4:30
It was a long winter for the handful of Pittsfielders living in the makeshift village tucked into the woods of Springside Park.
“Oh, it was brutal, said Paul. I ll give you that much, it was wicked brutal.”
Paul is one of the five people now calling the 240 acre park just north of downtown home. They opted to live outside in the spring of 2020 rather than face what they considered threatening conditions in city shelters when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“Just living in that cold, negative degree weather all the time, he told WAMC. Snow you have to dump off. No, nobody helped us. Imagine getting up at 4 o clock or 3 o clock or even earlier every morning to get the tent to get, just get, knock snow off your tent, you know, because you re afraid it s going to collapse on top and you freeze to death. You know? That s what these people don t understand. We don t have it easy out of here. They think we have an easy out here. We don t.”
6:21
The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative is a coalition of county healthcare leaders, including Berkshire Health Systems, the county Boards of Health Association, Community Health Programs, Northern Berkshire EMS, the city of Pittsfield and more. For months, the collaborative has worked to distribute COVID-19 vaccines throughout the westernmost county in Massachusetts. This week, the collaborative said it’s beginning to scale down its larger clinics with almost half the county vaccinated. Collaborative spokesperson Jennifer Vrabel, Executive Director of Communications for Berkshire Health Systems, spoke with WAMC Josh Landes.
VRABEL: The most recent data released by the state shows that about 60% of county residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 43% have been fully vaccinated. An enormous number of those folks have been vaccinated by our large clinics in Pittsfield, North Adams amd Great Barrington. And we ve been able to serve so many people by collaborating
4:19
Massachusetts officials say an ongoing wildland fire in Northern Berkshire County is the state’s largest in over a decade.
The East Mountain Fire began as a brushfire in Williamstown on Friday, and has spread thanks to wind events over into the Clarksburg State Forest. More than 120 firefighters from 19 surrounding towns and state units are attempting to contain it. Williamstown Fire Chief Craig Pedercini spoke Monday afternoon.
“I can report at this point we ve burned about 800 acres and we are 60% contained at this time, he said. No structures are threatened by the fire. One firefighter was taken to the hospital over the weekend. He s in good condition and remains hospitalized this time. Today the Mass National Guards and the Massachusetts State Police were conducting, are conducting air operations including water drops to help contain a fire.”
3:47
North Adams, Massachusetts resident Rachel Branch is running for mayor for the third consecutive election. Branch, who hosts a public access television program called Solutions Rising, has served on the North Adams Housing Authority as well as the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District Committee.
Branch – whose father was once president of the city council – joins MCLA student Josh Vallieres in the field, though city council Vice President Jason LaForest intends to enter the race. Branch tells WAMC Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes that public service, feminism and representing the community’s youth are at the core of her latest campaign.
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