With all the talk of red states and blue states and regional politics, we live in a time where we often view anything not connected to us as “other.” But, oddly, at least in the Eastern United States, we have been connected across the 40th parallel by a single mountain range—the Appalachians—that has served for eons as a path not just for the hikers we see along Route 7 in the Berkshires, but by the flora and fauna that have travelled this same pathway.
Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM) will hold its gala event, “Knock Three Times and Whisper,” on Thursday, August 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Ski Butternut. The event will feature a Roaring 20s speakeasy theme, live music by the Wanda Houston Band.
The Berkshires has the second-highest rate of hospital visits for dental conditions in the state. If you have MassHealth in the Berkshires and you’re trying to access dental care, you are likely to be turned away by roughly 4 out of the 5 dentist offices that you call.
VIM Berkshires patients with chronic pain are routinely given services such as acupuncture, massage, mental health counseling, nutrition counseling, and support group participation; opioid painkillers are rarely prescribed.
In Great Barrington, Bridge Street is on the cusp of a development explosion. On Bridge Street the town will see newly paved roads, new sidewalks, improved drainage and lighting, and underground utilities.
A public hearing in Boston on Tuesday, November 10, before the Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight, will consider a bill to remove conservation restrictions from Berkshire and Hamden counties' state forests and protected lands. State Rep. Smitty Pignatelli and state Sen. Ben Downing urge Berkshire residents to attend this hearing to oppose this measure. The Sandisfield Taxpayers Opposing the Pipeline have chartered a bus to go to the hearing.
"I really view this is as a tremendous opportunity...Lee is a great, best option for us for any level of collaboration or consolidation."
-- Berkshire Hills School Committee member Richard Dohoney
The $5.4 million Main Street Reconstruction in Great Barrington is ahead of schedule, according to the DOT, with sidewalks and pavements to be completed by winter, and new trees planted this fall. The project, however, is “close” to its budget.
“Good for Berkshire Hills. If at the end of the day it takes five, fifteen, maybe twenty years, what education will look like in south Berkshire County is that Berkshire Hills will be the mothership.”
-- State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli
“The unkept promise of nearly 60 years ago to fully fund regional school transportation, has never been honored."
-- State Rep. William P. "Smitty" PIgnatelli
In her letter to the editor, Samara Klein of Housatonic writes: “Fight for Fifteen -- no one who works full-time for a large, profitable corporation should be paid so little that they cannot make ends meet. “
FIRST Tech competitions, known as “Varsity Sport for the Mind,” requires teams to build a robot from scratch quickly and within a framework of uniform size and task criteria, but without directions.
When work will be begin on repairing the Bridge Street span, and what restrictions on traffic will be imposed during the repairs has yet to be determined. Bridge Street provides access to the east side of Great Barrington and is a busy bypass during the Main Street Reconstruction Project that is just getting under way.
“The notion that is pushed widely in Boston is regionalization and schools working together. The only concrete thing the state has to do is provide transportation, then they pull the rug out, even though they say they care about this.”
-- Berkshire Hills Superintendent Peter Dillon
