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The North County Kraken and Housatonic River Monsters compete in last summer's 20-year-old championship series of the Berkshire Adult Baseball League.

Berkshire Adult Baseball League Welcomes Players for 13th Season

By Leland BarnesiBerkshires.com Sports
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. –  As it enters its 13th season, the Berkshire Adult Baseball League has a new commissioner.
 
Jared Martin takes over the reins this spring from BABL founder Lou Orazio.
 
The league, which has games mostly on Sunday mornings with some weeknights throughout the season, runs from early May through mid-August in two divisions, the 20-and-over Division and the 33-and-over Division.
 
“The 20+ year old division is full of mostly competitive players, while the 33+ year old division is a more fun environment and less on the competitive side of things,” Martin said.
 
As of late March, the league has 13 teams lined up for the 2024 season.
 
20-and-over: Berkshire Bandits, Berkshire Devils, G.B.Millers, Greylock Mountaineers, Housatonic River Monsters, North County Kraken and Pittsfield Knights.
 
33-and-over: Berkshire Thunder, Dalton Moneymakers, Greenridge Gremlins, Pittsfield Pirates, Pontoosuc Lake Monsters and Tunnel City Freight.
 
But the league has room for more players.
 
“We are looking for anyone of any skill level, from Minor League players to former high school players, to anyone who wants to play baseball competitively,” Orazio said.
 
Orazio is currently looking for scorekeepers for their games, the only requirement to keep score is having experience with baseball scorebooks. Anyone interested should contact Martin for more details.
 
“The times for the games are 10 a.m. on every Sunday morning, and occasionally on Wednesday evening,” Orazio said.
 
The games are all officiated by the certified umps from the Berkshire County Baseball Umpires Association.
 
If you would like to be a part of this league feel free to contact Lou Orazio at orazl@aol.com or through the league’s website.
 
The league currently has 215 players.
 
“People wanting to play in the league should know that (BABL) is a non-profit organization, therefore meaning we do not pay you to play, you have to pay to play,” Martin said.
 
Orazio said he has a lot of hope and trust in Martin running BABL for the future and cannot wait to see how much BABL will develop in the coming years.
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Lanesborough to Vote on 34 Articles at ATM

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Voters will decide 34 warrant articles at the annual town meeting on June 11.

The Select Board endorsed a long list of articles during its regular meeting on Monday, most without discussion. 

A $11,846,607 spending plan has been proposed for fiscal year 2025, a 4.3 percent increase from the this year. The budget includes a net increase of $237,129 in education costs for the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School, less than the $271,478 increase in FY24. 

Three articles are related to short-term rentals, or Airbnbs: To impose a local excise tax of up to 6 percent of the total amount of rent for each occupancy, a 3 percent impact fee on "professionally managed" short-term rentals, and a 3 percent impact fee on short-term rentals in two- or three-family dwellings.

"These are the proposed language as provided by town counsel," Town Administrator Gina Dario explained.

Included in the 34 articles is one citizen's petition, which the board was not required to endorse. If passed, this petition would increase the Select Board from three to five members with an annual election of the chair. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes in that election would serve a three-year term, the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes would serve a two-year term, and the candidate receiving the third highest number of votes would serve a one-year term, with three-year terms to follow.

Two articles needed clearance from the Planning Board before coming to the Select Board, one being a request to amend the town's zoning bylaw to raise the cap on accessory dwelling units from 900 to 2,500 square feet.  

The proposal is in response to the lack of housing availability in the community and is the second go-around.

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