New Yorker Cartoonist to Talk About the Art of Cartooning

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Williamstown – David Sipress, a New Yorker cartoonist, will give a talk titled "Get it? The Art of Cartooning and the New Yorker," on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. The event will be held in Lawrence Hall, room 231. It is free and open to the public. More than 250 cartoons by Sipress have appeared in the New Yorker since 1998. His cartoons and editorial illustrations have also appeared in Playboy, Harper's, The Funny Times, Utne Reader, The Washington Post, and Spectator of London, among others. He is the author of eight cartoon books and the producer and host of "Conversations with Cartoonists," a series of live interviews with some of the leading artists of the New Yorker, staged over the past year in New York City. Sipress will talk about the art of cartooning. He uses cartoons projected on a screen to talk about the profession, about his own work, and about the work of other cartoonists he admires. He tries to make the presentation not just funny -- the cartoons themselves usually take care of that -- but also informative about an under-discussed and much loved art form. He will discuss the unique way in which cartoons combine drawing and writing, about how cartoonists employ both skills, about being funny, about the whole 'coming up with ideas' issue, and, of course, about the New Yorker. He will hold a Q&A session after his formal comments. Initially inspired by European "gag" cartoonists, he also cites Saul Steinberg and other New Yorker cartoonists as his main influences. His drawing style is loose, personal, and most importantly, always built around the foundation of a funny but resonant joke. He graduated from Williams College in 1968. The lecture is sponsored by the departments of art, anthropology/sociology, Russian, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Lecture Committee.
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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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