March for Immigration Reform Slated for March 21

03:04PM / Wednesday, March 10, 2010Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — On March 21, 2010 tens of thousands of Americans, including immigrants and their families, will march on Washington, D.C., calling on the President and Congress to move past the current stalemate halting forward progress on important and long-suffering national issues, including the need to enact meaningful comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Leadership from faith, labor, African American, veterans, immigrant and other communities will speak to the need for "immigration reform for new American families and economic justice for all American families."

The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) is organizing a bus trip from Boston to enable immigrants and advocates to attend the march and show their support for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Berkshire County residents are invited to join in and can obtain more information by contacting Felipe Zamborlini at fzamborlini@miracoalition.org or 617-350-5480 ext. 200. For more information on how you can get involved in supporting CIR through calls to legislators, post card campaigns and community organizing, contact the Berkshire Immigrant Center at 413-445-4881,or info@berkshireic.com.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

Summer Sizzle!

0% APR for new card holders. Apply today at Greylock! Subject to credit approval. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Your Comments

iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.

We will take the late Senator Ted Kennedy at his word, when he stated in 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli bill: â€œThis amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1 to 1.3 million illegal aliens. We will secure the borders henceforth. We will never again bring forward another amnesty bill like this.â€ End of Quote. OVER 5 MILLION GOT NATIONALIZED. SO BE IT! We will take this venerated, liberal politician as his word. NEVER ANOTHER AMNESTY. Whatever law they try to enact, the American people will not tolerate any kind of AMNESTY. Disguise it as they may, no Comprehensive Immigration Reform will ever pass. Illegal aliens will remain "Illegal" and stay that way, as patriotic citizens, sovereignty lovers will--NEVER--allow this abomination to pass. Whatever the outcome of the discussions between Sen. Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham of any other partisanship play on the illegal immigration explosion. No matter if our politicians to erode E-Verify, 287 (g) federal agreement with local police, slowing down on ICE raids or whatever method they us to confuse the public, these enforcement programs will remain. No distraction will ever work, as American citizens are sick and tired of remaining jobless, while an estimated 8 million illegal nationals collect a pay checks--no matter the amount. We want our jobs back for a own kids, veterans and seniors, instead of companies hiring discount workers. We are now dealing with the monstrous backlash of astronomic costs, that have amplified in support for illegal aliens who have cheated the entitlement system. Amendments to the 1986 Immigration Control and Reform Act may be possible, but if you want to settle in America, you follow the Rule of Law.and enter America through the front gates. READ THE LATEST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION NEWS AT NUMBERSUSA & BEFOREITSNEWS. CORRUPTION NEWS AT JUDICIAL WATCH. INFORM EVERY STATE POLITICIAN IN YOUR CONSTITUENCY YOUR ANGRY. JOIN MILLIONS AND CALL THE WASHINGTON SWITCHBOARD AT 202-224-3121. INSURE THAT YOUR POLITICIANS- AIDE LOG IN YOUR FRUSTRATED COMPLAINTS AND DON'T TAKE--NO--FOR AN ANSWER! Dump out of office every incumbent politician, Governors, Mayors, Judges or any other elected official, beginning with majority leader Sen.Harry Reid in midterm elections and add Chuck Schumer, Speaker,Nancy Pelosi who favors the illegal immigration occupation of this nation
from: Brittanicus	on: 03-10-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

