North Adams Library Holding Money Smart Week Seminars

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Public Library will be hosting a series of short seminars on pressing money issues as part of national “Money Smart Week” from April 21-25.

“Money Smart Week” is a public awareness campaign to promote financial education across all age groups. Launched in 2002 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the program is now active in mort ha 45 states through national partnerships with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) Cooperative Extension, and the American Library Association.

“Money Smart Week” events are open to the public at businesses, financial institutions, schools, libraries, non-profits and government agencies throughout the country on topics including kids and money, unemployment, managing student debt, and retirement.

The North Adams Public Library will be offering the following workshops during “Money Smart Week” thanks to our partners Greylock Credit Union, EdwardJones and Mountain One. In addition, there are a number of financial tools on the “Money Smart “ page on the library’s website. These workshops are free.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.