Sen. Ben Downing reports that state offices including his own have been getting calls from constituents worried they will be forced to get a swine flu vaccine. Not so, says the senator. "These rumors appear to be part of a deliberate effort to misinform concerned citizens about state and national pandemic response efforts," he writes in his recent e-mail update.

The state's public health commissioner says the Department of Public Health will not call nor authorize mandatory vaccination against the H1N1 flu strain, nor are any other local, state or federal officials calling for it. Find out more at DPH.

We're told the North Adams SteepleCats will return once more to Joe Wolfe Field come 2010.

But what about that other county team? The Pittsfield American Defenders' sister team in the Can-Am League lost the battle for Holman Stadium in Nashua last week when the city parked a bulldozer on the field and the changed locks.

Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau told the UnionLeader.com last week, "They have a responsibility and obligation to the city that hasn't been met."

The American Defenders of New Hampshire owe $45,000 in back rent and fees for police and fire details. The team was cleaning out its offices ahead of the Aug. 31 eviction and finishing up the season on the road.

We wonder what this means for the collegiate team here in Pittsfield, which had to cut its season short win Wahconah Park turned into Wahconah Lake.

Update:  Sept. 11, 2009. The Eagle's reporting that the team has "cash flow" problems in Pittsfield, too, to the tune of $35,000 owed to the city.  "There's no deadline but I expect it in the near future," Mayor James Ruberto told The Eagle.

The team signed a three-year contract for the use of Wahconah Park that includes a $13,500 license and $400 per game, along with other user fees. A concert planned to pump up revenues turned into a disaster when only 10 percent of the hoped-for 4,000 to 5,000 attendees showed up.

A reader browsing through the just-published June edition of Yankee Magazine found North Adams mentioned twice in the top 10 attractions in New England.

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art was rated best museum with Hudson's as best antiques shop. Not surprising for Mass MoCA to be listed; after all its the biggest contemporary art museum in the world and has been making waves with its massive, three-floor Sol LeWitt exhibit.

Hudson's is located right outside the Mass MoCA entryway (with another location on Main Street in the old Mohawk Gift Shop). Perhaps the editor of the piece decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

In any case, kudos are due to both establishments. The good press can't help but bring more tourists to the area. The listing can be found on Page 120 of Yankee Magazine.

We also note that Yankee named Williams College Museum of Art among the top five college art museums in New England back in February.