Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Launched

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Nonprofits seeking help with everything from marketing to fundraising, manpower and professional development can turn to a new entity called the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires.  

Founded by Liana Toscanini, former Development & Marketing Director for Community Access to the Arts, the Nonprofit Center is located at 40 Railroad St.

The mission of the NPC is to facilitate growth for charitable organizations through shared resources, affordable products and services, and creative collaborations.

“Many nonprofits need assistance getting to the next level.  I enjoy connecting people in our community and using my corporate and nonprofit background to help organizations grow,” Toscanini said.


Initially, services include a practical workshop series featuring local experts and a Giving Guide publication to connect nonprofits to community members interested in getting involved and learning more about local organizations.  Toscanini is also coordinating interns and volunteers to assist nonprofits with their work.

“The NPC is structured similarly to a chamber of commerce,” Toscanini said. Membership dues are affordable ($75 for nonprofits with annual revenue under $200,000), and benefits include discounts on all products and services as well as some freebies such as a one-hour consultation and one free workshop from the nonprofit workshop series.   

The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires is itself a nonprofit organization with a board of directors including: Betsy Andrus, Ronald Bernard, Maxine Carter-Lome, Rachel Louchen, Melissa Lydon, Matt Syrett, and Abbbie von Schlegell as well as an Advisory Board whose members include: Rich Aldrich, Anthony Blair, Alice Boyd, Brittany Brouker, John Katz, Joel Millonzi, J. Scott Rote, Barry Shapiro, and Richard Stanley.

For more information about the Nonprofit Center or to become a member call 413-645-3151 or visit www.npcberkshires.org.

 


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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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