What’s New in On-the-Go Entertainment

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It wasn’t so long ago that the new “in” thing in mobile entertainment was the portable CD player. Now nearly all the car manufacturers offer the option of adding advanced entertainment systems to their vehicles. From built in game systems and DVD players to digital and XM radios, you can have it all! When the 2006 models hit the showrooms, they’ll be decked out with options no one would have even dreamed of just ten years ago. No more basic radios. They have all the bells and whistles. Take for example the new upscale stereo system available on several General Motors vehicles, including Saturn’s Vue sports utility, Ion coupe and Ion sedan. Not only does it come with a CD player, AM/FM radio and the ability to receive and play XM satellite radio, but a front-mounted auxiliary jack that allows the user to plug in and play their MP3 player, IPod or Dell DJ through the car speakers. “If you still have old books on tape or cassettes with your favorite music, you can use the jack to plug in a tape player then listen to it through the car’s stereo system too,” says Jill Lajdziak of Saturn. Another advanced feature is how the radio handles presets. No more toggling back and forth between bands. The system can store up to 36 of your favorite stations from the AM and FM dials or XM radio side-by-side. When you get to your favorite station, the digital display shows the call letters, the name of the artist and the song playing (if the station is sending that information through its signal). Car radios aren’t the only on-the-go entertainment option where technology is traveling at light speed. Passengers now have the ability to play video games or watch movies in the back seat and listen to the audio through the car stereo on one channel while front-seat passengers listen to the radio or CDs on another. Speaker systems have matured with age too. They used to just be built in to the doors, but cars now come with speakers strategically placed in the front, back, sides and even the ceiling. For more information about all the entertainment options available in Saturn vehicles, log on to www.saturn.com. The radio described in this article is also available in the Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac Solstice, Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerene. Courtesy of ARA Content
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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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