The Berkshire Edge On-Air Wednesday October 19, 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.

Here are a few stories from the Edge this week:

1.  Today we started Part One of aa six part series called The Developer.  It’s written by our in-depth/investigative reporter Bill Shein who has already done a multi-part series on housing in the Berkshires.  The developer Ian Rasch emerged as a major player in that first series, and now Shein is looking at all the projects Ian Rasch is doing in the Great Barrington area, as a way to look into larger questions of development.

2. The Housatonic Water Works story continues.  Our managing editor Shaw Izikson reported yesterday that the Great Barrington select board is now considering two options, each with its own pros and cons.  The board has invited the Aquarian Water Company, which owns the water company in nearby Sheffield, to bid on buying HWW.  The other option is to merge HWW with the Great Barrington Fire District which means, essentially that the town takes over the company.

3. It’s election season, and we have two long-time incumbents running for re-election.  

We had a profile of Incumbent Congressman Richie Neal who has served in the House since 1989, even though the districts have changed, and he is now Chair of the House Ways & Means Committee. Neil is being challenged by Republican Dean Martilli from West Springfield who is accusing Neal of being a do-nothing follower of Nancy Pelosi.  

We expect soon to have a profile of Dean Martilli, whom we have interviewed.

The other incumbent is State Representative Smitty Pignatelli, and we have received several letters of support for him that praise him for his dedication and omnipresence.  We have not yet had any letters in support of his opponent Michael Lavery of Becket, who is running on the Green Party ticket.

4. For those of us old enough to remember, this week is the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and we have a very nice remembrance by a local contributor named Steve White who reflects on how seriously the country took that experience,  White reminds us that we may be facing the same kind of crisis today.

5.  In our Business Monday line-up, we had a profile of an extraordinary young woman named Madison Quinn who, at the age of 13, started a non-profit called Strong Little Souls to provide support and experience to children with pediatric cancer.  Now in her early 20’s, she has kept the organization going and growing for eight years now.