For Americaâ€™s Families: The family is the basic unit of our society, and immigrants who have the support of strong families are more likely to contribute to society, pay taxes, and start businesses that create jobs. But our broken immigration system divides families and keeps loved ones apart for years and even decades, which discourages them from following the rules and working within the system. It doesnâ€™t make sense to spend billions of dollars rounding people up, breaking up families, shutting down businesses, and deporting people who are working, learning English, and putting down roots here. For immigrants who donâ€™t have legal status, we should require them to come out of the shadows and register, pay taxes, and start working toward becoming Americans, while keeping their families together. For Americaâ€™s Workers: Reforming immigration will help protect all workers from exploitation and unfair competition. Currently, millions of workers â€” one in twenty in the U.S. workforce â€” are vulnerable to employers who seek unfair advantage over their competitors by not paying workers minimum wage or by ignoring labor rights protected by law. Bringing undocumented workers into the system will allow them to stand up for their rights and to unionize. When they are on equal footing with other workers, unscrupulous employers will not easily be able to pit one group of workers against another, driving down wages for all Americans. America should not settle for a downwardly spiraling competition for lower wage jobs. America needs more jobs, more rights for workers, and better wages, not more laws to keep workers out or keep workers down. Reforming immigration is an important part of fixing the ailing economy. The federal government has an obligation to reform immigration for all American workers. For Americaâ€™s Economy: Today, almost every American company needs smart planning, to navigate through hard times and be ready for growth when the economy recovers. Unfortunately, for too many American businesses, the unreliable and obsolete immigration system makes planning for the future more difficult. Industries like agriculture that require a large workforce ready, willing, and able to work long and physically demanding days have been unable to plan their business strategies around a stable workforce. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, such sectors have relied on immigrant workers to do those jobs. The hospitality, restaurant, business services, and manufacturing sectors face similar problems. One of the challenges American businesses face today is the aging American workforce, the rapid retirement of the large Baby Boomer generation. To maintain a balanced and a stable workforce, American businesses must find younger workers, especially in manual labor jobs. With more and more US citizen youth earning high school and college degrees, the trend is making the prospects of adequately filling jobs in certain sectors extremely difficult, even in this tough economy. For Americaâ€™s Security: The immigration system we have today makes little sense in terms of Americaâ€™s security. With few legal options to come in through the system, many seek ways to go around it. The broken system has spawned a thriving market for smugglers and has generated chaos on the border. A seemingly random enforcement regime targets ordinary immigrant workers and families, diverting resources away from protecting against genuine threats. Millions of immigrants are unknown to the government. Unscrupulous employers have little fear of punishment for recruiting and exploiting undocumented workers and undermining their honest competitors. Immigration reform will allow more immigrants to come with a visa, not with a smuggler. It will require undocumented immigrants to get right with the law, register with the government, and go through government background security checks. This screening process will separate ordinary immigrants who have come seeking opportunities to better their lives from those who may be exploiting opportunities a broken system provides to those who may be coming to do us harm. Enforcement resources can then be trained on employers who flaunt labor laws and exploit undocumented immigrants, on smugglers who traffic in drugs and guns who are creating chaos on the border, and on violent individuals inside the country who may pose a threat to public safety. By getting ordinary immigrants in line for citizenship and prioritizing enforcement actions to target genuine threats, immigration reform will be good for Americaâ€™s security
from: YesWECan	on: 03-11-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Ever ask yourselves WHY this, and only this, country is complicating this issue to the extent that it has?? Exactly WHO is benefitting from it? The government benefits by justifying the BILLIONS it irresponsibly spends on endless entitlements and "social justice" programs, and embellishes it's global image. The ILLEGAL aliens benefit in too many ways to count but most importantly by avoiding the laws of our land at the peril of the American citizens who foot the bill. Those same American citizens (including LEGAL immigrants who respected their adopted new home enough to play by it's rules) benefit ..... oh, wait! .... the American citizens DON'T BENEFIT ONE IOTA. ILLEGAL has only one meaning .... ILLEGAL. They, and all their advocacy groups, have no right to demand anything. How is ANYone in their right mind not infuriated by this? If, in fact, you are sick to death of ILLEGAL intruders demanding the entitlements and rights of citizenship that Deval Patrick's "New Americans Agenda" proposes to hand to them on a silver platter at the Massachusetts taxpayers' expense, please take one minute to go to: http://www.gopetition.com/online/32890.html to read and sign the online petition to be presented to the governor and each state legislator, and make it known that you oppose any further giveaways to ILLEGAL aliens who need to be expelled from our state, not rewarded. Take America back and start with Massachusetts!
from: Cougar	on: 03-11-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

I am all for the illegal's to take a stand on there behalf.. It is a crying shame that family's have to live apart and kid's have to be put on welfare becaues there father's or mother's cant be here to provide for them. I say if they come here and work hard to make a better life for them self's not caues harm to anyone. They have just as much right's as we american's do.. They let us into there country open arm's and treat us just as if we was one of them. Just for one day i wish u american's could live in there shoe's. This god's world we were put here to love one another not hate!!! And if i had the money i would so march with immigration on the 21.
from: Elisha	on: 03-11-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

