The Berkshire Edge On-Air - Wednesday April 29, 2020

The Berkshire Edge LLC is a locally owned, regional publication. Our goal is to provide – regularly and in depth – content that truly reflects the life, interests and aspirations of this unusually rich and vibrant community.

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. Gov. Charlie Baker has declared a statewide closure of schools for the rest of the year, and an extension his essential services emergency order and the stay-at-home advisory that was set to expire May 4 until Monday, May 18.https://theberkshireedge.com/baker-forms-board-to-plan-reopening-extends-closures-stay-at-home-advisory-to-may-18/

2. We are publishing a running log of events and news about the COVID19 pandemic and how it is affecting the community:
https://theberkshireedge.com/coronavirus-live-local-updates/

3.  Still, a crisis also brings out creativity and resourcefulness: Robin Helfand (who lives in Lakeville, by the way) owns a candy store (not an “essential” business) on Main Street in Great Barrington … and she’s figured out she’ll be able to navigate this crisis:https://theberkshireedge.com/sugar-highs-and-lows-local-businesswoman-pivots-to-prosper/
4. Meanwhile, since we’ll all be wearing masks in public — doesn’t this remind you of Edgar Allen Poe? —  enterprising craftspeople have decided to mask themselves in style. Moho Designs in Housatonic is creating colorful masks and has received a grant from the United Way to make 600 of them available for people who can’t afford them, and were distributed through the weekly food parcels being provided by the School District and the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund establish by the Berkshire Taconic Foundation:https://theberkshireedge.com/new-style-of-masks-designed-and-built-in-housatonic/
And speaking of masks, we have a survey of various masks being worn around the Berkshires by those on the front line of serving others during the crisis:https://theberkshireedge.com/masked-heroes/

5.  Since performance venues are closed and are likely to be closed for the foreseeable future the newly minted Great Barrington Public Theatre is posting a collection of plays streamed online, titled “Bear Tales” that are “Six Feet Together":
https://theberkshireedge.com/theatre-review-great-barrington-public-theaters-bear-tales-a-welcome-venture-at-a-time-when-live-theater-is-at-a-minimum/

6. And since we are all trying to conduct affairs from a distance, we have a little primer on the use of Zoom — and its limitations, the online application through which meetings can take place when participants aren’t in the same room:
https://theberkshireedge.com/living-through-history-video-conferences-and-empathy/

7. And finally, what’s a week without a controversy over parking? The new owner of a building block in downtown Great Barrington is threatening to privatize and gate a lot behind Main Street buildings:
https://theberkshireedge.com/parking-lot-imbroglio-continues-as-selectboard-debates-and-one-official-asks-another-to-recuse-herself/