Top Story
The people behind Greylock Works are bringing a New York coffee shop to "90 Main" for the month of May.
Without a local police department, Hancock relies on state police in Cheshire as its primary law enforcement agency. Meanwhile, neighbors are afraid to walk their road and worried about what might happen should something go awry.
Jane Kaufman
Community Voices Editor
The Pittsfield School Committee voted to approve a proposed budget for fiscal 2025, which saw some relief from the district's projected cuts to locally funded positions thanks to a windfall of state aid.
Matt Martinez
News Reporter
The second annual Lenox Chamber of Commerce event attracted 22 employers seeking to fill at least 400 seasonal and year-round positions. But job-seekers attending the fair declined by one-third compared to last April.
Latest News
Christopher Hairston, 35, was found Monday at a Chapman Street apartment, police said. A suspect in his slaying is in custody in New York.
After several chilly mornings, a mostly dry weekend is expected with daytime temperatures trending above normal.
Accused of sexually assaulting girls at a residential school for those with severe disabilities, Douglas Agyeh was recently transported back to the Berkshires after trying to cross the Canadian border. A plea deal is expected.
Until Rebecca Miller changed her mind about challenging the three current members seeking re-election, it was a four-way campaign for three winning top vote-getters.
Judith Daly, of Pittsfield, pleaded not guilty to multiple misdemeanor charges and violations Wednesday in connection with the death of an Albany man whom she struck with her vehicle last November. Her attorney says she had been stricken with a stroke.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
LOCAL NEWS
After a four-day trial that saw dozens of witnesses take the stand, a 12-person jury convicted Fred Lewis Senter Jr. of stealing approximately $300,000 from 18 customers for whom he never completed work.
Amanda Burke
Cops and Courts Reporter
In 2008, parents of a recent Miss Hall’s School graduate mailed a letter to warn then-Head of School Jeannie Norris about an off-campus incident of "inappropriate behavior by a Miss Hall’s School teacher.”
Heather Bellow
Reporter
Miles Wheat, principal of W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School, has accepted a job as principal at Chatham High School across the border in New York. He's the third principal in the district to announce their departure in recent months.
Heather Bellow
Reporter
The forum should address questions related to school transportation, class assignments and other topics.
Sten Spinella
Reporter
A city man was arrested Monday after witnesses reported he displayed a handgun during a confrontation involving juveniles at Clapp Park.
Amanda Burke
Cops and Courts Reporter
The future for the much-anticipated museum is unclear, but one thing is for certain: its offices are empty.
Sten Spinella
Reporter
Springfield general contractor Fontaine Brothers was the low bidder for the Lenox public safety complex project. Groundbreaking is expected within several weeks.
The city has proposed an increase in the water and sewer rates for the coming fiscal year. The increases have been set by a new formula that city staff believes will help them to "fairly adjust rates."
Meg Britton-Mehlisch
Pittsfield Reporter
A second public allegation by a school alumna is made against history teacher Matthew Rutledge. Hilary Simon, class of 2005, says Rutledge groomed and exploited her.
Heather Bellow
Reporter
Featured Businesses
Subscriber Exclusives
The four-day film festival, running May 30 through June 2, will honor Ivory during a special tribute, 6 p.m. June 1, with a screening of "Merchant Ivory." Other highlights include a Tea Talk with the director of the "ABCs of Book Banning," a documentary on songwriter Diane Warren and the screening of "Cold Wallet," a film shot entirely in Lenox.
Jennifer Huberdeau
Features Editor
"Paper Cities," a wide-ranging look at how artists have portrayed cities in the United States and Western Europe over five centuries, on view through June 23 in the Eugene V. Thaw Gallery for Works on Paper in the Manton Research Center at The Clark.
Jennifer Huberdeau
Features Editor
Martel, an Adams native, will be playing with Beast Mode, 7 p.m. April 26, at Hot Plate Brewing, 1 School St. in Pittsfield.
Greg Sukiennik
News Editor
National Alliance on Mental Illness Berkshire County will kick off Mental Health Awareness Month with NAMIWalks Berkshire County during the May 3 First Fridays at Five in Downtown Pittsfield.
The annual fundraising campaign of the Pittsfield Police Patrol Officers Union IBPO Local 447 will begin the week of Monday, April 29.
Sheffield Historical Society will present a dedication and celebration honoring Civil War veteran William Jones of the Massachusetts 54th Infantry Company B with the unveiling of his headstone on Wednesday, May 1, at Center Cemetery.
The Pittsfield High School Class of 1974, in commemoration of its 50th year reunion, has established a scholarship for a graduating 2024 PHS senior. Application deadline is May 13.
Local History
For nearly 85 years Besse-Clarke had been a popular North Street business from when it opened in 1910. The store closed in 1994 and was the very last of the 42 stores in the Besse System to close.
The construction of the new Union Station in 1914 brought two other changes to the area around it that also remained until the terminal was razed: a steel footbridge over the tracks and a park.
Eagle Archives, April 27, 1968: When women telephone operators refused to cross the picket lines of the striking International Brotherhood of Telephone Workers, New England Telephone Co. put its male supervisors and managers to work on the switchboards.
