Berkshire County Women Head to DC Women's March

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — iBerkshires rarely gets a chance to report outside its coverage area because of our focus on local news.

There's the occasional jaunt to Boston, Greenfield, Springfield, Bennington, Vt., and even Albany, N.Y.

But Friday night I'll be on a bus headed to the Women's March on Washington with a group from North County. Readers can follow along on my Twitter feed @iBerk_Editor and we'll have a story posted later on the front page.

Those interested in the march can also attend a free event the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield from 10 to 2 on Saturday hosted by WAM Theatre. The event is being held thanks to an anonymous donor covering the rental fee but Berkshire County keepsake magnet will be for sale for $5 to help cover other associated costs.

"This event is free and people are welcome to stay the whole time or come and go between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.," said WAM's artistic director, Kristen van Ginhoven, in announcing the event. "We will be streaming the DC Rally from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the theatre, along with having some other action oriented activities in the lobby."

The program will also feature readings from the Constitution and original writings created for the event by local writers and an interactive art project in the lobby by Juliana von Haubrich, associate artist with WAM.



The steering committee planning the event is collaborating with the Women's March on Washington-National team and the Women's March on Washington-Massachusetts Chapter team to provide the livestream coverage from Washington. Rupar Parmar, a lead team member of the Massachusetts Chapter, will be curating the streaming content.

"In addition to the DC Rally, we hope to connect with Berkshire representatives who are on the ground in DC, via Facebook Live and Twitter," said Parmar, co-lead of the Massachusetts Chapter.

That's A Wrap Café will have a take-out table and the Colonial Bar will be serving coffee, tea, and snacks for lunch.

People are welcome to bring their own related signs and displays and a #WhyIMarch photo booth will allow photos to be posted to social media.

Hundreds of sister marches are planned across the nation Saturday, including one in Greenfield at Court Square at 12:30 p.m. and in Boston on the Common at 11 a.m.


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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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