Letter: Vote for Right Team for North Adams

Letter to the Editor03:00PM / Thursday, November 02, 2023Print Story | Email Story

To the Editor:

Hi there! How many North Adams folks know that Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 7? How many residents realize that the current mayor is up for re-election? Luckily for us, the signs on the lawn of City Hall remind us of our civic duty.

Me, I voted early right there in City Hall, for nine members for City Council (phew!) plus the city mayor. I'm eager to earn bragging rights for electing the right team. Because, coming soon, North Adams will be reviewing the 10-year update to our Vision 2030 Comprehensive Plan.

We have made progress, despite the COVID-19 setback, and now we are looking ahead to a prosperous future. Vote, and get the right team on board in City Hall. Thank you.

Alice Bojanowski
North Adams, Mass.

Tags: election 2023,

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'Into Light': Addressing Addiction One Portrait at a Time

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
08:13AM / Sunday, March 08, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The "Into Light" exhibit is sketching a new path toward transforming the conversation around addiction — one portrait and story at a time.

Since 2019, the nonprofit's founder Theresa Clower has put on close to 21 exhibitions around the country, sharing the stories of more than 600 people who have lost their lives to addiction.

Now, the installation will be on view at Hotel Downstreet from Friday, March 13, through June 30, featuring 10 portraits of local community members who died from addiction and 20 portraits from the eastern Massachusetts exhibit.

This collaborative effort combines municipal opioid settlement funds and lead sponsor Berkshire Health Systems, in collaboration with the Northern Berkshire Opioid Abatement Collaborative, HEAL Coalition, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and North Adams Regional Hospital.

In addition to the installation, the team has developed programs and forums to be held throughout the three months to start a conversation and improve education on the disease.

"The core to our efforts around 'Into Light' is the community education, especially building on people's awareness of addiction as a disease and as a disease that is curable," said Andy Ottoson, BRPC senior public health planner.

Ottoson stressed the importance of treating substance use disorder like any other disease, reducing stigma, and normalizing open conversations around addiction and the resources out there to help recover.

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