The Bookstore has also been a place of comfort, in that special way good bookstores are, for people who want to step out of modern life’s constant buzzing.
“Instead of pouring money into attorneys that fight the Environmental Protection Agency, pour it into cleaning the river.”
-- Berkshire Natural Resources’ letter to General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt
Mass Audubon also argued that “the proposed pipeline would permanently degrade and fragment” Spectacle Pond Farm, an integral component of the Otis State Forest.
Selectboard Chairman Sean Stanton wondered if the town should vote down the school budget, as a “statement,” to “stoke the fire a bit,” because education “feels a little bit inequitable in the way it’s funded.”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is now requiring, among other things, clarification “that Tennessee would not fell trees in areas where it has not obtained an easement or purchase of property…including lands protected under Article 97 of the Massachusetts State Constitution.”
“This is very exciting news. While very few people see the need for this gas line, all that we have ever asked of Kinder Morgan and FERC is to follow the process, be open and be fair to this beautiful community of 800 residents."
-- State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli
Right now, Hermit Warblers should be in tropical wintering grounds in Mexico or Central America, but one little vagrant was spotted in Connecticut in February.
The goal of the "aging in place" forums is to develop a dialogue about barriers to aging in one’s home and community ... and to learn about efforts to support older adults in the Berkshires.
“This young man here [Fire Chief Charlie Burger] works 90 hours a week. We’re burning him out. I asked for it for years. It’s very much needed.”
-- Former Fire Chief Harry Jennings
When he reaches Boston, Denny Alsop will tell state leaders that remote as Western Massachusetts may seem, it is the region where Boston derives its water supply. So it matters.
“This is a case of a forest of clean air machines being literally traded for the transmission of fossil fuels. Not a step in the right direction.”
-- Arborist Tom Ingersoll, on the Kinder Morgan proposal to cut a swathe through protected old-growth forests in Sandisfield to build a natural gas pipeline extension to Connecticut
"The purchase of this spectacular property [Otis State Forest] ensures its lasting protection and is an example of our prudent investment in the Commonwealth’s rare and irreplaceable natural resources.”
--- Gov. Deval Patrick, in 2007
“We’ve been FERC’ed!”
-- Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, upon learning that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had approved a Tennessee Gas Pipeline route through the protected lands of Otis State Forest in March of 2016
In Massachusetts the Jefferson and blue-spotted salamanders are listed as Species of Special Concern. This group of salamanders belong to the Ambystoma genus and are commonly referred to as "mole salamanders." The genus evolved 30 million years ago (give or take).
The “Order to Protect Children” that will revoke the private school’s residential group care licenses noted that since sanctions were imposed on the school on February 17, Early Education and Care (EEC) learned of numerous violations of the sanctions, including more abuse and neglect.