U ALL SAY THAT ITS THE ILLIGAL'S FAULT THAT WE DONT HAVE JOB'S!!!! WELL I HAVE NEWS FOR U ITS NOT!!! IF ALL THE LAZY AMERICANS WILL GET OUT AND WORK AND DO THE JOBS THAT ILLIGAL IMMAGRANTS DO THEN U WILL HAVE A JOB. BUT NO!!! U WONT TO SET BACK AND BLAME SOMEONE ELSE FOR UR PROBLEMS AND GET A CHECK BECAUES UR TO LAZY TO WORK.. PS TO ALL AMERICANS ( GET OFF UR LAZY BUTTS AND GO TO WORK NO MATTER HOW DIRTY THE JOB IS AND STOP BLAMING OTHER COUNTRYS AND ILLIGALS FOR UR PROBLEMS. ITS TIME TO GET OFF WELFARE U BOMBS
from: march for the illigals	on: 03-11-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Typical Ã¯Â¿Â½ber-liberal, pro-ILLEGALS nonsense; "Can't we just all get along?" .... sure! IF you respect other people, and their laws and culture when you move into their home. No one is saying "foreigners" cannot settle in America .... just that they MUST do so LEGALLY. Which part of legal vs. illegal don't you understand? It's not ONLY about jobs (so predictable that you oversimplify the issue, making it unnecessary ... for you ... to address all aspects of the problem), although that is certainly one talking point for those opposed to ILLEGALS. There are so many other negative issues that impact legal Americans (including LEGAL immigrants). There is a reason there's a "process" for becoming an American citizen .... requirements for sponsors who agree to assume responsibility, guarantee of gainful employment, health and criminal verifications, numbers control (i.e., we should not allow more people in than we can afford to accommodate), etc. There's a LONG LIST of harmful effects on the American people caused by ILLEGAL aliens, all of which cost the American taxpayers' BILLIONS every year, including; national security risks, health risks, overcrowded schools, hospitals and emergency rooms, increased street crime and identity theft, severely depleted affordable housing availability, enormous stress on essential services (police, fire, water, etc.) and our infrastructure (roads, bridges, water, sewer, utilities, etc.), the destruction of our American culture with their endless demands to turn this nation into a better version of the homelands they fled, and MUCH MORE. The list (and many useful links) is available on Speak Up and Matter at: http://speakupandmatter.blogspot.com Then read and sign the petition opposing this insane giveaway of American, beginning in Massachusetts, at: http://www.gopetition.com/online/32890.html AMERICANS FIRST! Editor: This article is about Berkshire County residents being asked if they would like to join a march about immigration reform. I am closing comments because the debate has wandered too far afield and is turning into rants that I suspect originate far from this area. You fellas have made your point and that's enough.
from: Cougar	on: 03-12-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

America is a country of immigrants. All people who came here made great sacrifices and worked harder than even the citizens and under very difficult circumstances and thus contributed even greater than the citizens for a better future for America and for themselves. Henceforth recent studies conducted by experts and universities continue to show that legalizing the immigrants, who are not criminals or drug traffickers is in the best interest of our country's economy and prosperity. A recent study conducted by Dr. RaÃºl Hinojosa-Ojeda for the Immigration Policy Center and the Center for American Progress, estimates that immigration reform would add at least $1.5 trillion in cumulative Gross Domestic Product to the U.S. economy over 10 years. Over the first three years alone, the higher personal incomes of new and newly legalized immigrant workers would generate enough consumer spending to support 750,000 to 900,000 jobs in the United States, as well as increased tax revenues of $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion I thus think that passing of the comprehensive immigration reform immediately is in the best interest of Americans and our country. It will only continue to keep our country prosperous and great. It appears like many have opined that President Obama needs to lead on the Immigration Reform just as he led on the Health Reform. I think it will make all the difference. Also another favourable factor is that Immigration Reform has more bipartisan support than Health Reform. For example Sen. Mel Martinez's (R-Fla.) successor, George LeMieux, told POLITICO that he had not been approached about signing onto the Immigration Bill, but that the issue is important and he would be "happy to look" at a proposal I think the bigger and greater the rally in Washington DC on March 21 the better it will contribute to moving the Immigration Reform very quickly and passing it immediately. "Immigration Reform" could even be a part of the" Jobs Bill" for passing it quickly or else its future looks very bleak
from: Fair Thinker	on: 03-20-2010 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:30AM / Tuesday, June 09, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Construction is underway to transform the former Harry's Supermarket into a restaurant.

Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.

"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.

A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.

White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.

He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.

Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.

A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.