The Berkshire Edge On-Air - Wednesday May 4, 2022

Guided by respected journalistic standards, the principle of fairness, the quest for truth, a commitment to social, economic and environmental justice, and an abiding admiration for the independent spirit of the Berkshires, The Berkshire Edge offers in-depth local news reports and features, perspectives on the arts, wide-ranging commentary, and a comprehensive calendar of events – all written, illustrated, and, in some cases performed, with wit, intelligence, insight and humor.

1.  It’s town election time in Sheffield, and we have a contest for a seat on the Selectboard between two political veterans, Nadine Hawver and George Oleen. The candidates disagree on the merger of school districts :https://theberkshireedge.com/challenged-by-veteran-planner-former-sheffield-selectboard-member-seeks-to-retake-her-seat/

2.   Our cultural writer Peter Bergman has reviewed a fascinating autobiography by Kevin O’Hara, a Pittsfield writer who has spent 30 years as a psychiatric nurse on a locked ward at Berkshire Medical Center… and since Kevin is Irish, he tells a fascinating story: https://theberkshireedge.com/book-review-kevin-oharas-ins-and-outs-of-a-locked-ward-my-30-years-as-a-psychiatric-nurse/

3.  Bob Gray, a writer who grew up in the village of Housatonic, has written a charming tale out of his youth about yo-yo’s ….  https://theberkshireedge.com/bob-gray-yo-yo-man/

4.  The pandemic may be subduing the customarily lively Berkshire cultural scene but there are bright spots here and there, and one of them, write Eli and Carolyn Newberger, was the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival (and of course their reviews come with the Newbergers' marvelous illustrations: https://theberkshireedge.com/a-brilliant-opening-concert-for-the-2022-pittsfield-cityjazz-festival/

5.  We have a fascinating business story profiling Lyon Aviation, which for 42 years has operated a flight school and a jet charter service out of the Great Barrington Airport: https://theberkshireedge.com/business-monday-spotlight-on-mike-lyon-ceo-of-lyon-aviation/

6.  And finally, Carole Owens, our Stockbridge columnist and teller of Berkshire tales, short and tall, has summoned up the Berkshire Gilded Age, when the Nouveau Riche, and the just the plain old riche, sought refuge in the Berkshires: https://theberkshireedge.com/connections-the-berkshires-and-new-york-city-gilded-and-beyond/