North Adams Transcript

North Adams Transcript WILLIAMSTOWN -- The town will be the first to jump in on an effort to reconstruct Water Street after the Selectmen unanimously approved the use of Chapter 90 funds for engineering and bid specifications. Town Manager Peter L. Fohlin said Monday the town has found itself in a "bit of a chicken and egg situation" after numerous conversations with the state and U. Full Story »

New England Newspapers PITTSFIELD -- On Monday, Berkshire County became the first of six regions in the commonwealth to launch a state District & School Assistance Center. Going by the acronym DSAC, the new initiative of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), is aimed at providing regionally-based professional development, training and planning assistance to Full Story »

Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood massacre is believed to have acted alone despite repeated communications -- monitored by authorities -- with a radical imam overseas, U.S. officials said Monday. The FBI will conduct an internal review of its handling of the information, they said. Full Story »

New England Newspapers LEE -- With the 2009 boating season over, local and state officials will spend the next several months trying to improve plans to combat the spread of zebra mussels in Berkshire County in 2010. Preparations will begin Thursday afternoon when the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission sponsor a forum to discuss how to minimize Full Story »

Eli Ostheimer, 9, right, jousts with Connor Champoux, 8, at the ‘Roman Holiday Family Day’ at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown Sunday. Full Story »

New York Times WASHINGTON -- The White House, growing concerned that the congressional timetable for passing a health care overhaul could slip into next year, is stepping up pressure on the Senate for quick action, with President Barack Obama appearing Sunday in the Rose Garden to call on senators to "take up the baton and bring this effort to the finish line. Full Story »

New England Newspapers PITTSFIELD -- Many see zebra mussels as an environmental threat, an invader of the most virulent kind. Others see it as a hazard, just waiting to scrape swimmers and choke boat engines. But one Berkshire Community College professor sees zebra mussels as something else entirely -- a learning opportunity. Full Story »

North Adams Transcript WILLIAMSTOWN -- What began as an effort to get local children to jam with one another at the Youth Center led to a separate initiative resulting in local adults forming a band. The Trophy Husbands featuring the Weapons of Mass Seduction started 10 months ago after Michael Williams, assistant director of the Williamstown Youth Center, and David Edge, a town resident, Full Story »

The number of people who have died of drug overdoses in Massachusetts from 2002 through 2007 is nearly 41 times as many as the number of servicemen and women from the state who died in Afghanistan and Iraq over the same span, according to just-released report on drug use in the commonwealth. "If more than 3,200 people from the commonwealth died overseas [in that time span], there would be Full Story »

Across Berkshire County, efforts to curb underage drinking and substance abuse are gearing to become more visible in the community. "We want kids to be healthy," said Alan Bashevkin, executive director of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition. This week, the Mount Greylock Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol held its first event in a four-part lecture series called Full Story »

PITTSFIELD -- With the distribution pace of the swine flu vaccine progressing from a crawl to a shuffle, officials are urging patience as supplies slowly reach the Berkshires and the H1N1 strain continues to sicken people statewide. County health officials say most pregnant women -- the highest priority group on the vaccination list -- have already been inoculated against H1N1, while Full Story »

North Adams Transcript NORTH ADAMS -- Get ready for round two. Former City Councilor Keith Bona, who lost on election night to newcomer David Lamarre by three votes, is asking for a recount. "He’s now within two votes," City Clerk Marilyn Gomeau confirmed Thursday afternoon. "One of the provisional ballots that qualified fell in his favor. Full Story »

North Adams Transcript NORTH ADAMS -- For Paul Rusesabagina, the inspiration of the Oscar-nominated film "Hotel Rwanda" and author of "An Ordinary Man," it is not enough for the world to acknowledge that a genocide took place in Rwanda in 1994. He wants the world to acknowledge that it knowingly turned its back as 800,000 Rwandans were massacred by Hutu extremists for more than 100 days Full Story »

New England Newspapers PITTSFIELD -- A North Adams woman was sentenced to three to six years in state prison for selling a powerful opiate painkiller to a friend who overdosed and died shortly afterward. Dawn Cote, 44, of Liberty Street, North Adams, was found guilty Sept. 27 of selling Fentanyl, a prescription painkiller described as 100 times more powerful than heroine, to 32-year-old Full Story »

By Meghan Foley North Adams Transcript WILLIAMSTOWN -- A local man died after the sport utility vehicle he was driving crashed into a house on North Hoosac Road early Wednesday morning. Brent D. Collier, 61, of the Turner House Living Center for Veterans, was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Center in Albany, N. Full Story »

New England Newspapers PITTSFIELD -- Mayor James M. Ruberto edged Ward 6 Councilor Daniel L. Bianchi by just 209 votes Tuesday night to retain the corner office in City Hall for the next two years in one of the closest mayoral races in city history. Bianchi said he will likely ask for a recount. Full Story »

North Adams Transcript ADAMS -- The Adams-Cheshire Regional School District took a big step Monday toward finalizing a plan to deal with the mothballed Adams Memorial Middle School. The state School Building Authority’s Designer Selection Panel named its first pick for a design firm to conduct the feasibility study to determine how the district will deal with Adams Memorial. Full Story »

North Adams Transcript WILLIAMSTOWN -- A property on Bee Hill Road sold for $2.2 million on Oct. 23, making it one of the highest residential property sales in the town’s history. "It even may be the second highest," Assessor William J. Barkin said Tuesday. He said the highest residential property sale took place in 2004, when the Cole Porter estate at 1425 West Main St. Full Story »

North Adams Transcript NORTH ADAMS -- It was the end of an era Tuesday night. City Councilor Richard Alcombright swept all five city wards, winning the election by 880 votes and ending Mayor John Barrett III’s 26-year tenure in the city’s corner office. Alcombright, who attributed his victory to an unprecedented outpouring of community support, celebrated his victory with a Full Story »