibility improvements, new community rooms, and an expanded children’s wing. But to many residents, it came to represent something else — a town spending itself into a corner while its fire trucks age and its roads crack....

The Library That Split the Town Amherst’s most passionate debates rarely happen in council chambers but happen in Facebook comment threads and front-yard conversations, where municipal budgets meet moral philosophy. The Jones Lib…

Amherst’s priorities are totally out of whack. The Jones Library got its multi‑million-dollar renovation and expansion, with a town commitment of about $15.75 million and state support topping $15 million and now they’re already asking for another $11 million to cover cost overruns and additional construction expenses. Meanwhile, the DPW and Fire Department, which have been waiting decades in unsafe, outdated facilities, are still left behind....

Amherst’s Breaking Point: From Firetrucks to Rent Checks Amherst’s priorities are totally out of whack. The Jones Library got its multi‑million-dollar renovation and expansion, with a town commitment of about $15.75 million and state support topping $15 …

In Amherst, around 2010, the Planning Department tried to introduce form-based zoning a forward-thinking way to shape buildings and streetscapes by their physical form rather than their use. The idea was simple: let growth happen, but make sure it looks and feels like Amherst. Keep the college-town buzz without selling out its soul. Consultants came with charts, renderings, and design codes for North Amherst and Atkins Corner....

When Amherst Voted Down the Future In Amherst, around 2010, the Planning Department tried to introduce form-based zoning  a forward-thinking way to shape buildings and streetscapes by their physical form rather than their use. …

By Rizwana Khan — writer, educator, and human rights advocate in the Town of Amherst. Amherst runs on two timelines. In one, the Town Manager’s report sounds like an operations log: pipes replaced, roads repaved, permits approved, directors hired. Infrastructure hums along, the machine keeps turning. There’s even a touch of gratitude for the Town Council’s “aspirational vision” — the \ polite nod you give someone for dreaming while you’re stuck managing emergencies....

The Infrastructure of Trust: Why Amherst’s Future Hinges on More Than Pipes and Permits By Rizwana Khan — writer, educator, and human rights advocate in the Town of Amherst. Amherst runs on two timelines. In one, the Town Manager’s report sounds like an operations log: pipes replaced,…

Downtown Amherst is at a crossroads. Residents just pushed petitions for a 1-year moratorium on new multi-unit buildings downtown basically saying, “UMass, house your 5,000 extra students on campus first, and stop investors from snapping up our family homes.” Here’s the vibe from councilors: The Protectors : They talk families, long-term residents, and community schools. If you care about keeping Amherst livable for year-round residents…...

Amherst Housing Watch: Who’s Who This Election Downtown Amherst is at a crossroads. Residents just pushed petitions for a 1-year moratorium on new multi-unit buildings downtown basically saying, “UMass, house your 5,000 extra students on campus…

Amherst is more than a college town—it’s a community struggling to balance growth, livability, and identity. With a population of 39,263, high housing costs, and limited affordable family units, permanent residents are increasingly feeling squeezed. “Permanent residents are being taxed like crazy… Universities can do more to mitigate the effects of an increasing student population on our streets and neighborhoods,”...

Amherst at a Crossroads: Parking, Housing, and Identity in the 2025 Election Amherst is more than a college town—it’s a community struggling to balance growth, livability, and identity. With a population of 39,263, high housing costs, and limited affordable family units, pe…

I push open the heavy doors of the Bang Community Hall and sign my name on a card by the entrance then find a seat among the veterans. On a table nearby, Big Y coffee cakes, strawberries, bananas, oranges, and bagels sit in neat rows with coffee. The ordinary abundance of grocery-store food contrasting sharply with the extraordinary weight of the stories soon unfolding....

Veteran Morning at Bang Community I push open the heavy doors of the Bang Community Hall and sign my name on a card by the entrance then find a seat among the veterans. On a table nearby, Big Y coffee cakes, strawberries, bananas,…