Prison Reform
A recent poll of Massachusetts residents say they’d prefer rehabilitation over punishment when it comes to prison sentences. To talk about this and the ever growing prison population due to the war on drugs and how it unfairly targets minorities, we’ll talk to best-selling author Scott Christianson who has written about this important topic. Scott Christianson is an award-winning author, journalist, filmmaker and activist who worked in high-level criminal justice positions under four NY governors. A longtime prison reformer, he has published more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles in The NY Times, the Washington Post and other publications. He is an UConn graduate and now lives in Massachusetts.
On the Road in Hampshire County: Monte Belmonte
WRSI Radio Program Director and on-air personality Monte Belmonte discusses some of the interesting and unique aspects of life in Hampshire County and some issues currently making news there.
Tick Lab Students
UMass students William Mohn and Lora Miller discuss their work at the UMass Amherst Laboratory of Medical Zoology on ticks and tick-borne illnesses.
Best Buddies of Western Massachusetts
Best Buddies of Western Massachusetts creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships in schools between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. In many high schools and middle schools, students with IDD are still segregated from their non-disabled peers. Without programs like Best Buddies that foster friendships and inclusion, students with intellectual disabilities will continue to be segregated. Isa Deloge, Area Director of Central and Western MA Best Buddies and Ani Petithory, advisory board member of Best Buddies of Western Massachusetts who has Williams Syndrome explains how Best Buddies changed her life.
Follow Best Buddies of Western MA on Twitter: @BestBuddiesMA
