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Regardless of his suggestions for Pittsfield, Charles Murray is a notable right wing hack. His main claim to fame is the incredibly ignorant book The Bell Curve. He also works for AEI which was one of the big cheerleaders that lied us into the Iraq War.
His work should be taken with a grain of salt. I can guarantee that every economic analysis he does will boil down to blaming poor people and giving the ruling class (unless they are Democrats, in which case they supposedly created the poor) a pass.
You've got the wrong Charles Murray dude. AIER's Charles Murray is Charles Edgar Murray,
Editor: Thanks for pointing that out. As a followup, Mr. Murray from AIER is a former professor of economics; the Mr. Murray who wrote "The Bell Curve" is a political scientist with the American Enterprise Institute. I could see how someone might be confused by similar names and institute acronyms. But if he had been the "The Bell Curve" author, we certainly would have mentioned it.
While you have politely and properly withdrawn your assertion, I will respectfully suggest that we do follow your advice and take all economic opinions with a "grain of salt", as you put it.
In many ways, I "feel" for Mr. Murray as economists must deliver a static forecast in a dynamic world.
Whie I am by no means pointing the finger directly or solely at Mr. Murray or AIER, I would imagine that he would agree that forecasts are based on a series of "if/then" statements. As the actual scenarios vary from those expected (and they could be less than material variations), then forecasts are subject to modification.
A year from now any (or all) predction(s) Mr. Murray made at this meeting could be completely wrong. And that's not a flaw of Mr. Murray specifically (the same could be said of any forecast I make), it's simply a flaw of delivering a set of one-time predictions and then leaving that information with a group of listeners that are not able to receive fairly regular updates.
My point? If whatever Mr. Murray said at this event (static forecast) turns out to be "wrong" a year or so from today, it is extremely likely that he, like any good economist, changed his mind somewhere along the line (dynamic world).
"When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir." - John Maynard Keynes
Multiple Departments Respond to Lanesborough Structure Fire
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Multiple fire departments responded to a structure fire off Narragansett Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.
The Fire Department received a call from the owner of 6 Bangor St. reporting smoke and flames at around 1:44 p.m.
Firefighters arriving on scene reported heavy smoke emanating from the 1940s single-family ranch home in the thickly settled neighborhood.
The blaze was brought under control in less than an hour and there were no civilian or firefighter injuries.
"The homeowner was outside doing some work, evidently, opened the door when she came back in the house, and there were flames and smoke, so she backed out and called us, and that's all we know right now," Deputy Fire Chief Glen Storie said around 2:35 p.m.
The fire was out at that time, and first responders observed "quite a bit of damage" to the home. The cause is still under investigation.
Lanesborough, Cheshire, and Pittsfield departments responded to the scene, and Hancock covered the station during the call.
"The first crew in knocked the fire right down with the first engine," Storie said.
Smoke could be seen coming from the back of the home. Part of Narragansett Avenue and Bangor Avenue were blocked off while firefighters battled the blaze.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric last week held a public hearing at Herberg Middle School for the Reach 5A Final Design and Restoration Plan, which details remediation efforts for the Pittsfield stretch of the Housatonic River.
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Town meeting on Tuesday approved an almost $14 million fiscal 2027 budget, and approved bylaws for short-term rentals and signage, and for public safety vehicles.
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On Tuesday, the School Building Needs Commission heard an update from the owner's project manager, Skanska, and endorsed a draft schedule that runs from 2026 to 2032.
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Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
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