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First United Methodist Church was packed for the debate put on by the Independent Voters Committee, a project of the Berkshire County Workers Benefit Council.

State Senate Candidates Focus On Economics In 5th Debate

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Adam Hinds cited his work with the U.N., Pittsfield Community Connection, and the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition as showing he has the ability to bring parties together to tackle tough issues.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As director of the Pittsfield Community Connection Adam Hinds reeled in a $5 million grant to fight crime an violence in the city.
 
Over the next 10 years, the grant will supplement salaries to put at-risk youth in jobs, provide job training, get them counseling, and employed outreach workers who had been in gangs or jail and can show the youth that that lifestyle doesn't work.
 
The crime numbers overlapped with the three most impoverished census blocks and the program targeted those areas. 
 
"It was with the city and it was saying what are we going to do about the 14- to 24-year-olds who are pulling the trigger?" Hinds said. "It is a very strategic, very deliberate process."
 
That use of state funds is exactly what Hinds said he will bring to the table if elected to the state Senate during a forum at First United Methodist Church of Pittsfield. The forum was put on by the Independent Voters Committee, a project of the Berkshire County Workers Benefit Council.
 
The question Hinds was answering was one posed by a member of the audience of more than 50 people.
 
Rinaldo Del Gallo used his time to disagree with Mayor Linda Tyer's approach by adding more police officers. Del Gallo says what is driving crime isn't a lack of police but rather a poor economy. He says most of his policies he'd take to the Senate focus on economic development. He even cited Portugal which legalized drugs and put money into treatment instead and the numbers decreased.
 
For Del Gallo, fighting crime isn't about spending more money on police and judges but rather providing economic opportunity.
 
"If we don't improve our local economy, if we don't have more hope, we are going to have more crime," Del Gallo said. 
 
Andrea Harrington spoke of her time as a defense attorney where she stood in courtrooms with those involved in the system. What she sees is a "school to prison" pipeline and a lack of education, job training, and untreated mental health issues. There is a growing drug problem, she said, but the way to tackle that isn't by just simply arresting drug dealers because another one will takes it place but instead "we need to do something about demand."
 
The three are all vying for the state Senate seat being vacated by Benjamin Downing, who opted not to run for re-election. But first, one of the three will need to win the Democratic primary on Sept. 8. The winner will then proceed to the general election against Republican Christine Canning-Wilson. Tuesday's debate was the fifth time the three candidates shared the stage to debate the issues but had a more focused issue "workers and poverty."
 
Harrington says 70 percent of people receiving state SNAP benefits are working and 30 percent of those are working two jobs. To support workers and the economy, there needs to be jobs will living wages, universal preschool, working force development, and training for high-tech jobs.
 
"It boggles the mind that we don't have it because all of the studies have shown that it is essential for kids to start out with a good life," she said of universal preschool.
 
As it relates to issues of crime in impoverished areas, often policies are built in to punish people and not support, as one of the questions asserts, and Harrington received a loud applause when she called for criminal justice reform that stops the cycle of judges "shaking down" those in the court system for court costs and fees and instead shift money from putting poor people in jail but to help them from falling into that cycle.
 
"It is insane and it needs to change," Harrington said. 
 
Del Gallo says he is against "mass incarceration" and instead wants to focus his attention on a $15 minimum wage across the board to raise people out of poverty and to create tuition- and debt-free college. By not focusing on those the poor will get poorer and the middle class will dwindle.
 
"If we don't invest in our roads, our bridges, our educational institution, and have single-payer, I think the poor will continue to be poor," Del Gallo said. 
 
Del Gallo, who calls himself as a "Bernie Sanders progressive," wants the state to emulate the Nordic socioeconomic model employed in counties like Finland Denmark. In those countries, the policies are a mix between capitalism and socialism.
 
"You can't get really, really rich, but time after time they do studies, they are the happiest people in the world," Del Gallo said, adding that they are happier because all of the stress and nervousness that comes will being poor is eradicated and in its place more opportunity and hope.
 
Adam Hinds worked for the United Nations for 10 years. The U.N. has adopted a resolution for 2030 with an array of goals including ending hunger, poverty, improving health, and education. When asked about that resolution, Hinds said the plan is that every county who signed onto it which monitor and report on its individual progress toward those goals. 
 
"We can do better than that here in Massachusetts. We can take each of those elements and go further," Hinds said. 
 
Hinds again cited his work there, with the Pittsfield Community Connection and then with the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition for showing the ability to bring large groups of people together to tackle many goals.
 
Back to the question of working families, Hinds voiced his support for universal preschool, citing the "30 million word gap." The gap he refers to is that someone from an impoverished area will hear 30 million fewer works by the time the student reaches elementary school.
 
As for crime, he is opposed increased incarceration and instead calls for investing in reducing recidivism.
 
When it comes to achieving the 2030 goals outlined by the U.N., Harrington said on the local level it all comes back to income inequality. She said there needs to be a focused effort on bringing better paying jobs to the region.
 
"We need to work together to build a vision of what we want our economy to be, that supports local people, and keeps money in our economy," Harrington said. 
 

Andrea Harrington said her campaign is focused on working families.
Harrington would like to see more green jobs and a more localized economy where agriculture and food companies can service the county instead of having goods shipped in from other areas. She sat on the board for BerkShares, which was one program to help keep the dollars in the county.
 
