“All [kayak rental] transactions occur at the Arcadian Shop,” Arcadian Shop co-owner Chris Calvert told The Berkshire Edge during a July 9 phone interview.
In her letter Marnie Meyers writes: “A return of horseracing to Great Barrington would bring gambling elements, snarled traffic, environmental damage, and the cruel use of horses back to that wonderful town.”
In a letter to the editor, Beryl Birch writes, "... the list of horse racing woes keeps growing and public interest in horse racing is waning, primarily due to the list of more and more horse deaths in tracks around the country..
In a letter to the editor, Bob Meyers writes, "According to the EPA, the types of animal waste pollutants discharged by Sterling Suffolk Racecourse threaten human health and the environment."
"Over the past few weeks I have met, spoken with, and received testimony from many in my District who are concerned with this proposal: either because they do not support horse racing as an industry, or because they are concerned with the legislation as it is currently drafted." --Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield
“Senator Hinds’ willingness to stand with his constituents is highly commendable and his removal of his name from S101 is significant.”
-- Great Barrington Selectboard member Leigh Davis
What type of economic development does not bring with it some aspect that some of us find unpalatable? How much are we willing to put up with in order to improve economic opportunities for ourselves and others.
Town officials have said Sterling Suffolk Racecourse would need at least two special permits: One for commercial amusement and another for floodplain protection, and possibly a third for work in the town’s water quality protection overlay district.
We remember
racing across plains of sagebrush, bluegrass, Utah juniper and mountain mahogany.
Tearing up foothill slopes, across plateaus blissfully empty of imperious humans…
Suffolk needs a change in state law to permit it to hold races in Great Barrington while at the same time allowing it to maintain its simulcasting and betting operations back in East Boston. Racing at the fairgrounds would also require permits from the town.
The town expects to have the north side of Railroad Street "buttoned up," including the installation of bases for decorative light poles, by the end of this week.
In the end, it was simply too much to ask of the board, especially after receiving several emails from neighbors who complained loudly that allowing the event would be a "slippery slope" and that the neighborhood near the airport was too densely populated.
Over 50 local cultured vendors are slated for this year, including many new ones such as NYrture Food talking about natto (fermented soybeans) and Maple Valley Creamery making special batches of cultured ice creams for the fest (including pickle ice cream!).
