Sunday, November 8, 2026

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JOHN BREASTED: The Great Barrington Selectboard’s credibility gap

Transparency does not require officials to reveal legal strategy. It does require them to tell voters when the town has been sued.

LEONARD QUART: Hangin’ out in cafes

I would like to digress, for it is noteworthy to briefly explore the history of coffee shops.

Then & Now: Sauer’s Barber Shop

A tradition of Housatonic hair specialists.

I WITNESS: Goodbye to the Berkshires

I will miss the Berkshires, particularly the home where we have lived for the past 13 years, the longest stretch that I have ever lived in one location.

Simon’s Rock owes Great Barrington nothing

In my opinion, shame on Great Barrington for doing absolutely nothing to help save this wonderful school.

Rectify a historic injustice

More than 3 million public servants and their families across the country have had widow/widower pensions denied to them.

Trump wants to take away birthright citizenship

I have a birth certificate confirming the date/location of my birth in New York City. It is all the confirmation I need of my precious American citizenship. And now Trump plans to take that away from me.

Protect our water

North Adams' most valuable natural resource deserves more than to be used as an experiment by MassAudubon and its new industrial-logging partners

Early Massachusetts statutes guide town acquisition of water rights

It is high time our town took on the serious responsibility of meeting all its townspeople’s needs in a sensible, cost-efficient way.

PETER MOST: Life support

Given our community’s aging population, it is easy to conclude that we should assist SBAS in its quest to have two paramedic-staffed ambulances ready at all times.

I WITNESS: The best celebration of all

All those years ago, Princess Charming threw caution to the wind and decided to kiss the frog, in spite of the social consequences of that act, and in spite of the fact that in the end, the frog remained a frog.

SHEELA CLARY: If I were a dove

A parent's snow-day lament.

STEPHEN COHEN: Trump’s picks continue to terrify

Since Trump wants no normal vetting of his candidates by the FBI, there is the obvious attempt to conceal any misdeeds not yet revealed by the media.

LEONARD QUART: Post-election rumination

Sitting in this café, I notice that most of the other customers are in their 20s and 30s—NYU students, people who do tech work or have Wall Street jobs—and I both envy and feel some despair about the years that they have ahead of them.

CONNECTIONS: It is time to form a new political party

The solution is marching alongside the trouble. The solution is a new, strong, and vocal political party.

We are running out of time to move a plan forward regarding Housatonic Water Works

A special town meeting needs to be called as soon as possible—certainly before the next budget cycle—to take the first step toward an acquisition of both water companies.

MITCH GURFIELD: An extraordinary opportunity for Great Barrington

As difficult as the closing of Simon’s Rock is for that community, I see it as an extraordinary opportunity for the town to do something very special.