'Money School' Workshops to be offered in Great Barrington, Pittsfield

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Elizabeth Freeman Center’s financial independence series for people impacted by domestic or sexual violence will be offering two new series starting the last week in April.

“Money School” is a five-week series for survivors that offers financial workshops, income resources, one-on-one financial coaches from local banks, and more. The workshops cover topics like: rebuilding credit, accessing the benefits you deserve, building supports, getting by now, and building toward your financial future.

One series of five workshops will run on Tuesday evenings, April 26-May 24, in Great Barrington, and another series of five workshops will run on Thursday evenings, April 28-May 26. All workshops are 5 to 8 p.m.

A $125 stipend will be offered, as well as free dinner, childcare, one-on-one financial coaches from local banks, networking with other resource providers in the community, and ongoing supports.



Many times survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are left struggling financially.

“Money School is not your typical financial education program,” said Becca Bradburd, director of operations at Elizabeth Freeman Center. “It recognizes that for most people, especially those who are living through or recovering from trauma, it can seem impossible to get ahead. In Money School, we provide economic advocacy, social capital, financial know-how, and ongoing support to get people where they want to be financially – whether that’s being able to go to school or have an emergency fund or rebuild credit or something else entirely.”

To register for any of the series, contact Donna, Money School Facilitator, at Elizabeth Freeman Center, 413-499-2425, ext. 613, or donnal@elizabethfreemancenter.org.


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Pittsfield Community Development OKs Airport Project, Cannabis Amendment

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Community Development Board has supported plans for a new hangar at the airport and a change to the cannabis ordinance.

Lyon Aviation, located in the Pittsfield Municipal Airport, plans to remove an existing "T" style hangar and replace it with a new, 22,000-square-foot hangar.  The existing one is said to be small and in poor condition while the new build will accommodate a variety of plane sizes including a larger passenger jet.

"There's no traffic impacts, there's no utilities to speak of," Robert Fournier of SK Design Group explained.

"I'll say that we did review this at length with the airport commission in the city council and this is the way we were instructed to proceed was filing this site plan review and special permit application."

The application states that the need for additional hangar space is "well documented" by Lyon, Airport Manager Daniel Shearer, and the airport's 2020 master plan. The plan predicts that 15 additional hangar spaces will be needed by 2039 and this project can accommodate up to 10 smaller planes or a single large aircraft.

Lyon Aviation was founded in 1982 as a fix-based operator that provided fuel, maintenance, hangar services, charter, and flight instruction.

This is not the only project at the Tamarack Road airport, as the City Council recently approved a $300,000 borrowing for the construction of a new taxi lane. This will cover the costs of an engineering phase and will be reduced by federal and state grant monies that have been awarded to the airport.

The local share required is $15,000, with 95 percent covered by the Federal Aviation Administration and the state Department of Transportation's Aeronautics division.

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