President Postpones Visit; Olver, Brown in Berkshires

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The president in Hudson last year.
Update: Monday, Jan. 10, 2011: U.S. Sen. Scott Brown will be visiting North Adams on Wednesday, Jan. 12., meeting privately with Mayor Richard Alcombright before heading to the Public Safety department for a quick tour and walk to the Main Street business district. The tour and walk begin at 11:30 a.m.

Update: Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011: The president has postponed his trip to New York after Friday Saturday's deadly Arizona shooting spree that critically injured a congresswoman. A brief statement from White House press office states, "The trip is expected to be rescheduled."

The president on Sunday called on the nation to honor the memory of those killed and injured:

"Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, I call on Americans to observe a moment of silence to honor the innocent victims of the senseless tragedy in Tucson, Arizona, including those still fighting for their lives. It will be a time for us to come together as a nation in prayer or reflection, keeping the victims and their families closely at heart."

Original Post, Jan. 7, 2011, 7:26 p.m.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The coming week will be politically active for the area, with visits from three elected officials.

The VIP of the week is President Obama, who's scheduled to land at Albany International Airport on Tuesday for a tour of General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y.

According to the White House, the president will tour the site with GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt and he will make remarks on the importance of growing the economy and making America more competitive by investing in jobs, innovation and clean energy.

The Schenectady plant is the home of GE's largest energy divisions and the future home of its advanced battery manufacturing facility. The city is considered the birthplace of GE, which was established there by Thomas Edison in 1892, shortly after William Stanley founded his own electrical manufacturing plant in Pittsfield. GE would eventually buy out Stanley and Pittsfield would become the company's headquarters for many years.

The Schenectady plant is a direct beneficiary of GE's power-turbine deal with India announced during the president's trip last November. He'd visited the Capital Region just a two months earlier, giving a speech at Hudson Vally Community College.

Air Force One will arrive in Albany at about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday; the president will depart at about 1:20 p.m.

More locally, the Berkshires representative and the state's newest senator will appear at venues in the county.

On Monday night, U.S. Rep. John W. Olver will speak to the Williamstown Democratic Committee at Town Hall.

The Amherst Democrat will speak on the topic "The House of Representatives, Prospects for Democrats in 2011" in the third-floor meeting room at 6 p.m. The talk is open to the public.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown will make his first trip to the county since winning last year's special election to replace the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Brown, a Republican and former state senator from Wrentham, was invited to speak to the Rotary Club of Pittsfield. The senator will attend the Rotary luncheon at the Crowne Plaza on Thursday.
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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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