Peter J. Most is a member of the California, New York, and Massachusetts bars, practicing complex business litigation. He has been living with his family in Great Barrington since 2018, practicing law remotely.
Winchester Hospital convinced the Department of Public Health of its need for an MRI on site. The question is, what will it take to similarly convince BHS of Fairview Hospital’s need?
AMI is arguably the single most critical input in the housing equation, as it is the one data point used to determine eligibility for a host of housing programs.
I chuckled at Rubiner’s “anyone with a pulse” help wanted sign and considered Prairie Whale’s “No Housing, No Work Force” plea without realizing these were signs of desperation. What was once an article here or sign there has become a drumbeat too loud for all of us to miss.
Just as Exxon Valdez Captain Hazelwood was stripped of his command for turning water black, HWW’s management should be stripped of its duties for turning its water brown.
While we have managed and excelled through drips of innovation in the past, today’s AI-innovations are coming at us fast and furious. It will be interesting to see if today’s rapid technological change permits reinvention without massive employment disruptions.
Monument Mountain should be our shining school on the hill, and right now it is more than a bit tarnished. Undoubtedly, you need no convincing that our single most important obligation is to educate the youngest in our community.
At least in Great Barrington, we are long past the time we would consider a candidate’s gender or race. Is it time we look strictly at a candidate’s qualifications and not gender, age, geography, and high school? A candidate’s judgment, not generations?
Throwing all caution to the wind, here are some observations on Great Barrington’s 2023 Annual Town Meeting. (I mean to offend no one, but if I have, let’s wait at least 50 years to discuss if I’m right.)
Tenants should not have fewer rights than homeowners, a point I had not considered in my previous article on the Short-Term Rental bylaw. It is notable, however, that Mr. Hankin did not address the argument that Article 39 should not be passed due to the loophole it creates.
Articles 39-41 answer the age-old question, “What can one do to make a STR bylaw meaningless while appearing to put constraints on short-term rentals?”
This saga has reached a decision point. Housatonic Water Works lacks the wherewithal and will to implement necessary modifications. The village, the town, and the Commonwealth require immediate change. We need a way forward. Here is a plan in a few easy steps.
