Letter: Blackmer Right Choice for City Council

To the Editor:

My wife, Lisa Blackmer, is the most loving, hard-working, passionate person I know and she should be re-elected to the North Adams City Council.

When we were married 32 years ago, our family included my children from a previous marriage. Lisa loved them and raised them as her own. I watched her take care of them when they were sick, shuttle them to football games, band and numerous other activities, and teach them all that she knows. She never once complained when I had to work long shifts or spent 15 months guarding the governor.

Working as a state trooper covering the whole region, I worked hard to keep the people of Northern Berkshire safe and meet their needs through some very demanding times. I've watched Lisa work just as hard and care just as much about our community. I've never seen someone with more dedication and love for our city.

She has worked hard and effectively on the City Council and in Boston advocating for our region. She has balanced work and family, always in the service of others. I have no doubt that she will continue to work just as hard, listen just as carefully, and love just as fully as she has as a mother, grandmother, wife, and public servant.

I will be proud to cast my vote for my wife, Lisa Blackmer, for North Adams City Council on Tuesday. I hope you will join me.

Bill Blackmer
North Adams, Mass.

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.