The Berkshire Business and Professional Women will meet on Monday, May 3, hosting adventurer and art historian Dudley Levenson, who will present the photo lecture "Images of Women from Classic, Tribal and Emerging Cultures." 

Networking begins at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and the presentation to follow at 6 p.m. The cost is $28; reservations are required. This month's meeting will be held at Jae's Spice on North Street, Pittsfield. For more information and reservations,contact mphillips@greylock.org.

The Tanglewood Business Partners Committee will hold a cocktail reception to pitch the rewards of creating a business partnership with it, on Monday, May 3 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Blantyre, 16 Blantyre Road, Lenox.

On Wednesday, May 5, Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, will host "Solar Energy for your Community or Business: A Closer Look at Medium and Large Scale Solar," from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Speakers include Sen. Benjamin Downing; Chris Vreeland, professional engineer and renewable energy consultant; and James Barry, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.

Suggested attendees include muncipal leaders, department of public works directors, business owners, large landowners, architects and builders, facilities directors, nonprofit directors, farmers and business managers; admission is $20. Registration is required; register at www.regonline.com/cetsolar. For more information, contact Wendy Penner at wendyp@cetonline.org or Amanda Dubrowski at 413-445-4556 ext. 10.

The Small Business Administration is putting on a Small Business Recovery Expo on Thursday, May 6, from 7:30 a.m. to noon, in Murdock Hall, 2nd floor, on the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts campus, North Adams.

A panel of speakers from federal, state and local organizations will dscuss how they are able to assist your business. The panel will be followed by an expo where attendees may visit with these organizations; two free workshops on business financing and SBA programs will follow the expo.

Speakers include Bob Nelson, SBA Massachusetts director; Mayor Richard J. Alcombright; Michael Supranowicz, president, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce; and Andre Porter, executive director, Mass Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Representatives from MCLA, MSBDC, SCORE and financial institutions will be present.

Register for the event here.

On Friday, May 7 the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce is hosting an "Eggs and Issues" breakfast featuring Scott Soares, Commissioner with Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), who has been recognized as a strong advocate for agricultural interests in Massachusetts. The event takes place at Crissey Farm, 426 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington, from 8 to 9:30 a.m.

Admission is $10 for Berkshire Chamber members, $15 for nonmembers; register here.

The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will hold an informational meeting about written information security programs (WISPs) on Friday, May 7 at 9 a.m. Featured speakers Kathleen McCormick of McCormick, Murtagh and Marcus, and Ryan Belanger of Ascentek will address legal and technological issues. The event is free to Southern Berkshire Chamber members, but an RSVP is required to sbcc@rnetworx.com. The event will be held at Berkshire Community College South County Campus Room S1; contact the chamber at 413-528-4284 for more information.

On Thursday, May 13, the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will have a Business After Hours event at the Nutrition Center, 94 West Ave., Great Barrington. RSVP to visitor@southernberkshirechamber.com.

On Wednesday, May 19,  the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will hold a Chamber Nite at The American Legion, 41 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is free for Berkshire Chamber members and their employees. Complimentary hors d'oevres will be served. Register here (for members only).

Berkshire Creative is putting on the BeCreative BarCamp, an event designed for members of the Berkshire creative economy to share their ideas, projects, resources and innovations, on Wednesday, May 19, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Shakespeare and Company, Lenox. The event is free. To learn more, sign up to present, or to RSVP (by Monday, May 17) visit becreativeconference.com or call 413-822-8324.

The Berkshire Visitors Bureau is hosting a free talk on arts and culture on Wednesday, May 19, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at The Mount, 2 Plunkett St., Lenox. Businesses are invited to share ideas and hear what others are doing to encourage collaborations and facilitate packaging. For more information, contact the bureau at 413-743-4500.

Berkshire Art Kitchen, 400 Main St., Great Barrington, will hold a series of quick, hands-on seminars on social media for artists, writers, musicians and entrepreneurs. BAK is offering the seminars on a sliding scale ($20 to $50 per person; pay what you can). The schedule is as follows; all classes are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
MySpace Monday: May 17
Twitter Tuesdays: May 18
Wordpress Wednesdays: May 19
YouTube Thursdays: May 20
Facebook Fridays: May 21

One-on-one tutorials or special group sessions are available. Contact berkshireartkitchen@gmail.com or 413-717-0031 for more information.

On Wednesday, May 26, Custom Business Solutions will host the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce's Networking Night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 148 Main St., Williamstown. The event is free and open to  chamber members and their employees. Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails will be offered.

For more information, contact the chamber office at 413-458-9077 or info@williamstownchamber.com.

DALTON, Mass. — Crane & Co. officials were on hand this morning as the new $100 bill was unveiled in the U.S. Treasury Department's Cash Room in Washington. The Dalton printer has been making the specialized paper for the nation's folding currency for more than 100 years.
 
