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Planning Board mulls hotel expansion that violates 2008 room limit bylaw
Great Barrington — There is little to distinguish the Stockbridge Road commercial strip from others like it across America. While there are plenty of independent businesses up and down the road, there...
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Close Encounter with Sheffield Selectmen: UFO monument must go
Sheffield — The concrete block was cut, embedded with a plaque, and just last week hauled to its final resting spot to be celebrated by a crowd that included news, radio and television reporters, and...
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Otis out of broadband co-op, preferring to go it alone
Otis — This Berkshire hilltown, population 1,612, announced last month that it was leaving the WiredWest broadband cooperative, citing numerous reasons why it doesn’t need a “middleman” between itself...
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Mass. solar energy boom may falter without revised state policies
Pittsfield — Strong solar policies have created a solar energy boom across Massachusetts, ranking the state 5th in the nation for solar energy capacity per person, according to a study released by...
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Lee, Berkshire Hills may share superintendent; further school consolidation...
Great Barrington — In a sign that Berkshire County school districts are beginning to take action to deal with a financially unsustainable regional model due to population and economic shifts, Lee...
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$1.7 million sought by 16 CPA applicants; only $800k available
Great Barrington — Work to a historic bell tower, agricultural preservation at two notable farms, and two affordable housing projects. These are just several among 16 applicants asking for a total of...
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Great Barrington man killed in two-car crash on Route 7
Falls Village, Conn. — A Great Barrington man was killed, and a Torrington, Connecticut man critically injured in a two-car accident on Wednesday (September 9) evening when a car and a pickup truck...
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Despite 2008 bylaw, Great Barrington ZBA approves hotel expansion
Great Barrington — Although town voters at the 2008 town meeting approved a 45-room limit on hotels, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), by a 4-1 vote on Wednesday (September 9), granted a permit to...
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Struck near crosswalk on his scooter, Great Barrington man remains in...
Great Barrington — A Great Barrington man is still critical condition at Albany Medical Center where he was airlifted after being struck while trying to cross Route 7 on his motorized scooter Monday...
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The Baumbachs: Three generations of creative life
Housatonic — Jonathan Baumbach was giving directions to his house. “It’s a long driveway,” he said. He didn’t want me to be confused, especially since the mailbox on the main road says “Grant,” his...
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Sheffield UFO monument defaced, to be relocated
Sheffield — First a toy space creature appears. Harmless enough. But since then, human interactions with a Sheffield monument commemorating a 1969 UFO sighting have turned nasty. Symbols and messages...
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Permit sought for $24 million upscale hotel to replace dormant Searles School
Great Barrington — A slightly derelict and vacant section of Bridge Street is about to change, and with it, the economy and breadth of the entire town, as the former Searles School complex is...
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Mahidas open $14 million Hilton Garden Inn at Lenox/Pittsfield border
Lenox — A red ribbon was cut Monday afternoon (September 21) to officially open the latest asset to the Mahida family hotel empire, Prem Management LLC’s 95-room Hilton Garden Inn. Vijay and Chrystal...
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Power company fees could jeopardize town turbine project
East Otis — Deep in the woods here, where wild turkeys conduct busy roadside affairs and where the occasional moose steps out to the sound of screeching tires, the colors turn from the greens and reds...
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Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee: Town assessments incorrect,...
Sheffield — School Committee members said an innocent computational spreadsheet error in the amount charged to each of the five towns for its share of payments to the Southern Berkshire Regional...
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Berkshire Hills takes first steps to revise regional school district agreement
Stockbridge — The Berkshire Hills Regional School District Thursday (October 1) got down to the nitty-gritty, beginning a process that will clean up its regional agreement between the three towns in...
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Otis voters affirm commitment to wind power, townwide high-speed Internet
Otis — Wind energy and broadband projects got the go-ahead at last night’s (October 6) special town meeting, with voters willing to spend $5.5 million for the construction, installation and maintenance...
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At Berkshire dairy farm, state policies stifle energy independence
Sheffield — Louis Aragi whips a four-wheeler around Pine Island, his family’s dairy and feed farm in the heart of vast corn and alfalfa fields, explaining why he never has to cut a monthly check to the...
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Divided GB Planning Board recommends Bridge Street hotel project
Great Barrington — At Thursday’s (October 8) three-and-half hour Planning Board hearing, it all boiled down to this: the former Searles School building realistically can’t be saved, and 79 Bridge...
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Bridge Street hotel design prompts alternative architectural concepts
Great Barrington — Even before a divided Planning Board last week recommended the Selectboard issue a special permit for a 95-room boutique hotel, a steady stream of objections over the proposed...
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