LATEST NEWS
Great Barrington voters to gather for first town meeting since controversial “Gender Queer” police search, launch of multi-million dollar cannabis lawsuit
Great Barrington, Massachusetts residents will gather at Monument Mountain Regional High School for town meeting tonight at 6. They’ll consider a 28-item warrant, including a $16.4 million general fund for fiscal year 2025, $4.7 million in capital authorizations, two citizen’s petitions, and more. It’s the first town meeting since controversy over a police search of a middle school for a book on gender queer identity overtook the community late last year — and the first since multiple cannabis businesses launched a $6 million lawsuit against the town over community impact fees. Steve Bannon is chair of both Great Barrington’s selectboard and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District School Committee. He previewed tonight’s meeting with WAMC.
Jalisco Cantina Mexican restaurant opens in former Prado’s Café site on Lee’s Main Street
Lee — Residents are now able to enjoy their mornings with authentic Mexican food just a short stroll down Main Street. Patricia de la Paz opened Jalisco Cantina on May 1 at 85 Main Street, in the space formerly occupied by Prado’s Café. She also operates two other restaurants in New York: Glenville’s Tequila Jalisco and Ballston Spa’s Taqueria Guadalajara, with those customers having told de la Paz “there’s not much Mexican food in Lee.” The patrons’ comments sparked her interest in the town’s Main Street and, after hearing the Prado’s space was available, she put her plans in motion. De la Paz said she liked the area so much she decided to make her home locally about a month ago, moving from New York. “We’re happy to be in Lee,” she told the Berkshire Edge during a phone interview. “It’s a really nice town. Everybody’s welcoming.”
Remembering the days before homelessness in Berkshire County
At the turn of the century, I returned to Berkshire County, where I had grown up. I had been gone a score of years, starting just after high school. It is hard to impress how halcyon Pittsfield was in the 1960s through 1980. Crime was virtually unheard of. I remember a big “news story” in The Berkshire Eagle about teenagers drinking beer in the woods by fires. During the ’90s, when Pittsfield was in the very beginning of its economic downturn brought on by General Electric downsizing, there was little crime in Pittsfield. Historians generally agree that the 1990s represented a national high-water mark from crime, but the Berkshires by and large ducked it.
Berkshire County activist attempting to support Palestinian family trapped in Gaza with fundraiser ahead of further Israeli military action
A Berkshire County woman has personal ties to a fundraising effort to help a Palestinian family trapped in the Southern Gaza city Rafah evacuate to neighboring Egypt. Lillian Volat of Great Barrington, Massachusetts is promoting a $67,000 effort to help her friend Aya Al-Ghazzawi and her 14-member family escape the Israeli military campaign that has killed around 35,000 since the October 7th Hamas attacks. Volat, who has worked to organize Pro-Palestinian demonstrations through the Anti-Imperialist Solidarity group, knows Al-Ghazzawi through her time working with the International Centre for Water Management Services in the Middle East. She spoke with WAMC.
It’s town meeting season in Berkshire County, with a handful set for Monday evening
Great Barrington residents will gather to debate a more than $16 million general fund and $21 million school budget at Monument Mountain Regional High School at 6. Dalton voters will congregate at Wahconah Regional High School at 7 to address a 22-item warrant including the annual town budget and a citizen’s petition revising sidewalk ordinances. Sheffielders will meet at Mount Everett Regional High School at 6 to tackle issues ranging from an almost $8 million share of the Southern Berkshire Regional School District Operating and Transportation budget to zoning bylaw amendments. West Stockbridge voters will meet in the town hall gym to discuss their 47-item warrant at 6.
Bear Butter shop opens up in Great Barrington, Mass.
A Bear Butter shop opened last month in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Bear butter is fortified almond butter. It’s a mix of almonds, vegan vanilla protein, cacao, goji berries, golden flax seeds, hemp and coconut flakes. The owner started selling bear butter out of The Spot in Pittsfield. It took...
Brookside Road Bridge closed until further notice
According to a statement from the Great Barrington Police Department, the bridge on Brookside Road will be closed until further notice. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will announce when the bridge is reopened.
Ceremony in Sheffield, Mass. unveils headstone for Black Civil War soldier, celebrating his service
Jocelyn Jones Arnold, unveiled a new gravestone for her great-great-granduncle, William D. Jones, a Civil War veteran from Sheffield, Massachusetts. Massachusetts State Rep. Smitty Pignatelli, Laurence Jones, the great-great-grandnephew of William D. Jones, and Brigadier General Paul L. Minor, from the Massachusetts National Guard, stand behind her at the Center Cemetery.
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