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I realize that faster internet service will be a boon to the area, However, it has not happened via the private sector because it was not cost effective. Will it be cost effective when financed by the taxpayer? How about a user fee user fee on the service until the "loan" can be paid back to the taxpayers. That way the region gets serviced and the taxpayers are not left holding the bag for the few. I am sure that to be able to benefit from this new faster service, the users would be happy to "pay back" the taxpayers who made it possible.
Does anyone at the State or Federal level ever think in terms of who is going to pay for things?
"The service area contains more than one million residents, over 44,000 businesses, at least 2,100 community anchor institutions (CAI), and 3,429 square miles. The middle-mile network will be within three miles of more than 98 percent of households, CAIs, and businesses. This will dramatically change the cost equation and service options for last-mile providers and allow for competitively priced residential and business-class broadband services."
Does this mean that private business will now be able to service customers they would not have been able to before for cost reasons?
Does this mean that we have now subsidized these "private" companies to the tune of millions of dollars to run a high speed line closer to the servicing area.
These companies should at least be made to pay laying of these High Speed lines. I know they will only pass the cost onto customers, but the customers should be happy that they can finally get High Speed Internet at a premium price for sure, but at least it would then be available as a choice.
Editor: The initiative is the same thinking that produced programs like the Rural Electrification and the federal and state highway systems. Those programs greatly aided businesses as well as citizens. The problem in rural communities is that the big carriers (DSL, cable) are not willing to invest millions because the return isn't big enough. Like electrification, the government is providing the main investment for communities to plug into - residents and businesses alike. Check out WiredWest for more information.
Abigail, you realize that you--and everyone else--most certainly HAVE asked for AND received governemnt monies, right? Lots of them.
Unless you're the rare person who doesn't use any of the following: highways, airports, cellular communications, and the internet. Or how about the "government monies" you get in the form of interest deductions and tax benefits for things like mortgages, capital gains, etc?
Or locally, things like snow plowing, court systems, enforcement of parking, zoning, or other ordinanaces. Fire protection. A prison to hold people who have broken criminal laws. Hospitals. Safe drinking water. Regulation of pollution.
Yea, I'm sure you never asked for or used any of that stuff.
You are right though, that stuff is "part of capitalism." It's the part that free-marketeers like to pretend doesn't exist.
Editor: I agree with Publius. Abigail's argument is she already has a road to her door, so why should she have to subsidize roads to other people's doors? iBerkshires, obviously, pays for broadband. We are situated in North Adams so have access to it. People on Florida Mountain would love to pay for broadband, too, but no one will offer it to them. This investment will build a road to Florida so they can pay to have it come to their doors.
Welcome to the 21st century Western Mass!! Nobody bats an eye when roads, bridges, and highways are built with tax dollars.
Fasten your seat belts and prepare for a ride on the information super-highway. In our increasingly wired (commerce) world information exchange becomes a requirement for participation in the new economy.
This is the type of infrastructure improvements that will yield many times the benefits of the initial costs.
This is a wise, far sighted, and proper use of tax dollars.
I find it ironic that some residents of densely populated eastern MA protest about the broadband initiative grant, when for years their auto insurance rates were heavily subsidized by drivers in Western MA under the state's former auto insurance rate formulas.
North Adams Police Charge 7 After Drug Investigation
Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police charged seven people after executing simultaneous search warrants on Eagle Street and Arnold Place.
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, members of the North Adams Police Department Detective Unit and Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force executed search warrants at 212 Eagle Street Apartment 3 and 59 Arnold Place.
According to police, the search warrants were the result of a month-long investigation into a group of people from Springfield utilizing both residences as part of their heroin and cocaine distribution operation.
Police reported that during the search warrant execution at 212 Eagle Street Apartment 3, Giovanni Ramirez was taken into custody. Joanne Bentley and Chad Luczynski were also located in the apartment and will be charged as part of this investigation.
During the search warrant execution at 59 Arnold Place, Sandra Bunt, Raven Vanderburg, Jaiden Langford-Andrews and Angel Ortiz were all taken into custody.
Bunt's bail was revoked on a separate open case, and she is held without bail. Vanderburg is being held without bail for a probation violation on a separate case.
Langford-Andrews, Ortiz and Ramirez were all held without bail pending dangerousness hearings scheduled for later this week and early next week.
As a result of the investigation, the following evidence was seized:
Approximately 110 grams of cocaine
Approximately 2,323 bags of heroin (46 grams)
Approximately $6,817 U.S. Currency
Multiple functioning digital scales with residue
The following people were arrested and charged with the following:
Jaiden Langford-Andrews of Springfield:
Arrest Warrant
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
Angel Ortiz, of Springfield:
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
Giovanni Ramirez, of Springfield, Massachusetts:
Trafficking Cocaine 36-100 grams
Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin
Conspiracy
Sandra Bunt, of North Adams:
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
Raven Vanderburg, of North Adams:
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
The following people were charged but not taken into custody:
On a day set aside for recognizing local veterans, the city unveiled a new plaque that added or corrected the names of 169 who served during wartime.
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The City Council on Tuesday accepted a fiscal 2025 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant in the amount of $14,231 for the construction of an evidence room.
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Drury High School students don't have to ask "where's the beef" from, now that the school has partnered to bring local meat into its food service system. click for more
