Governor Names Agricultural Resources Commissioner

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BOSTON — Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper announced the appointment of Ashley E. Randle to the role of Commissioner of the Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). 
 
Randle starts on March 6, 2023, as the twenty-first Commissioner and the first woman appointed to lead the Department.
 
MDAR supports, regulates, and enhances the diversity of the Commonwealth's agricultural community to promote economically and environmentally sound food safety and animal health measures and fulfill agriculture's role in energy conservation and production.  
 
"As we build our leadership teams in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, I'm glad Ashley is joining the Healey-Driscoll Administration," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "Having been raised on a dairy farm, Ashley deeply understands and appreciates the agricultural industry. Her experience will be critical to guiding agricultural policy for our state, supporting our farmers and fisheries, and promoting access to nutritious foods in every community." 
 
Ashley Randle currently serves as Deputy Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, where she oversees legislative and policy affairs. Prior, Ashley was the Member Services Director for Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Inc. and the Marketing Specialist/Special Projects at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry. She graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics & Management and Animal Science and received her Juris Doctorate from Western New England University School of Law. She currently serves as a Trustee to the Massachusetts 4-H Foundation Board and was named to Worcester Business Journal's 40 Under Forty class in 2022. Ashley was born and raised on her family's fifth-generation dairy farm in South Deerfield and resides in Sterling with her husband. 
 
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue my service to the Commonwealth as a member of the Healey-Driscoll Administration," added Randle. "We will continue to work to ensure a safe and secure food supply while building a more equitable, robust, and resilient local food system. Agriculture has laid the foundation for my career, and I have a deep appreciation for the dedicated members of our Massachusetts agricultural sector. It's truly a privilege to work with our MDAR team, farmers, fishers, and stakeholders in this new role." 

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Pittsfield BOH Condemns Two Homes

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two more Pittsfield homes have been condemned.

The Board of Health voted Wednesday to condemn 86 John St. and 224 Fourth St. It came with a pang of sadness about demolishing homes during a housing crisis and a conversation about prevention.

"I would think many years ago this property had flowers in front of it," Chair Roberta Elliott said about the John Street home. "It was not like this."

Another member said it feels like capital punishment to the properties.

Both homes have no owner or heir who wants to take responsibility for them. The city has 43 open condemnation orders — about 20 residential.

"The condemnation can be as simple as no running water, no electricity," Code Enforcement Office Andrew Gagnon said. "So it is a spectrum of severity."

The four-bedroom John Street property has been sitting since 2018 and the Fourth Street multifamily has been subject to break-ins despite being secured and deemed unsafe by the Fire Department.

"It's unfortunate that so many properties on John Street have had to meet the wrecking ball," Gagnon said.

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