The Center for Ecological Technology (CETsm) will present a free solar energy workshop on Tuesday, April 4th from 7-9 p.m. in the Fisher Science Center at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington.
The featured speaker will be Chris Vreeland, a registered professional engineer. This informational workshop is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged.
Skyrocketing energy costs and concern about our dependence on fossils fuels are leading many people to seek local, clean sources of energy. Recently, dozens of solar electric systems have been installed on homes, schools and public buildings in the Berkshires, and solar hot water systems are once again attracting attention. Grants and tax incentives now help offset the cost of investing in solar energy and other renewable technologies.
CET’s solar energy workshop is a good way to discover if a renewable energy system is a good fit. Those who attend will learn the basics of using energy from the sun to create electricity or heat water. Participants will learn how solar panels work, the system components, how to determine whether they have a good site and how to gain additional benefits through energy efficient improvements.
The workshop will also address average prices for solar electric and solar hot water systems and how to find local installers. The workshop will showcase systems in installed in the Berkshires.
A highlight of the workshop will be information about financial incentives available from Massachusetts and the federal government. Mr. Vreeland will give an overview of tax incentives and will summarize a rebate program currently offered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to help homeowners and small businesses pay for renewable energy systems.
Please pre-register if you are interested in attending. To find out more or to pre-register, contact Cynthia Grippaldi, at 413-445-4556 ext. 25 or email Nancy at: nancyn@cetonline.org.
CET is a non-profit energy and resource conservation organization that has served western Massachusetts since 1976. CET receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. CET is an equal opportunity service provider. This workshop is made possible through grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — District students and teachers had their personal information accessed as part of a worldwide PowerSchool breach.
"This is not unique to the City of Pittsfield," Superintendent Joseph Curtis told the School Committee on Wednesday.
"Every one of the 18,000 PowerSchool customers has experienced a data breach. We were informed yesterday with a very brief notice from PowerSchool and our technology department began to dig into the impact near immediately."
The breach reportedly took place between Dec. 19 and 28, when it was detected by PowerSchool and all accounts were locked down. It is being investigated by the FBI and a third-party cybersecurity firm.
On Jan. 8, PowerSchool hosted a webinar with the investigative team to provide school districts with further details about the situation.
The Pittsfield Public School's technology department investigation found that personal information from the fields "Student" and "Teacher" were accessed. This includes home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.
Other school districts have reported access to student grades, health information and Social Security numbers.
As a cybersecurity computer science student, School Committee member William Garrity found the breach "deeply concerning."
"I am concerned by the security practice PowerSchool had implemented before this," he said.
"I think there was a lot of this oversight, I'm not going to get into it in this meeting. Hopefully not just us but other districts around Massachusetts, the county, and the world hold PowerSchool accountable for their security practices."
Monument Mountain's Everett Pacheco took control of the race in the final mile and went on to a convincing Division 3 State Championship on Saturday at Fort Devens. click for more
Mila Marcisz ripped a shot from the top of the 18 that slipped just under the swing of teammate Adele Low and past the Mustangs keeper in the fourth minute of the second overtime to give Mount Greylock a 1-0 win. click for more
Mount Greylock dominated for much of the game, compiling a 17-4 advantage in shots on goal, not to mention numerous Mountie chances that went just wide or high of frame. click for more
Nora Schoeny, Gianna Love and Elyssa Scrimo Sunday led the Lenox girls cross country team to a narrow victory in the Division 2 race at the Western Massachusetts Championships at Stanley Park. click for more
Wahconah High senior Tim Kaley Sunday earned his second Berkshire Classic Championship by shooting a 77 at the Country Club of Pittsfield. click for more
