Next 'Green Living' lecture to address wind power

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NORTH ADAMS – The Berkshire Environmental Resource Center (BERC) at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will continue its series of 14 “Green Living” seminars this Thursday, Feb. 14, at 5:30 p.m. with “Wind Power: Need for Setting Guidelines,” in Murdock Hall conference room 218. The series, “Achieving Energy Sustainability for the 21st Century: Choices and Challenges,” is free and open to the public.

Narain Schroeder will be presenting “Wind Power.” He is the director of land conservation at the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, where he guides the Council’s efforts to preserve and protect land in the Berkshires.

Schroeder grew up in Vermont on a small beef farm in a community sustained by farming, logging and maple syrup production. He has a degree in planning from the University of Colorado, and a master’s degree in environmental biology from Antioch New England Graduate School. The Green Living series aims to inform students and the community about strategies for meeting our growing demand for energy and to encourage debate around several energy options, including those involving water, wind, hydrogen and nuclear power.

The series will continue on Thursdays through April 24 in Murdock Hall conference room 218 at MCLA. For more information, go to www.mcla.edu or contact Elena Traister, (413)662-5303.
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Pittsfield Audit Committee Sees 2 'Advantageous' Proposals

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city received two strong proposals for an independent audit and will evaluate their cost as the last determining factor. 

On Monday, the Auditing Services Evaluation Committee decided to advance proposals from CliftonLarsonAllen and from Scanlon and Associates, the firm that has audited Pittsfield for years. 

The city received two bid responses that members generally saw as equally strong. Some pushed for a new set of eyes, and some were comfortable with the knowledge Scanlon has built about Pittsfield over the years. 

They agreed that prices are an important factor and voted to advance both proposals to purchasing agent Colleen Hunter-Mullett so she can come back with financial information. 

"I think one was longer, but when I looked at it, I thought they both had in-depth information for us, and I really didn't have any issues with any of them, and I think they're both highly advantageous in that," said Kathy Amuso, who was designated to review the proposals. 

"… I contacted municipalities for both CliftonLarsonAllen and Scanlon, and no matter which one I contacted, all the CliftonLarsonAllen customers and clients highly recommended them, and the Scanlon clients highly recommended them."

She has worked with Scanlon through government since 2003 and, because both proposals were highly rated, doesn't see a reason to change.

"I think it's been pretty consistent. I think they've been good to work with; I think they found some issues that they worked with the City of Pittsfield on," Amuso explained. 

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