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Massachusetts Democrats are buzzing ahead of Harris fundraiser in Pittsfield Saturday
Harris’s visit to Pittsfield was planned before President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign and endorse her as the nominee, amplifying the already rare spectacle of a high wattage national politico in Berkshire County. “It's very exciting for the region, it's very exciting for the nation....
Boil water notice issued for Chester
CHESTER, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - A boil water notice has been issued for the town of Chester. This comes after the MassDEP confirmed technique violations that occurred during multiple days in June and July. After reviewing water system data MassDEP decided to issue an order for water customers on the Chester...
Former Gov. Deval Patrick ready for VP Harris' trip to Berkshire County Saturday
Kamala Harris already made history four years ago when she was elected with President Joe Biden as vice president. Now, she's hoping to keep Democrats in control of the White House in an accelerated campaign against former President Donald Trump. It's anyone's guess right now November will play out now that the Trump-Biden rematch is off the table, but one person who is watching closely is former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick — who is raising money for Harris' effort in the Bay State, where he served two terms as its first Black governor.
Lake Mansfield shut down to swimmers due to E.Coli levels
Great Barrington — The town’s Health Department has shut down Lake Mansfield to swimmers due to dangerous levels of E.Coli on Wednesday, July 24. Further details are not known, but this story will be updated as more details come in to The Berkshire Edge. According to an email...
Southwick cannabis permit applicant drops out, leaves 4 finalists
SOUTHWICK — The Southwick resident who was the only marijuana retailer permit applicant not to be named a finalist decided on July 16 to withdraw his application. James Jaron, who also owns Holyoke Cannabis and had proposed a business to be called The Southwick Dispensary at the site of the former Roma Restaurant on College Highway, had previously challenged his exclusion from the list of finalists. The selection of finalists was made by board member Diane Gale before the list was presented to the full Select Board. Jaron’s withdrawal leaves just the four finalists Gale had selected in the running for the two retail permits Southwick will issue.
MA Residents: Catch A Concert In The Heart Of Lenox!
Bay State residents: We bring you Sounds of Summer at The Great Barrington VFW every Tuesday evening as crowds are dancing the night away. Did you know that on the day later in downtown Lenox, the popular weekly Concerts in the Park series is celebrating it's 15th anniversary by offering Wednesday night performances showcasing local and regional bands and you STILL have time to check out a FREE show.
THEN & NOW: Riverside Cemetery in North Egremont
Riverside Cemetery in North Egremont dates back to the early days of settlement by Dutch and English descendants. The cropped, close-up photograph of the old gateway entrance shown above and the complete panoramic view shown immediately below were taken by the Baldwin family that owned a Great Barrington piano and music store in the early 1900s. They later moved to California and returned to their former home on Baldwin Hill for a visit in the 1940s. The Baldwins had ancestors buried in the cemetery. The photograph features the only known image of the old entrance gate that eventually deteriorated and was torn down many decades ago. A present-day view of the cemetery is also shown below.
Westfield Health Bulletin: Feds’ $255M initiative will help agencies share public health data
The ancient Sumerians kept written records of harvest, taxes, beer recipes and sporting matches on clay tablets over 5,000 years ago. Those mysterious and magical looking writings merely contained data about public life. Evidence of advanced data storage is seen in written paper records, the printing press, punch cards, magnetic tapes, cassette tapes, hard drives, Floppy discs, compact discs, SD card, USB flash drive and now the cloud.
Town counsel says Southwick Select Board member didn’t violate ethics law
SOUTHWICK — The town’s attorney has found that Select Board member Jason Perron didn’t violate any conflict-of-interest laws when he called for a School Committee member to resign in February. “I do not believe Mr. Perron comments or emails resulted in a violation of the conflict of...
Board of Health’s decision on tobacco sales at Dollar General tabled until future meeting
Great Barrington — The company that operates Dollar General wants to sell tobacco products at its store at 197 Main Street. The store, which is the seventh in Berkshire County, opened earlier this year in the former Walgreens location. According to its website, the company, based out of Goodlettsville,...
Great Barrington’s Board of Health on Housatonic Water Works: ‘We are not the specific regulator for the water supply’
Great Barrington — Members of the town’s Board of Health discussed the board’s role in the handling of water quality problems with Housatonic Water Works (HWW) at the group’s meeting on Tuesday, July 23. According to town Health Agent Rebecca Jurczyk, over the past two weeks,...
Lee officials mull adding electric vehicle charging stations to downtown
Lee — Following a July 16 presentation by East Coast Renewable Energy (East Coast) President Nicholas Valorie, the Select Board is considering adding electric vehicle charging stations to the downtown area, with those locations yet to be determined. Valorie advocated that the program would create Level 3 charging stations within the town’s borders at no cost to the municipality for its first year of operation, the product of National Grid and Eversource incentives covering 97 percent of equipment and installation costs. East Coast would donate the remainder of the fees, including five years of software needed to run the stations.
Meeting on Potential Purchase of Housatonic Water Works
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The town will set an October outreach meeting to gain residents' feedback on draft findings from an investigation into the feasibility of the town acquiring and operating Housatonic Water Works. The decision over a town acquisition of HWW would ultimately be made by voters at...
Westfield property owner ordered to dispose of septic tank left in wetland
WESTFIELD — A North Side property owner complied with a Board of Health order to remove a septic tank, but Conservation Commission members aren’t happy about how the work was done. “Now we have a giant hole in the ground,” Conservation Coordinator Anna Meassick told the board at...
Whip City Fiber on schedule to cover all of Westfield next year
WESTFIELD — Whip City Fiber is on track to reach every Westfield neighborhood next year or sooner. Westfield Gas & Electric officials gave an update on their broadband internet service at two open houses July 16 to answer customers’ questions on scheduling, installation, streaming, speed, and small business offerings.
Spirit of 2026: Westfield historians seek to honor city’s Revolution history
WESTFIELD — As the nation nears the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, many Massachusetts communities are reviewing their own history, including Westfield. Though the famous events of the mid-1770s were mostly in eastern Massachusetts — downtown Boston, Bunker Hill, Concord, Lexington — Westfield was a...
Leigh Davis has demonstrated all the necessary attributes to serve as state representative
An ideal representative legislates, advocates, communicates, is accountable, and has been in our shoes, showing empathy that leads. After 11 positively impactful terms, Representative William “Smitty” Pignatelli is passing the torch for the 3rd Berkshire District, showing what a true representative does: putting the constituency above personal ego.
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