Opinion
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Mayor Dick Alcombright Takes Charge
Regime Change in North Adams Starts This Week
By: - Jan 03rd, 2010For the first time in 26 years this week North Adams will have a new mayor in Dick Alcombright. After a busy weekend of ceremonies and celebrations he will be rolling up his sleeves and getting to work. In stating that this is "Our City" he pledges that his door will always be open. In a tough economy with many challenges nobody predicts that it will be easy.
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Cultural Groups Vie for $20,000 Berkshire Bank Prize
Bank Promotes Web Site with Charitable Contest
By: - Dec 22nd, 2009In addition to its large foundation contributions, Berkshire Bank has launched a "Join the excitement Grant" program. It intends to award four $5,000 grants to area non-profits in February, 2010. The recipients will be based on votes made by the general public.
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Mass MoCA Announces Winter/ Spring Schedule
Lie! Cheat! Steal! Fake It!
By: - Dec 17th, 2009In a pre Holiday meeting Joe Thompson, director of Mass MoCA, greeted staff, volunteers and the media followed by curators presenting a preview of the coming season. Musician and performance artist, Laurie Anderson, will be in residence with a dialogue on January 16. After a dinner break there will be Alt Cafe that night. Time to mark your calendars.
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Christmas Comes to the Berkshires
Traditional Family Shows Brighten December Days
By: - Dec 01st, 2009As reliable as Black Friday and White Christmas, holiday offerings in the Berkshires once again take center stage. From "A Christmas Carol" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival to "The Nutcracker" at the Colonial Theatre, with a Christmas Oratorio and British Panto tucked away here and there, the holidays are upon us.
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Alan Chartock Loves Ousted Mayor John Barrett
Berkshire Eagle Columnist Just Doesn't Get It
By: - Nov 28th, 2009In article after article since John Barrett III lost a tough Mayor's race in North Adams the Berkshire Eagle has shed crocodile tears over his unanticipated defeat. To say the Eagle blew its coverage is an understatement. Now columnist Alan Chartock wades in on why he loves "Big John" who was "done in" by a "few disgruntled self styled arts types."
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Mayor Elect Alcombright Announces Transition Plans
Jump Start for January 4
By: - Nov 24th, 2009In one of the toughest campaigns in the history of North Adams Dick Alcobright succeeded in ousting John Barrett III at 26 years the longest running seated mayor in the Commonwealth. Today he updated transition plans.
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Martha Coakley Stumps in North Adams
Greeting Hometown Gal at Cup and Saucer
By: - Nov 23rd, 2009While home for the holidays in the Berkshires, Martha Coakley, the front runner for the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts, took time to greet her home town supporters in North Adams. She endorsed incoming Mayor Dick Alcombright, and he was up bright and early to return the favor.
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Harvard Square Celebrates Folk Era
Performances and Exhibitions Through Nov. 30
By: - Nov 17th, 2009Joan Baez got her start singing at Club 47 on Mount Auburn Street in Harvard Square. Her then boyfriend, Bod Dylan, would fall by and jam. Tom Rush ambled over from his dorm at Harvard. Tim Hardin, Jim Kewskin, Geoff and Maria Muldaur and Mel Lyman appeared. Later Club 47 morphed into Club Passim. There is a city wide celebration of that folk era in Harvard Square through November. David Wilson, the publisher of the seminal Broadside provides the liner notes for this historic event.
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Spinning Alcombright's Landslide Victory
Media Is Not the Message
By: - Nov 05th, 2009Both the Berkhire Eagle and the North Adams Transcript are playing catchup for their blown coverage of the era ending upset when challenger, Dick Alcombright, ousted the Dean of Mass. Mayors, John Barrett. Their spin is mostly too little and way too late. While the on line media, such as feisty Tammy Daniels for iBerkshires, had it covered, big time, from the getgo.
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Dick Alcombright Wins in North Adams
Ousts Barrett After 26 Years as Mayor
By: - Nov 04th, 2009The old line print media, The Berkshire Eagle, the North Adams Transcript, and the Boston Globe were dead wrong in their unflinching support of Mayor John Barrett. At 26 years he was the longest running mayor in the history of the Commonwealth. Yesterday some 60% of the 52% of registered voters in North Adams supported Mayor Elect Dick Alcombright.
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Alcombright for Mayor of North Adams
Barrett: Thanks but No Thanks
By: - Nov 01st, 2009During 26 years as Mayor of North Adams, John Barrett has done a lot for the city. Just ask him. Thanks, but it is time to move on. Berkshire Fine Arts endorses Dick Alcombright for the Mayor of North Adams. It is more about hope, ideas, survival and progress than just change for the sake of change.
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North Adams City Council Debate Reveals Deep Divide
Incumbents Mostly Look Back, Challengers Look Ahead
By: - Oct 22nd, 2009Election 2009 seems to come down to this: who stands the best chance of delivering more jobs and economic growth in 2010-2011, the incumbents, the challengers, or some blend of both. It's a tough question, and one the voters will decide in just a matter of days.
