The worthiest enemy of authoritarianism is authority. But who are the authoritative heroes available to us, and to the younger generations in particular? Who speaks a truth that everyone can get behind?
If voters approve the Great Barrington bylaw, indoor cultivation of marijuana of the sort envisioned in the mills will be permitted by-right in the light industrial zone that covers much of Housatonic.
The project, which will include both new construction and reuse of the mill, would add retail and office space, restaurants, a health club and pool open to the public, and in excess of 100 units of housing.
Some Great Barrington Selectboard members lit up in 2011 as they considered the restoration of a hamlet that had fallen on hard times, especially after a massive fire wiped out the Aberdale block in the 1960s. Board members were also starry-eyed at the much-needed tax revenue potential.
