Letter: Bond for Mayor

To the Editor:

I support Lynette Bond as North Adams' next mayor. I trust her experience and personal sensibilities, and believe her leadership would provide a breath of new life to the city.

Lynette Bond has been criticized as not being "from North Adams." This criteria sometimes is seen as between those lifers who "know what North Adams needs" versus those new arrivals having new ideas, new blood, and a vision to make change. I believe Lynette Bond will bring people who have lived here since birth AND those who arrive with the energy, excitement to participate in helping make this small city shine.

Lynette served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras in the business development sector. Her service is a show of the commitment she will bring to our city. I also served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, and understand how that two-year submersion into another culture makes one a stronger, more resilient, and an understanding person.

I strongly endorse Lynette Bond for mayor of North Adams. She brings the needed skills, passion and a deep connection to our city.

Michael Bedford
North Adams, Mass. 

MCLA Kicks Off Fall Term With New President, Full Dorms

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:41AM / Wednesday, September 09, 2026

President Diana Rogers-Atkinson says she's excited to be at MCLA and impressed by the work done by the college's faculty and staff. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts kicked off the school year last week with fully occupied dorms and its "lucky 13th" president. 

 

Diana Rogers-Atkinson welcomed the gathering of staff, faculty and student representatives in the Venable Hall gymnasium for the traditional convocation breakfast on Tuesday, along with several trustees and Mayor Jennifer Macksey. Theater arts professor Laura Stanley sang the alma mater, starting a new tradition. 

 

"This is a great time of the year. It's a time of new beginnings on many levels for us this year, and I'm really excited," said the college's new leader. "I hope everyone is prepared for an exciting school year ahead. I am constantly impressed by the work that the MCLA staff and faculty do every day. You work tirelessly to provide our students with a fantastic education and a home away from home. I want to thank you on behalf of our board for your dedication, determination, and hard work."

 

The hard work is paying off as the college's enrollment continues to climb out of the hole it dropped into during the pandemic. 

 

The college has 162 first-year students and 89 transfer students, Richard Glejzer, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said, up from 219 last year. 

 

"We also have an additional student pool that we've kept separate in our count because it's a one-time pool," he explained. "As we are serving as a teach-out partner for two [closed] institutions, Anna Maria College and Hampshire College, we have two students coming from Anna Maria, and we have 20 students coming from Hampshire College. That brings us up to 272 new students, up 24 percent when you add all this together from this from last year and 29 percent from the year before."

 

He held up his hand to halt the applause to "add one more thing": looking at a "slice" of graduate student numbers, the college is expecting 105 to be enrolled, up from 92 last year.