The bill includes a variety of high-tech additions to help defeat counterfeiting; the U.S. $100 bill is the most widely counterfeited note.

Find out the cool things happening on the new $100 bill.

"As the supplier of the paper used to produce the redesigned $100 bill, Crane & Co. worked diligently to provide the Bureau of Engraving & Printing with paper that contains an updated suite of security elements," said Douglas Crane, vice president, in a statement. "These features were designed to address the government's twin objectives of elevating the security of the world's most recognized banknote, while at the same time enhancing its ease of use — both of which serve to support and extend the public’s confidence in the banknote."

The security includes a micro-optic "Motion" feature that creates simulated images on the security thread that appear to move as the bill is tilted and also switches from one image to another — from $100 to the Liberty Bell — in an stylized inkwell. That should create a major challenge to potential counterfeiters, said Crane.

The bill also has the traditional anti-counterfeit devices like scattered blue and red fibers, a facial watermark of Ben Franklin, embedded security thread that glows under ultraviolet and darker number watermarks.

Crane officials will be demonstrating the bill's new attributes at the Dalton mill on Friday to a select group of officials and press that includes iBerkshires.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Have breakfast down on the farm with the state's agriculture commissioner this May.

Scott Soares, who came to the Berkshires to be sworn in last April, is the guest speaker for the latest Berkshire Chamber of Commerce "Eggs & Issues" breakfast on Friday, May 7, from 8 to 9:30 at Crissey Farm, 426 Stockbridge Road.

The mini-chamber breakfasts are designed to focus on local issues in more intimate settings than the full chamber breakfasts. Soares has been recognized as a strong advocate for agricultural interests here in Massachusetts.

Cost: $10 for Berkshire Chamber members or $15 for non-members.
 

ADAMS, Mass. — If everyone at the South Adams Savings Bank is wearing a promotional T-shirt, it must be the first Monday of the month, when the bank quite visibly takes care of business.

The bank's found a way to help its commercial clients by offering free advertising. The concept's simple: Provide a space for business clients to showcase business cards, brochures and fliers. Then pick one to be featured for a whole month on the South Adams Web site.

The dividend: You can't buy that kind of advertising.

"Oasis Liquors was the first one we featured," said bank President Charles O'Brien. "They were being complimented just about on a daily basis."

Businesses were a bit shy about jumping on board, said O'Brien and Amy Giroux, senior vice president of retail banking, but soon saw the benefits. The promotion's only been going a couple months but the number of businesses participating has doubled with 35 featured during April. "Good buzz goes around," said Giroux.

The idea was hatched by a member of the Taking Care of Business committee, a group of bank employees who discuss ways to aid customers. In addition to space in the bank for advertising, the workers don promotional garb as well.

The promotion not only helps get out the word about businesses doing business with the bank, it also helps other bank patrons connect with its retail customers. The bank also has branches in Williamstown, Cheshire and Lee.

"We're really happy to provide this benefit to our customers," said Giroux. "It's such a spot-on idea and it doesn't cost anything."

This month's featured business on the Web site — and on the bank's Facebook page — is Bedini & St. Pierre Building and Maintenance Contractors. Look for a new business May 3.

If you're interested in becoming a featured business, contact tcb@sasavings.com.

BOSTON — Unemployment has dropped statewide by nearly a point since February, from 10.0 to 9.3. Berkshire County's rate is slightly above the state average at 9.6 percent, up from 8 percent in December. These rates are not seasonally adjusted.

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported that unemployment rates were lower in March than February in all of the commonwealth's 22 labor market areas. Twenty of the labor market areas also had lower unemployment rates in February than in January.

The Pittsfield Metropolitan Area, which includes a few neighboring North County towns, posted a jobless rate of 9.8; with a workforce of 38,895, some 3,809 are still out of work. North County continues to flag behind with a jobless rate of 10.4 percent; some 1,850 of its workforce of 17,729 are unemployed.

Over the year, the unadjusted unemployment rate is up 1.1 percent from the 8.2 percent rate in March 2009.

Job gains were recorded in all of the 12 labor areas in March, with Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area added the most jobs over the month. Over the year, the Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury and Barnstable areas gained jobs, the remaining 10 areas lost jobs. Over the year, unemployment rates were up in all of the labor market areas for which rates are published.

The seasonally adjusted statewide March 2010 unemployment rate of 9.3 percent, released on April 15, was down from the 9.5 percent rate in February 2010. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate for March 2010, also released on April 15th, showed a gain of 7,600 jobs over the month.

The unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor market areas reflect seasonal fluctuations and therefore may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates.

NOTES: The 2009 rates have been revised with this release. Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi. See the Revised March, 2010 Media Advisory annual schedule for complete listing of release dates.

Berkshire County WIA  
   Time Frame:  March 2010 
   Not Seasonally Adjusted Data