Any baby boomer who attended sports programs, dances, movies, concerts, or other events at the Boys Club (now the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires) would recognize the mural inside the building's entrance. But like me, most probably did not know who painted it.
Eagle Archives, April 26, 1966: Scores of Berkshire County residents saw the latest visitor from outer space at 8:15 p.m. April 25. But this time the thing had a name and an explanation.
Eagle Archives, April 25, 1960: A census enumerator has to know more than just how to count — she has to be a bit of a diplomat, too.
Eagle Archives, April 24, 1971: The sport of Ping-Pong is no longer a cause for smirks following a visit by the American Ping-Pong team to China.
Arts and Culture
The four-day film festival, running May 30 through June 2, will honor Ivory during a special tribute, 6 p.m. June 1, with a screening of "Merchant Ivory." Other highlights include a Tea Talk with the director of the "ABCs of Book Banning," a documentary on songwriter Diane Warren and the screening of "Cold Wallet," a film shot entirely in Lenox.
"Paper Cities," a wide-ranging look at how artists have portrayed cities in the United States and Western Europe over five centuries, on view through June 23 in the Eugene V. Thaw Gallery for Works on Paper in the Manton Research Center at The Clark.
Martel, an Adams native, will be playing with Beast Mode, 7 p.m. April 26, at Hot Plate Brewing, 1 School St. in Pittsfield.
In Hartford Stage’s emotionally charged production of Arthur Miller's “All My Sons,” the backyard of the post-World War II small-town America home of Joe Keller and his family is a rolling, terraced affair punctuated by white wicker lawn furniture, rock outcroppings, stone steps and retaining walls.
Sponsored Content
The Locals’ Guide to Tanglewood: Highlights of the Season, Insider Tips and How to Picnic Like a Pro
Pittsfield resident Deb Terrell began volunteering at Tanglewood six years ago because after she retired, she was drawn to the idea of spendin…
Our original store is in the heart of the beautiful Berkshires. We brought the Berkshires to Boston with our second retail location in the “Eastie” neighborhood. Our knowledgeable, friendly team is ready to guide you or order online before your visit and you’ll be in and ou…
Business
The second annual Lenox Chamber of Commerce event attracted 22 employers seeking to fill at least 400 seasonal and year-round positions. But job-seekers attending the fair declined by one-third compared to last April.
Massachusetts' clean energy jobs already match those in the restaurant industry and in higher education, but thousands more are needed to reach emissions reduction goals.
Cannabis regulators have completed the public comment phase of the coming model bylaw or ordinance that will give cities and towns a way to comply with new minimum municipal equity standards that stem from the 2022 marijuana industry reform law.
Gov. Maura Healey has had to walk back comments of her transportation secretary, Monica Tibbits-Nutt, who said expanded highway tolls are under consideration by a transportation funding task force. "I am focused on affordability," Healey said. "I am focused on competitiveness. I'm not putting tolls at the border."
From the Silvio O. Conte Awards banquet to youth trout stocking at Onota Lake, The Eagle's Gene Chague updates Berkshire Woods and Waters.
Monument and Drury baseball put up double-digit runs, while Taconic edged Ware on the road. The Hoosac girls lacrosse team bounced back by doubling up Chicopee Comp.
It was a high-scoring Friday on the county's softball diamonds.
Pittsfield won a pitchers' duel over South Hadley as Amanda Pou gave up one hit and Bella MacDonald scored twice.
Not surprisingly, American congressional approval of military aid to Ukraine was met with undisguised gloom by Russian state TV.
In Britain, the first of May was celebrated by dancing around a maypole, part of a fertility ritual. By the Middle Ages, a maypole was erected in most villages. Puritans considered those festivities pagan, licentious, and so forbade them. That’s why maypoles are not a New England tradition.
Let’s stop making fun of the elderly man accused of odor in the court. It is normal for humans of all ages to toot their own horns, whisper sweet nothings, embrace the wind beneath their wings. And where’s the shame in that?
Former Boston Symphony CEO Mark Volpe cites changing audience expectations focusing on "total experiences."
Both the federal government and the state have taken efforts to streamline the process to approve new immigrants to work in the U.S. Here's an inside look at that process.
While negotiators remain at odds over how much they want to draw from state savings and exactly what kind of time limits to place on shelter stays — plus whether restaurants should resume takeout drink sales — funding could run out in less than two weeks, a Healey administration official confirmed Thursday.
Money for the state's emergency family shelter system could run out sometime between Monday and the end of April, according to a top senator, who is part of a six-person group of lawmakers trying to come up with funding solutions.
The steady stream of rain and snowstorms has state and county environmental advocacy groups keeping a wary eye on potential flooding threats. More stormwater infiltration is a major step in the right direction as a step to prevent flooding.
Things to do this week in Berkshire County
A tribute to those we have lost, December 2023 - February 2024
Guidance and resources to help you take big steps and manage big changes, across every stage of life
An annual look at the state of education in Berkshire County
A tribute to those we have lost, September - November 2023
Helping people understand the basics of disposal and sustainable options.
The best of the best of Berkshire County, chosen by Berkshire Eagle readers
The annual guide to preparing your home for the coming New England winter.
1Berkshire presents the official guide to the 67th Annual Fall Foliage Parade.