Women in Politics Subject of OLLI Lecture

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Mary B. Marcy, provost and vice president of Bard College at Simon's Rock, will present a lecture for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College for its Distinguished Speakers Series on Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 10:30 to noon.

Her topic is "Women in the 2008 Elections." The presentation will take place at the Simon's Rock Lecture Center on campus.

Several women have taken on powerful positions on the political stage, most notably during the last presidential election. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin have certainly challenged the glass ceiling in the 2008 campaign. Regardless of their differing political views, both have broken ground and set new precedents in the political arena.

Marcy has done extensive research in the area of women in politics and will share her insight and knowledge on how Clinton and Palin and others have altered the future of American politics in regard to gender.

She holds a doctorate and master's degree in politics from Oxford University. She received her bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln

The cost at the door is $10 for OLLI members; $15 for nonmembers. For information and to register: 413-236-2190, OLLI@berkshirecc.edu or www.BerkshireOLLI.org.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Council Passes $232.7M Budget

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a $232.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year. 

It is a modest, almost 2.9 percent increase from FY26. 

"I do want to give the community kind of a heads up as we move forward on budgets. What we see coming out of the federal government that's trickling down to the states, it's going to be harder and harder for us as a community to meet our needs under the Proposition 2 1/2," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said. 

"We're going to have challenges, as we've seen communities across the state trying to override the Proposition 2 1/2, because we have dwindling amounts of money coming from the state and federal government." 

She pointed out that, at the same time, utility bills are going up for both residents and the city, as are the costs of pavement and other items. 

The amended budget of $232,777,720, down from the $232,782,090 originally proposed, includes cuts to the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the restoration of funds for councilors to attend the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference. 

The Pittsfield Public Schools' $86,855,061 budget includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. With $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues, it totals $87,200,061 and is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million. 

The district's budget will fund 13 schools, as Morningside Community School will retire in the fall, and includes the middle school restructuring. 

Councilors also approved the use of $2 million in certified free cash to reduce the tax rate, and appropriated $450,551 for parking-related expenditures. 

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