From a panel asking the questions, the Rev. Keith Evans cited the lose of SABIC, North Adams Regional Hospital, Best Buy, Macy's, Old Country Buffet, and Price Chopper and asked the candidates what will they do to bring high-quality jobs to the district.
 
"I always talk about the $15 minimum wage at tremendous length. This is a very big deal," Del Gallo said. 
 
Del Gallo said he not only supports a $15 minimum wage across the board but also support for family medical leave as ways to improve the value of the jobs in Berkshire County. He took shots at Hinds' stance on the minimum wage, claiming Hinds has been inconsistent with his approach.
 
Hinds responded by saying he supports the minimum wage but believes it should be done on an incremental approach to protect small businesses. 
 
"I actually do support the $15 minimum wage," Hinds said. "The minimum wage right now is a poverty wage. It is $10 an hour and if you work 40 hours you are still below the federal poverty line."
 
His approach to attracting more jobs comes on a couple levels. One, support the Berkshire Innovation Center to allow the current manufacturing companies to grow, invest in and work with Berkshire Community College, McCann Technical School, and Taconic High School on workforce development to provide the skilled workers companies need and struggle to find around here, and tackle the "digital divide" where areas of the county do not have access to high speed internet.
 
Harrington calls for a "systematic" and "regionwide" approach to economic development and promised to fight for resources to support local businesses here now and bringing specialty manufacturing to the county. Harrington also said she wants more focused on agriculture and food products.
 
Harrington said she knows the struggles of small businesses first hand and when asked about electricity costs, she said she can relate. She said the store her husband owns in West Stockbridge carries a $2,000 a month electricity bill, which jumped during a spike in 2014 and 2015 to $5,000. 
 
"I do get the power of the electric companies for sure and the urgency to create power that is locally controlled," Harrington said. "I don't think the answer is more pipelines or more pollution with oil and gas. I think the answer is looking at ways to bring power within the control of the local community." 
 
She said solar is a "class issue" because "I can't afford to put panels on my house and many other people can't either." She'd be an advocate for more tax credits for solar to make it more affordable. She also calls for a cooperative model, such has been created in Greenfield, where customers own the power generation system.
 
Hinds said the spike in 2014 and 2015 was somewhat caused by a poorly executed electricity choice program. The utility companies added a recalculation fee to the bills because of changes to the power producers, which had been somewhat rebated since then. But, that was only a temporary fix.
 
He said the state's energy bill does not go far in enough in expanding the state's portfolio and is calling for a more diverse mix of energy sources.
 
"I would advocate for investing in energy storage," Hinds said.
 
Del Gallo is calling for programs to place solar panels on public housing units. He says there needs to be a massive investment in energy infrastructure, which will create jobs, lower heating costs, and lower greenhouse emissions.
 
When it comes to the power of utility companies, Del Gallo is calling for regulation that will disallow electric companies from being able to deny turning on service if an old debt has not been paid. Del Gallo says the utility companies should have to go after debts through the court system like other debts, than refusing to provide such a vital service.
 
What Del Gallo doesn't believe in for the economy is focusing so much on arts. Del Gallo said he someone who attends arts events and "loves the arts" but shouldn't be the centerpiece of the economic future. 
 
"We can't have a society of symphonies. We need real work," Del Gallo said. "We need to have industry and high-tech to come back. We need educational institution."
 
Hinds said the arts is only one part of the economic picture, but "it is a huge piece." He said the arts have shown the ability to revitalize downtowns and in North Adams and Williamstown the creation of a cultural corridor is leading to a Mass MoCA expansion, new museums, and new hotels. 
 
"The more we add to this, the more likely someone will come to Berkshire County and spend the night," Hinds said.
 
The more people coming from out of town and spending money helps support the local businesses, he said.

Rinaldo Del Gallo called for a $15 minimum wage across the board to help tackle wealth inequality. 

Harrington said for every $1 invested in the arts, $7 comes back through tourism. Local businesses depend on those visitors, she said.

But, the issue with those industries are that it doesn't always pay enough to support families. 

"Our economy depends on that sector. But, yes we need to add better paying jobs," she said.
 
North Adams lost hundreds of high-paying jobs with the closure of North Adams Regional Hospital. But the city also lost access to a number of health services needed in that region.
 
Harrington said the hospital didn't close because it wasn't financially viable and she would work with Berkshire Health Systems to try to restore a full-service hospital.
 
"Going to Berkshire Medical Center for critical care is really problematic for people in North Adams," Harrington said. "There are people choosing to leave the hospital against medical advice because it was so far from their families."
 
Hinds said the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition has been focused on dealing with the factors surrounding the lose of the hospital. He said even before the hospital was closed there was a shortage of primary care physicians and he'd work to address that. He'd also like to see more community health workers to address causes of health problems such as smoking for hypertension. 
 
"We need to elevate the health of the community in the first place," Hinds said.
 
Del Gallo simply said he'd build a new hospital.
 
"My solution to this is to actually build a hospital, use an existing facility and build a public hospital," he said, doubling down on his support for a single-payer health care system.
 
The forum was moderated by Rev. Quinton Chin.

Tags: Democratic Party,   election 2016,   primary,   State Senate,   


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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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