In addition to performing as a soloist, Chertock serves as principal keyboardist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and has been a professor of piano at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
“Affordable broadband Internet is no longer considered a luxury but rather an essential utility. The need for broadband in the 21st century is often compared to the need for electricity or phone service in previous centuries.”
-- Mission statement on Massachusetts Broadband Institute web site
Local business leaders, innovators, educators, and town and state officials, say that Broadband — also called high-speed, high-capacity Internet connectivity –– is deemed critical for the Berkshires economy to stay afloat and expand.
At an information meeting in Mill River, Mass., Wired West advocate Tim Newman pointed out that the fiber optic network would provide a high level of service that has become an essential component of modern living. Communications giants such as Verizon and the cable firms such as Time Warner have not been willing to invest in this high level of service for rural communities.
I have to say that my heart sank when I heard Baker begin his reply to the question by saying that he believes “pipeline capacity needs to be expanded to bring natural gas from Pennsylvania into our state.”
According to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, roughly one in eight people continues to experience hunger in this part of the Commonwealth, an eye-opening fact. Furthermore, one in five children lives in food-insecure households.
