Tim Lovett of Compass offers the opportunity to own your own 74-acre private sanctuary in the heart of Great Barrington. The architectural design firm of Clark Green + Bek works with new owners to transform Doctor Sax House from a private home to a stunning boutique hotel. A year-end wrap-up of 2024 real estate sales has surprises. Plus, recent sales and gardening columns and a home-cooking recipe.
The ban on the sale of single-use plastic bottles went into effect Jan. 1, 2019, but the town has held off on compliance enforcement until public water stations are completed.
In his letter Great Barrington Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon writes: "The selectboard did vote to delay the ticketing process for violations of the bylaw until May 2020, for several reasons correctly listed by the Berkshire Women's Action Group."
These refill stations are extremely hygienic, as no skin or mouth contact is needed to refill your bottle. The units will be owned and maintained by the town.
Selectboard Chairman Steve Bannon said he could not support enforcement of the bylaw until there is an implementation and funding plan for the series of water stations that are planned to help consumers refill the reusable bottles.
To ease the transition and make tap water more readily available, the Berkshire Women’s Action Group’s Environment Committee is planning a gradual rollout of modern, hygienic water-refill stations around Great Barrington and Housatonic.
A discussion of African-Americans’ Berkshires history and culture as well as the stories and voices not being told or heard, 'Being Black in the Berkshires' will remember the past, assess the present and plan for the future.
In their letter to the editor, members of the Environment Committe of the Berkshire Women Action Group write: "We are also compiling answers to questions people have about the stations and the GB on Tap program."
The divide between the natives and those from outside the area is as wide as it's ever been. Don't take my word for it or judge based only on Monday night's meeting. As of Tuesday afternoon the Great Barrington Community Board Facebook page contained more than 500 comments.
In her letter to the editor, Marcia Arland writes: “Plastic is cheap to produce and convenient. But what is not figured into this equation is the overall cost to consumers, communities, the environment.”
The approval of the plastic water bottle ban from residents at the annual town meeting followed a lengthy and impassioned appeal at the annual town meeting from three Monument Mountain Regional High School students.
The new bylaw effectively bans the sale of single-use plastic noncarbonated water bottles of one liter in size or less within the town limits of Great Barrington. It will take effect May 1, 2019.
Rome was not built in a day. Banning the sale of single-use plastic bottles is a start. It builds the momentum begun by Concord, and creates a model for other towns to emulate.
Almost everyone I know already brings a reusable water bottle to school (many in bright colors or covered in fun stickers), and I don’t foresee the ban changing our day-to-day life in any way. In fact, I don’t see this being a major detriment in any way to most citizens of Great Barrington.
While a long list of businesses and other organizations said they supported the new bylaw, it did not sit did well with a number of other merchants, who felt the ban would harm their businesses or who objected on the grounds of legislative overreach.
