Greylock Independent

      North Berkshire County's community journal

      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 […]

      Letter to Ralph Brill, North Adams, MA

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      October 6, 2016 Dear Mr. Brill: I am delighted to inform you that the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA) is currently showing its inaugural exhibition, Everyday Beauty. The exhibit examines African American history and culture by presenting 100 images spanning […]

      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 […]

      Pittsfield and Berkshire area proposing to resettle Middle East refugees

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      By Tela Zasloff   Since the fleeing of refugees from violence in their own lands has now become a political crisis for countries worldwide, organizations and individuals in our Berkshires area are proposing to do something to help. Currently, 65 million people across the world are displaced by civil war, natural disaster, and religious and […]

      Helping Immigrants Achieve Success

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      By Susan Stetson Clarke   I met Suni Ton, native of Vietnam, when she was doing my nails two years ago in North Adams. She told me she was going to classes at Berkshire Community College and struggling with English.  I said, “Maybe I can help.” That conversation began an experience that has given me […]

      GailSez What to Do in November 2016

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      By Gail Burns   Happy American Thanksgiving on November 24 (the Canadians have already celebrated theirs.) Since this is, sadly, the last issue for The Greylock Independent, I’m going to throw some December events into the mix, so you can mark your calendar and plan ahead.   The First Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards: Area arts […]

      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 […]