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Wind Power Slowly Making Headway In BerkshiresBy Stephen Dravis, Special to iBerkshires
10:48AM / Monday, April 16, 2012 | |
 HANCOCK, Mass. — Nearly one year after its launch, a 10-turbine wind farm atop Brodie Mountain is performing at or above expectations.
In Florida, a 20-turbine project should be running by the end of this year.
And in Savoy, the planners of a five-turbine farm remain optimistic they can overcome the remaining hurdles to breaking ground.
The wind energy business is making strides in and around Northern Berkshire County, and advocates can point to a number of successful local projects.
None is bigger than the 10-turbine, 15-megawatt Brodie Mountain installation operated by the Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp., a project of 14 municipal utilities and the Massachusetts Municipal 12 Comments
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Growing Fancy in Berkshires For Backyard ChickensBy Steve Dravis, Special to iBerkshires
03:48PM / Monday, April 09, 2012 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — They were dyeing eggs in the Alvarez household this Easter.
They just were not using the eggs the family normally eats.
"Well ... we dyed some store-bought ones," 12-year-old Kyle explains.
That is because the egg of choice for the Alvarez family has a brown shell, sometimes one with dark speckles — the kind of egg laid by one of five hens in the family's backyard chicken coop.
Kyle, his sisters and his parents are not alone.
The backyard chicken movement is turning suburban homeowners into part-time subsistence farmers nationwide. And the trend has plenty of practitioners in Berkshire County.
"Chickens are our biggest subject as far as 6 Comments
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Pittsfield City Council Calling For Answers From PEDABy Joe Durwin, Special to iBerkshires
06:00PM / Thursday, March 29, 2012 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council is once again asking the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority to appear before them.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a petition from at large Councilor Melissa Mazzeo asking PEDA board members to present a report on a life sciences incubator building that the group hopes to bring to the William Stanley Business Park.
PEDA Director Cordyon Thurston previously appeared before the council six weeks earlier to summarize their economic development progress and fielded more than two hours of questions. In some cases, Thurston was unable to shed light on decisions made prior to his taking the job in May 2011.
"Especially after 2 Comments
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Expert Panel Finds No Ill Effects From Wind TurbinesStaff Reports, iBerkshires
04:45PM / Tuesday, January 17, 2012 | |
 BOSTON — An independent panel of health experts convened by the Department of Environmental Protection has dismissed health effects from so-called "Wind Turbine Syndrome."
The 164-page report was released on Tuesday and was made available to the public because of "the high level of interest in the panel's findings," according to statement from the MassDEP. Three public meetings on the report will be held in February as part of a 60-day comment period.
The report's findings are of considerable interest to residents of Western Massachusetts, which the state has identified as having prime sites for wind turbines. Gov. Deval Patrick as part of his energy plans has set a 7 Comments
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Lookout For Eagles & Other Feathered Friends| 04:02PM / Tuesday, December 20, 2011 | |
 NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's still time to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count, and to get ready for the January eagle count.
The bird count started Dec. 14 but runs to Jan. 1. Bird lovers throughout the state participate in the nation's longest running wildlife survey, now in its 112th year.
Northern and Central Berkshire held their counts this past weekend but a Southern Berkshire group will be counting on Sunday, Jan. 1. The fee is $5 and the contact is Rene Laubach.
The data collected by bird observers over the past century have allowed researchers, conservation biologists, and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations 0 Comments
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Geminids Meteor Shower To Peak On WednesdayStaff Reports, iBerkshires
09:32AM / Tuesday, December 13, 2011 | |
 NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The last and most intense meteor shower of the year will be visible all week.
The Geminids shower will peak on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning and even though a waning gibbous moon is expected to obstruct the view, if the skies are clear up to 40 meteors per hour can be seen, according to NASA.
The shower is considered the best one of the year because typically between 80 and 120 meteors can be seen an hour. The shower comes from a point in the constellation Gemini.
The meteors are pieces of debris from Phaethon, which sciencetist have not quite defined. Phaethon has the brightness similar to a comet but its orbit is like an asteroid, according to 0 Comments
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Berkshire 4-H Presents Annual Awards & Recognitions| 01:06PM / Thursday, December 08, 2011 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Some 100 people gathered at St. Stephen's Church on Sunday to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of 4-H members and volunteers for the 2010-11 4-H year.
The annual gathering of the Berkshire County chapter recognized volunteers for their years of service and Friends of 4-H, and presented awards to 4-H members for their achievements in various categories.
The Key Award, which is presented by the state association for leadership, citizenship and community service
went to Angelina Mangiardi of Pittsfield.
The Top H Awards, which can only be won a maximum of two times, were awarded to Charlotte Smith of New Marlborough, as Junior Top H, and Aliza Ahlen of 0 Comments
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Environmental Affairs Sets Hearing on Fiscal Priorities| 04:05PM / Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs will hold a hearing in Pittsfield to allow interested parties to provide their comments as part of its fiscal 2013 recommendation process.
The hearing will be held Thursday, Dec. 15, from 5:30 to 7 at the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Regional Headquarters Building at 740 South St.
There will also be a hearing in Boston on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 2:30 to 4 in Conference Room C-D, second floor, 100 Cambridge St. A picture ID is required for this hearing.
Written comment is encouraged prior to each hearing. Interested parties may also submit written comments at the hearing or through the close 0 Comments
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Guest Column: Lessons Learned — Embracing the Clean Energy EconomyBy Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, Guest Column
09:38AM / Tuesday, November 29, 2011 | |
 With a state unemployment rate hovering around 7 percent and the long-term specter of climate change it is easy to understand why many public officials, myself included, tout the potential for green jobs.
Training our work force to perform as solar installers, home weatherizers, etc., helps put people to work while getting us on the path to an energy-efficient clean energy economy.
Recently, high-profile missteps on the state and national level – Evergreen Solar in Massachusetts and Solyndra in California – have lead some to doubt the strategy of investment in energy efficiency and clean energy. These are the wrong lessons to take from these two cases, but there are lessons to 6 Comments
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Famed Pittsfield Agriculturalist Returns for 200th Fair AnniversaryBy Joe Durwin, Special to iBerkshires
09:22AM / Tuesday, November 08, 2011 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Numerous local luminaries spoke at Park Square on Friday at a small event commemorating Pittsfield's agricultural history, but none more dramatically than the man who helped launch it.
Though history tells us Elkanah Watson died in 1842, he was able to make a special appearance on the anniversary of his launch of the first agricultural fair in the country.
Watson was brought to life by re-enactor Dennis Picard, museum director at Storrowtown Village on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. The Big E is the largest fair in the Northeast and a long way from Watson's small exhibition of stock 200 years ago.
In a recreation of his 0 Comments
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