Greylock Independent

      North Berkshire County's community journal

      PANEL: “Tick Talk” draws 40 to Williamstown public library; featuring Lyme author Mary Beth Pfeiffer

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      By Bill Densmore, Citizen Media Inc. An award-winning author of a groundbreaking book on Lyme Diseases joined a medical expert and an outspoken Lyme patient in an evening of “tick talk” on Wed., Oct. 2, at Williamstown’s Milne Public Library, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The talk was attended by about 40 people. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW) […]

      With Trump-era tax breaks, Krens’ museum-theme park bid now stands for remaking North Adams’ downtown as nation’s top cultural destination; 2,000 spinoff jobs forecast

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      A sweeping theme-park-for-art vision of an economic and cultural transformation of the Greylock region – 2,000 spinoff jobs and up to $180 million annually added to the economy, and tax-breaks for investors — was detailed for the first time in a public forum on Sunday by art entrepreneur Thomas L. Krens. Krens spoke to a […]

      COMMUNITY: How shall we define? Let us count the ways — nine at TedX North Adams

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      How many ways can we build community? Sharing water, theater, books, music, food, family, arts education or hip hop and “stepping” dance?   Nine speakers and performers each took 20 minutes on Saturday to describe a form of community. It was the second-annual TEDx North Adams event held in Studio 10 at the Massachusetts Museum of […]

      INTERVIEW: Author Mary Beth Pfeiffer discusses her book: “Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change”

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      PRINTABLE VERSION The following is an edited transcript of a Feb. 8, 2018 interview of Mary Beth Pfeiffer, author of the new book, “Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change.” The interview was conducted by writer Bill Densmore at a Lenox, Mass., restaurant during a visit by Pfeiffer to The Berkshires. RELATED LINKS ABOUT LYME […]

      Howard Dean calls press a “failed institution” in talk at Williams College; urges millennials to enter and change institutions

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      LISTEN TO AUDIO By Bill Densmore WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —  Former Vermont governor and national Democratic leader Howard Dean labeled America media as a failure for elevating the campaign of Donald Trump, even as he delivered a generally inspiring lecture to students at Williams College on Thursday night.  He rallied students to join government institutions and […]

      Snakes and Ladders as written by Kafka. Toronto Globe and Mail journalist travels with Middle Eastern refugees fleeing to Germany

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      Snakes and Ladders as written by Kafka Toronto Globe and Mail journalist travels with Middle Eastern refugees fleeing to Germany By Tela Zasloff Canadian journalist Joanna Slater has won awards for her Syrian immigration reporting from Hungary in a career that has included assignments in  Europe, India and Asia for the Toronto Globe and Mail […]

      Williamstown may lose a commercial office building but gain a $12M, 95-room chain hotel if ZBA acts in January

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      By Bill Densmore LINK (NEW): Did the town’s voters intend a hotel to replace the Grand Union in 2013 zoning revision, or more office space? LINK: LETTERS OF CONCERN FROM NEIGHBORS FILED WITH TOWN Williamstown could lose a 32,500-square-foot commercial office building, and gain a 95-room chain hotel, if a $12-million proposal before the Zoning Board […]

      Library Card

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      By Harry Montgomery Photos by Harry Montgomery     The Prado’s naughty nudes–“Porn Fit for Spanish Kings” said the NY Times—stimulated hordes of summer visitors to the Clark Art Institute. All have now moved on. The Manton Research Center at the Clark will not officially reopen until November 11. But, courtesy of Assistant Librarian Karen […]

      In Touch with my Immigrant Grandparents

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      By Tela Zasloff               My maternal great-grandfather, Aaron Gordin, was a balagola, a driver of a horse and cart-for-hire in the village (shtetl) of Rezhitsa (in present-day Latvia), in the Vitebsk area of Russia, one of the areas where the Czars permitted Jews to live. He must have often carried water to the local […]

      TUESDAY: Public invited to ask questions at “debate” in Williamstown for district-attorney race

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      Berkshire County District Attorney Candidates’ Forum WILLIAMSTOWN —  On Tuesday, July 31st, the League of Women Voters of Williamstown is sponsoring a forum for the three candidates running for the Democratic nomination for Berkshire District Attorney. As there is no Republican candidate, the race will be decided at the state primary on Sept. 4. The […]

      Hudson Valley journalist’s book about Lyme disease treatment controversy debuts — as landmark class-action suit gets underway

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      Could infected ticks disrupt the Berkshires environmental economy? BOOK REVIEW: “Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change” By Mary Beth Pfeiffer Copyright, Island Press-Center for Resource Economics, Washington, D.C., 304 pages, Publication Date: April 17, 2018. ISBN: 9781610918459 READ FULL TEXT OF INTERVIEW  Interview/Review by Bill Densmore / wpdensmore@gmail.com Mary Beth Pfeiffer is a free-lance journalist […]

      Williamstown seeks regional grant to study broadband options as state unveils proposals; two experts in VERBATIM interviews

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      WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Without taking a formal vote, Williamstown selectmen on Monday endorsed an already-submitted request for a regional study of broadband fiber-optic options among Berkshire County cities and towns already served by the Spectrum-Charter Communications cable giant.   Meanwhile, state officials were preparing to unveil and take testimony from towns in Windsor on Thursday […]

      VERBATIM: Howard Dean on the failure of the American media to call out Donald Trump’s campaign untruths

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      Here is a transcript of recorded remarks by former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean to a public audience of about 150 people at Williams College on Thurs., Jan. 12, 2017, at Williamstown, Mass. These remarks about the media were part of question-and-answer period which followed a lecture by Dean on recent presidential […]