Letter: International Women's Day

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To the Editor:

This letter was ignored by the Berkshire Eagle

Friday, March 8, was International Women's Day. Here in the Berkshires, it was celebrated by the Zonta club, an International Women's Leadership organization, by honoring six dynamic women from our community at a special dinner that attracted over 200 attendees.

This diverse group of women has made monumental contributions from coaching young professionals to build careers here to providing over two million diapers to those in need. These women aren't CEOs of big corporations and they didn't develop the latest app. They excelled by giving their time, skills and in most cases their own money for the benefit and betterment of the Berkshires. Their stories are inspirational, serving as powerful testaments of selfless service to guide young girls and women.

On Saturday morning, I sat down with my digital copy of the Berkshire Eagle–our Hometown Newspaper– expecting to read about this event and the special women leaders who are uplifting our community but there was no story or photo. Making headlines was the lead story with photos about “Drag Time Story Hour for our Children.”


I seriously question the Eagle's editorial decision and judgment. How do you ignore this opportunity to illustrate International Women's Day through local coverage of Zonta's six remarkable honorees, from diverse backgrounds and roles, who are leading the Berkshires to build a more equitable, desirable and respectful place to live?

I've met the editor and publisher of the Eagle. He's a smart guy. This wasn't a mistake. I believe this was an intentional effort by our hometown newspaper to advance a political agenda while ignoring real community heroes. Eagle editors have demonstrated irresponsible behavior and a lack of leadership and judgment by propagating a targeted narrative.

Get the focus where it belongs.

Respectfully,

Roger Gibboni
Lanesborough, Mass. 

 

 

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Lanesborough OKs Open Space Plan, Short-Term Rental Forms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set fees for short-term rentals and adopted an Open Space and Recreation Plan.
 
Town Administrator Gina Dario discussed the draft for STR registration and certificate of inspection since the new bylaws were passed at the annual town meeting.
 
The draft shows the process to file for inspection through Permit Eyes, the town's online permitting system that includes the state building code and safety requirements. Dario said members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the building commissioner looked at other town models to come up with the best process for registration.
 
Inspections will be annually for non-owner occupied units and five years for owner-occupied. The inspection fee is a flat $50. The last suggestion discussed was the posting requirements for key information.
 
Dario said they looked at about four other communities on how they used non-sensitive information on owner contacts. Chair Deborah Maynard motioned to have the information posted both inside and out to help with law enforcement if needed.
 
"I'm going to make a motion that we put that relevant information not only on the inside of the short-term rental but on the outside, so if the police need to respond, ambulance needs to respond, fire especially needs to respond, all that information is there, nobody has to go searching for it," she said. "If push comes to shove, and it's a matter of minutes, that's going to make a big, a big difference in the outcome of the incident."
 
The board then heard a presentation from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's community planner Andrew McKeever and Open Space and Recreation Committee Vice Chair Mark Hawthorne.
 
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