Journalists are reporting on the constant chaos, but they are not featuring the Congresspeople who are speaking up. Here are a few; there are many more.
Western Mass leaders and activists need to unite around passenger rail service. We propose formation of a Western Mass Rail Coalition to create the united front necessary to ensure that MassDOT understands the needs of our large region of the Commonwealth.
Skeptics of the Berkshire Flyer weekend-only, tourist-oriented concept support instead a daily passenger rail service from New York's Grand Central Terminal via Connecticut and up through the Housatonic Valley to the Berkshires that would include four stations in Berkshire County: Sheffield; Great Barrington; Lee; and the terminus at the Intermodal Transportation Center in Pittsfield.
In the last few years, Stanton has guided the selectboard through the sale of the old Castle Street firehouse, the reconstruction of Main Street, and the approval for the conversion of the former Searles High School to an upscale 88-room hotel on Bridge Street.
Berkshire County's legislative delegation testified before the Joint Committee on Transportation in favor of a bill that would authorize the study of high-speed rail access between Boston and Springfield.
In the Berkshires, however, a lot of work has been done to get towns organized for a rail line, like locating stations so there’s at least a good 10-mile run between stops for efficiency.
The fervor and message of what appeared to be a polarizing controversy that centered on the town’s frustration with increasing property taxes and the inability of local incomes to keep up, did not seem to fuel election outcomes this time around.
The town’s annual election will be held Tuesday May 12, in an election that could determine a significant change in the focus of town leadership. There are contests for the four open seats on major town boards, two on the Selectboard and two on the Finance Committee. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Town Meeting narrative: Dark doom filled the auditorium like the sky in Harry Potter. I checked my warrant and understood why: we were now entertaining the Finance Committee’s proposed bylaw to receive “regular and special reports and statements” about town and school district finances. The proposed bylaw was the by-product of a Mexican standoff between committee chair Sharon Gregory and the school district over her requests for detailed reports.
Dave Long of Housatonic, an outspoken critic of last year's Monument Mountain Regional High School renovation plan, and now an advocate for a systemic change to address the district’s financial and infrastructure issues, “implored everyone” to vote for the school budget. “If we start ripping apart the fabric of the schools, I think it could be disastrous,” he advised.
In her letter to the editor, Dana Dapolito writes: "In a nutshell, this plan shifts the tax burden from lower-priced residential properties to more expensive homes, commercial properties and second-home owners through the use of a “Residential Exemption.” I think this plan is shortsighted and not suited to a small rural town such as Great Barrington."
“I do have a problem with anyone questioning the validity and accuracy of our numbers. We are meticulous, we have the highest credit rating that is enviable to any town. I strongly object to any incorrect implication about the accuracy of the numbers. We are following what we’re required to do from the Department of Revenue, which is not a private sector business, and we are also offering open books, full transparency.”
-- Great Barrington Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin
"Sustainable economic development will occur because our regions will be far more attractive to young entrepreneurs and investors when we are connected again by passenger rail to New York, and to the world.”
-- Train Campaign founder Karen Christensen of Great Barrington
“We were told legally that [the Finance Committee] is an advisory board, and it just seems to me that your advisory capacity is going well beyond the advisory nature and actually trying to set policy.”
-- Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee member Bill Fields
