Sunday, March 8, 2026

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Shaw Israel Izikson

Shaw Israel Izikson is Managing Editor for The Berkshire Edge. Izikson is an award-winning journalist, editor, and photographer from Baltimore, Maryland. He was the winner of the 2015 New England Better Newspaper competition in editorial writing. Izikson is the former editor of The Winsted Journal newspaper from 2014 to 2017. He was also the editor of The Winsted Phoenix from 2019 to 2021, and most recently The Country Journal in late 2021. He has been in the journalism field for over 20 years, starting as a reporter for The Irregular newspaper in Kingfield, Maine. He worked at The Lakeville Journal company for 11 years, working as a reporter at all three newspapers owned by the company before serving as the editor for The Winsted Journal from 2014 to 2017. Izikson is an award-winning journalist, editor, and photographer from Baltimore, Maryland. He was the winner of the 2015 New England Better Newspaper competition in editorial writing. Izikson is the former editor of The Winsted Journal newspaper from 2014 to 2017. He was also the editor of The Winsted Phoenix from 2019 to 2021, and most recently The Country Journal in late 2021. He has been in the journalism field for over 20 years, starting as a reporter for The Irregular newspaper in Kingfield, Maine. He worked at The Lakeville Journal company for 11 years, working as a reporter at all three newspapers owned by the company before serving as the editor for The Winsted Journal from 2014 to 2017. Photo by Jamie Tilley.

written articles

Great Barrington Town Manager Hartsgrove proposing $655,484 increase in town’s fiscal 2027 budget

Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove's first budget eliminates reliance on free cash for operations and calls for a roughly $5 million Proposition 2½ override to address structural imbalances and rising costs.

Alleged perpetrator in Pittsfield fatal hit and run incident arrested

Further details, along with an arraignment date, have not been released.

BHRSD Superintendent Dillon: ‘Fiscal 2027 is a difficult and impactful budget situation’

The proposal includes class size increases and staffing cuts alongside reinstated stipends and a new literacy coach position.

Hotchkiss Dramatic Association to perform adaption of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’

The production, co-directed by Hotchkiss Director of Theater Derek Brashears and senior William Becker, uses a script written by playwright Nick Dear that provides an entirely new twist.

Pittsfield resident killed in hit-and-run

The driver in the incident fled the scene, and police are seeking information from the public.

Fairview Hospital terminates greeting team

According to hospital officials the greeter role, added during the COVID-19 pandemic, is no longer needed now that infection control protocols have eased.

Berkshire Regional Transit Authority proposing service cutbacks to Great Barrington

In total, Town Planner Chris Rembold said BRTA is proposing to cut 11 out of the current 18 Great Barrington weekday bus trips, approximately a 45 percent cut in its regular service levels.

Great Barrington Selectboard reviews potential additions to town’s Trust Policy

These additions are not meant to replace, amend, or expand the original policy," Multicultural BRIDGE CEO Gwendolyn VanSant explained. "It’s providing guidance and a little bit more procedures so we can work towards being in more alignment and deeper collaboration with the Police Department and the town."

BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES: New chief medical officer at CHP says, ‘It’s cool to help people’

"I’m not interested in working for a healthcare organization that looks primarily at dollar signs," CHP Chief Medical Officer John-Paul Bettencourt told The Edge. "I got into medicine not because of dollars, but because I really want to help people, and that’s what CHP does."

Great Barrington Selectboard to discuss Trust Policy revisions at upcoming meeting

The Selectboard will discuss potential revisions to the 2017 policy with Multicultural BRIDGE CEO Gwendolyn VanSant and Interim Police Chief Adam Carlotto as state legislators advance the PROTECT Act to regulate immigration enforcement.

Great Barrington town manager presents several fiscal 2027 budget scenarios

Instead of formally submitting a proposed fiscal 2027 budget at the February 3 meeting, Hartsgrove spoke of three potential budget scenarios.

S&P downgraded Great Barrington’s credit rating in October

According to S&P, “The downgrade reflects Great Barrington's weakened economic metrics relative to the nation, as well as an anticipated decrease in the town's reserve position and exhaustion of its unused levy capacity, which we believe will increase operating pressure.”

Andrew Fitch of North Adams to run for 1st Berkshire District seat in State House

According to his campaign website, Fitch is running on a platform focused on community development, education, and transportation, along with affordability and regional collaboration.

W.E.B. Du Bois’ great-grandson to star in play celebrating his legacy

In a celebration of his great-grandfather's legacy, Jeffrey DuBois Peck will star in the title role of "W.E.B. Du Bois: An American Hero" at Monument Mountain on Feb. 21.

From the school committee to the streets of Great Barrington, Berkshire County braces against threat of ICE

As Berkshire Hills Regional School District prepares for possible ICE enforcement, over 200 residents take to the streets in Great Barrington against the agency and the Trump administration.
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