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Commercial Solar Array Planned For Outer East Street in PittsfieldBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
01:18AM / Thursday, October 05, 2017 | |
A public hearing will be held next Wednesday on the proposed 1.9-megawatt solar array. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Some 11 acres of heavily vegetated land on East Street is eyed to be cleared to make way for a commercial solar array. BVD Solar is seeking a special permit to construct a 1.9-megawatt array on a 73-acre percent near Winesap Road — the parcel just to the west of the Yankee Orchards. Of that 73 acres, 20.6 will be cut off from the parcel for the solar array installed and 11 acres of that will need to be cleared. "This is what you call outer east street," City Planner CJ Hoss said. "There is quite a bit of vegetation on that parcel 2 Comments
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Grant Helps Spread the 'Bee Friendly Williamstown' BuzzBy Rebecca Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
02:30AM / Friday, September 29, 2017 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town has received a $9,120 grant from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at University of Massachusetts at Lowell to further its efforts to become "Bee Friendly Williamstown."
Last May, Williamstown residents approved a non-binding resolution declaring the town a pollinator-friendly community. The resolution seeks to change residential and institutional landscaping practices by promoting ways to reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides that scientists believe are killing bee populations.
Building on that, the town has partnered with several local organizations - Caretaker Farm, the Clark Art Institute, Images Cinema, Sam and Elizabeth Smith,
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Dalton Shows Lt. Gov. Polito Progress With Green GrantsBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
04:21PM / Friday, September 08, 2017 | |
Polito also informed town officials about the opportunities available through the Community Compact Program. DALTON, Mass. — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito delivered a $12,500 grant to Dalton on Thursday to help it continue to build on its Green Communities work. "I want to thank you for not only reducing your carbon footprint here but for contributing to the commonwealth goals for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions," Polito said in handing the ceremonial check to Town Manager Kenneth Walto. "You are contributing not only for your community but for the larger good and we appreciate you doing your part. ... "I know you will 0 Comments
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Berkshires Stands Against Proposed Eversource Rate HikeBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:58AM / Wednesday, August 02, 2017 | |
The Department of Public Utilities received testimony from dozens of people at Tuesday's hearing at Berkshire Community College. It was the second local hearing the state has held on the proposal this year. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — State Sen. Adam Hinds knows the Berkshires has problems and he sought office in order to help "right the ship." But, he says Eversource's proposed rate increase threatens the county's economic stability. "We struggle with the impact of population decline every single day. We have schools that are closing now because of the lack of student enrollment. We have towns fighting about budgets and the tax burden continues to 0 Comments
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National Grid Plans New Transmission Line Through Seven TownsBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:36AM / Tuesday, July 25, 2017 | |
 LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — National Grid is looking to run another power line, mostly along the existing rights of way where lines exist already, through seven local towns. Peter Kavanaugh, from National Grid, said the plan is to run a 600-megawatt line through Nassau and Stephentown, N.Y., cross the border into Hancock, Lanesborough, Cheshire, Dalton, and end at an existing substation in Hinsdale. The path is nearly identical to the one proposed by Kinder Morgan's Northeast Energy Direct Project, which would have been a natural gas pipeline if it hadn't been shelved. "The primary source will be wind in upstate New York. That may be supplemented by a small amount 2 Comments
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Springside Park Volunteer Presutti Honored With Hebert AwardBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
01:28AM / Saturday, July 01, 2017 | |
The family of the late William Carrigan accepted the Lifetime of Achievement Award from the Springside Conservancy. Carrigan was a longtime volunteer at the park. See more photos here. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For Robert Presutti, Friday night felt a lot like he was a character in a Robert Frost poem, stopping by the snowy woods. Except it wasn't snowy, it was rainy, and the woods was Springside Park as more than 100 people gathered for the annual Springside Park Gala. The event is a fundraiser for the Springside Conservancy, which is working to preserve and restore the park. The gala was a night to relax and take a break from volunteering for Presutti, 0 Comments
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Eversource Plans Second Solar Array On Partridge RoadBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:58AM / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 | |
 LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Eversource is backing out of building a solar array off North Main. Instead, the company is now pursuing a similarly sized project off Partridge Road. The Planning Board gave its approval for a 6.6-megawatt array on Partridge Road, near the Pittsfield border and the Berkshire Mall road. The company is looking to lease land from Petricca Construction for the panels. The estimated $10 million project is going to be located near a 2.2-MW array on land Eversource owns in Pittsfield. The company has approval from the state to build out 70 megawatts of solar, eight of which are already completed, by the end of the year. Locally, the company planned a 0 Comments
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Plan to Exclude Pittsfield Parks From Mosquito Spraying RejectedBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
01:07AM / Wednesday, June 21, 2017 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Parks Commission is deferring to the Health Department on whether or not the public parks should be sprayed for mosquitoes. The Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project heads efforts to prevent mosquito-spread disease through a control program, using pesticides to limit the population. There is an option for property owners to exempt their land from being sprayed and Parks Commissioner Joe Durwin, a strong opponent of the use of the chemicals, proposed using that exemption for city parks unless there is a public health emergency. "There is a lot of debate about the efficacy and the residue," Durwin said. "It was a very murky area 3 Comments
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Senate Chair on Global Warming Takes Input on Energy PolicyBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:56AM / Tuesday, June 20, 2017 | |
State Sens. Adam Hinds and Marc Pacheco visit Seth Nash of Blue Q on Monday afternoon, before the hearing. Nash is one of the private-sector businesses to install a photovoltaic array to power his business. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — State Sen. Marc Pacheco has chaired the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture and thought he had heard everything about the environment. Until 11 years ago, when he saw Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." "I saw the reality come to life on a movie screen," Pacheco said. He signed up to become a "climate messenger" and went to a training in Nashville, Tenn. 2 Comments
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North Adams Event Tries to Link Local Vendors with Anchor InstitutionsBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
01:07AM / Friday, May 12, 2017 | |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Last Friday's foul weather was just fine with Jeffrey Thomas. "I've never hoped so hard for rain," Thomas said as the crowd filtered in to a Buyer/Supplier Meetup event he planned at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts' Club B10. Thomas is the executive director of North Adams non-profit Lever, which seeks to foster entrepreneurship throughout the region. On Friday, Lever hosted the first-ever event to try to form connections between small- and mid-sized businesses and the area's major "anchor" institutions, like Williams College, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Berkshire Medical Center, 3 Comments
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