Letter: Re-Elect Gordon Hubbard to Lanesborough Select Board

To the Editor:

I support the re-election of Gordon Hubbard to the Select Board in the town of Lanesborough.

Mr. Hubbard prepares himself well by reading all the agenda materials before the Select Board meetings. He is very transparent, has no personal agenda, has an open mind and the business acumen that has worked well with the fiscal responsibilities of the Board of Selectmen.

Gordon has attended Planning Board, Zoning Board, Finance Committee, Recreation Committee, Board of Health, and Economic Development Committee meetings and every Business-to-Business Event while serving as a selectman in this town. He is very sincere in his desire to continue serving the community and he has always been courteous and a true gentleman when responding to the public at these meetings.

Given my roles in town government serving on the Economic Development Committee as the chair, member of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and having attended just about every Select Board meeting over the past several years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the differences in the candidates in their preparation for the meetings they are involved in. I've also read Mr. Hubbard's platform, goals, experience, and education on www.reelectgordonhubbard.com.

Gordon is by far the more prepared, experienced, and professional of the two candidates in this race.

The town of Lanesborough has some very serious issues that require the best, most qualified person for the job. Transparency and accountability are very important when running for public office at this high level! Gordon Hubbard is by far that person.

I'll cast my vote on Tuesday, June 21, for Gordon Hubbard, Select Board member for three more years! Your vote is important – remember to vote – get the vote out – remember, every vote has an impact on the future of our town.

Barbara Davis-Hassan
Lanesborough, Mass. 

Pittsfield Looks at 'Form-Based' Code for West Side Zoning

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:15PM / Wednesday, February 25, 2026

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Department of Community Development has been working on a zoning proposal that aims to encourage small businesses and lively, characteristic activity in the West Side. 

City Planner Kevin Rayner has appeared before the Community Development Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals to provide updates on the process. 

"I'm really trying to bring business back into the West Side with a soft touch," he told the ZBA in January. 

"So we don't want those big, big businesses going in there. We want to encourage the small family businesses to come back, because there's a lot of storefronts in the Westside that are boarded up, and you can't use it as a store anymore because it's all zoned RM out there." 

This is done by limiting the size, location, or intensity of business use, and allowing accessory commercial units and "micro businesses" on the site of people's homes.  The proposal also adds new street types that support these possibilities. 

"It's something that a small family business is going to see an incentive to invest in," Rayner said. 

"That's the intent." 

The city planner has been discussing this proposal with the Community Development Board for about six months, and as the general permitting authority for properties, he wanted the ZBA in the conversation as well.