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Shakespeare & Company's Fiscal Crisis
Catastrophe or Bump in the Road
By: - Oct 15th, 2009To quote Winston Churchill during the Battle of Britain "Is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?" In the coming months artistic director Tony Simotes will be charged with getting Shakespeare & Company back on track and out from under a stagering debt of $10 million.
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Second North Adams Mayoral Debate a Tie
Most Answers Focus on Past and Present, Not Future
By: - Oct 15th, 2009For all the rhetoric about jobs and growth, neither Mayor John Barrett nor his opponent Dick Alcombright had very much to say about new directions for the troubled city of North Adams. The second Mayoral debate was mostly about how each counts beans and sees the problems the city faces, not about solutions. Their mutual lack of specific solutions is troubling.
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Catching Up With Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Company
Taking a Break from Playing Martha to Attend a Press Conference
By: - Oct 14th, 2009Although Tina Packer is in the midst of a controversial production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" at Boston's Publick Theatre she attended the important press conference of Shakespeare & Company convened to discuss the current fiscal crisis. It was a chance to catch up with Packer and share her insights as founding artistic director of the company.
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Lisa M. Blackmer Event at the Freight Yard
North Adams City Council Incumbent
By: - Oct 07th, 2009North Adams City Council incumbent and candidate for reelection Lisa M. Blackmer held a meet and greet at the Freight Yard. While drinking and snacking the rumors were flying in an ever more contentious Mayoral campaign between incumbent, John Barrett, and challenger Dick Alcombright. They both dropped by to press the flesh.
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Alcombright Dinner at Bounty Fare in North Adams
Mayoral Race a Piece of Cupcake
By: - Oct 04th, 2009There was a lively turnout of some 272 supporters for a sit down dinner at Bounty Fare for Candidate Dick Alcombright. For many, the cupcakes with their Alcombright banners on top, baked by Keith Bona, were symbolic of the rising tide. While some feel the race is now a piece of cupcake Alcombright says it would be a mistake to be overly confident in the final month of a tough campaign.
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Pittsfield Hosts the First Out in the Berkshires Weekend October 10-12
Openly LGBT Events Come Out of the Closet
By: - Oct 02nd, 2009Pittsfield becomes the first city in the Berkshires to openly welcome LGBT visitors. On Columbus Day weekend, October 10-12, it kicks off an "Out in the Berkshires" weekend full of music, theatre and dance performances for the gay community and its friends. It's great to see the region openly welcome this segment of our population.
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Mayoral Race in North Adams Intensifies
Mayor John Barrett and Candidate Dick Alcombright Clash in Lively Debate
By: - Oct 01st, 2009Just like a church wedding the Alcombright supporters, many in his green t-shirts, sat in the pews on one side of the aisle, while the Barrett fans were seated opposite them. It evoked the visual image of a sharply divided city that reinforced the tough and contentious tone of the debate. It was an evening of lively political theatre with high stakes for the future of North Adams during a tough economy.
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Bountiful Fall Schedule Delights Berkshire Audiences
Our Guide to the Pick of the Harvest - through November
By: - Sep 10th, 2009Shorter days bring brighter nighttime events. With a cornucopia of choices, Fall 2009 promises to be the most entertaining in years. Check over our picks and previews which cover events from now until late November, and you're sure to find something to spice up your cider.
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The Artists in Adams, Mass
Interviews and Studio Visits
By: - Aug 30th, 2009Located between the larger and better known artist communities of Pittsfield and North Adams it is easy to overlook the vibrant Adams art scene. We visited and interviewed eight artists in their studios. They are all well established with an intriguing variety of work.
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Adams, Mass: Arts and Artists
Surveying Arts and Cultural Organizations
By: - Aug 29th, 2009The Arts and Artists of Adams, Massachusetts have received little attention. There are two vital and evolving arts organizations, the Topia Art Center and Greylock Arts Gallery, as well as several cultural entities to visit and enjoy.
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The Berkshire Late Summer Guide to Performances and Events
Our Picks and Previews for now through Labor Day 2009
By: - Aug 17th, 2009Summer may seem to be drawing to a close, but you can't tell by the busy schedule in the next few weeks. In fact, more new shows are opening, fresh dance companies are unpacking and the jazz musicians are waiting in the wings for a festive climax to Summer in the Berkshires. To make sure you don't miss anything, here is another handy roundup of the best events for late summer through the big Labor Day weekend.
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Best of the Berkshires for August 3 - 17
A Detailed Guide to Arts & Entertainment
By: - Aug 02nd, 2009composers, cutting edge dance or perhaps an absorbing evening of great theatre? Take time to indulge your senses and treat yourself to some of the Berkshire's legendary performing arts attractions. They all have great deals for residents and visitors alike. Use our handy Picks and Previews guide to help decide.
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Mayor John Barrett Speaks to Eclipse Mill Artists
Overview of 26 Years in North Adams Politics
By: - Jul 16th, 2009For 26 years John Barrett has served as the Mayor of North Adams. He is running for yet another two year term. In a meeting with artists of the Eclipse Mill complex he related the epic struggle to salvage a depressed city largely through his personal efforts to help Tom Krens and then Joe Thompson in their plan to transform the abandoned Sprague Electric campus into Mass MoCA. Some $35 million in state revenue was used to renovate the museum which is celebrating its first decade.
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