President Making Third Trip to Region

Staff ReportsiBerkshires
Print Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — President Barack Obama will be back in the New York Capital District on Tuesday, this time to visit a technology campus with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

This is the third trip in as many years for the president to the region, each time highlighting on jobs and economics.

In 2009, he was at Hudson Community College with Dr. Jill Biden to exhort education and innovation to solve the nation's economic woes. He was last in the region in January 2011, when he appeared in Schenectady next to GE's Jeffrey Immelt, whom he tapped to head an advisory council charged with creating jobs.

His relationship with jobs czar Immelt seems to have cooled over the past year (we think Pittsfielders might have some sharp comments about GE's jobs-creating abilities) but the president will once again tap the Capital District to talk about economic opportunities.


The president will travel to the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's Albany NanoTech Complex at the State University of New York. The complex is a research, development, prototyping, and educational facility that provides strategic support through outreach, technology acceleration, business incubation, pilot prototyping, and test-based integration support for onsite corporate partners, including IBM, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Applied Materials, as well as other next generation nanotechnology research activities.

The White House had planned on the president visiting the massive GlobalFoundries, a $4 billion semiconductor manufacturer north of the capital in Malta, N.Y. The tour was canceled for "logistical reasons" but representatives from GlobalFoundries will join the president at CNSE.
 

Tags: economy,   jobs,   obama,   

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

Dalton Select Board Argues Over Sidewalk Article

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — A heated discussion concerning sidewalks during Monday night's Select Board meeting resulted in the acting chair calling a recess to cool the situation. 
 
The debate stemmed from the two articles on the town meeting warrant for May 6 at 7 p.m. at Wahconah Regional High School. 
 
One proposes purchasing a sidewalk paver for $64,000 so sidewalks can be paved or repaired for less money, but they will use asphalt rather than concrete. The other would amend the town's bylaws to mandate the use of concrete for all future sidewalks. 
 
The article on concrete sidewalks was added to the warrant through a citizen petition led by resident Todd Logan. 
 
The board was determining whether to recommend the article when member John Boyle took the conversation in a new direction by addressing how the petition was brought about. 
 
"I just have a comment about this whole procedure. I'm very disappointed in the fact that you [Logan] have been working, lobbying various groups and implementing this plan and filed this petition six weeks ago. You never had any respect for the Select Board and …" Boyle said. 
 
Before Boyle could finish his statement, which was directed to Logan, who was in the audience, Chair Joe Diver called point of order via Zoom. 
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories