Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon tried to reassure everyone that town government was functioning and that elected officials were active and town employees were still reporting to work.
A penny on each dollar collected by the state's 6.26 percent sales tax (excluding meals) goes to fund the MBTA. That means Berkshire County residents fund the MBTA with every purchase, even though the MBTA's services do not extend beyond Worcester County.
Senate Bill 101 provides that horse racing licenses in locations that previously were granted commercial racing licenses would need no further approval from the municipality. In Great Barrington, that would mean neither the selectboard nor the citizens would ever have a vote.
As part of an investment in rural communities, Hinds and his colleagues recently pushed through a $1 million supplement to a $1.5 billion school aid package. “Rural” is a category that’s slowly being replaced by the more inclusive “Low and Declining Enrollment.”
The money authorized by the House will go toward safety provisions such as a new campus police cruiser, cameras, emergency software and surveillance equipment.
School districts across the Commonwealth will benefit from updates to the existing Chapter 70 funding formula, along with increased state investment in other vital education aid programs such as transportation, school construction and renovation and special education.
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
Sarah Miller MSW, LCSW will address the topic of caregiver burnout and share tips on how to avoid it and promote positive relationships with those being cared for.
In a letter to the editor, Scott Plantier writes, "Sterling Suffolk Racecourse successfully lobbied our legislature for loophole-laden legislation (S.101 and H.13) specifically aimed at sleepy, small-town Massachusetts."
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.
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.
Berkshire Community College and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts have announced that the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education has awarded the institutions $24,980 to establish the STEM Transfer Summer Bridge Program.
Sen. Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, announced that Wednesday that the Massachusetts Senate adopted his budget amendment to increase funding for the Rural School Aid grant program by $1 million, raising the total appropriation for this account to $2.5 million in the fiscal year 2020 Senate budget.
