Reading of 'Thirty-Five Days To Baltimore' at Arrowhead

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Historical Society Writer-In-Residence Emeritus, Jana Laiz and co-author Alexis Portillo will celebrate the release of their new bilingual book, "Thirty-Five Days To Baltimore" on Friday, June 24 at 5:30 p.m.
 
This free event takes place at Herman Melville’s historic Arrowhead and is part of the Berkshire County Historical Society’s Underrepresented Voices initiative. 
 
Laiz and Portillo will read from their book and be available to sign copies purchased that evening. Refreshments will be served.
 
According to the press release, this book examines topics of migration, immigration, poverty, and hope, through the story of an unaccompanied minor, as he makes his way from Honduras to Baltimore, ultimately arriving in the Berkshires. 
 
In 2004, seventeen-year-old Alexis Portillo embarked on a journey from Honduras to Baltimore in the hopes of starting a better life. 
 
This event is sponsored by MountainOne Insurance. 
 

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Pittsfield Resident Victim of Alleged Murder in Greenfield

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A man found dismembered in a barrel in Greenfield on Monday has been identified as Pittsfield resident.
 
The Northwestern District Attorney's Office identified victim as Christopher Hairston, 35, and subsequently arrested a suspect, Taaniel Herberger-Brown, 42, at Albany (N.Y.) International Airport on Tuesday.
 
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported that Herberger-Brown told investigators he planned on visiting his mother outside the country. 
 
Herberger-Brown was detained overnight, and the State Police obtained an arrest warrant on a single count of murder on Tuesday morning, the Greenfield Police Department said in a press release.
 
According to a report written by State Police Trooper Blakeley Pottinger, the body was discovered after Greenfield police received reports of a foul odor emitting from the apartment along with a black hatchet to the left of the barrel, the Greenfield Recorder reported. 
 
Investigators discovered Hairston's hand and part of a human torso at Herberger-Brown’s former apartment, located at 92 Chapman St, the news outlet said. 
 
According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Herberger-Brown originally told investigators that he had not been to the apartment in months because he had been in and out of hospitals. 
 
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