Letter: Harrington Deserves Another Term

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To the Editor:

I'm writing to express my wholehearted endorsement of Andrea Harrington — we have been friends for many years, through thick and thin. I look at the criminal justice system through the lens of our community's most marginalized neighbors. Andrea walks the walk on showing up to make change.

She understands the value of harm reduction better than any other politician I’ve worked with. She has been a champion for keeping drug use in the realm of public health where it belongs. She has focused the arm of justice on where it belongs — domestic violence and murder.

She has faced extremely biased reporting by our local paper of record. It has been very disappointing to see the repeated smears. It has made people afraid to support her publicly, even though in private they think she is doing a good job.

It is also worth noting that the courts were fully closed during a significant portion of her tenure. Now that they are open, violent crimes are being successfully prosecuted.

Andrea has earned your vote for another four years.

Stephen Murray
North Adams, Mass.

 

 


Tags: election 2022,   


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Berkshire Health Group Sets 8.75% Premium Rise for FY27

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The towns and school districts in Berkshire Health Group will see an 8.75 percent increase in health insurance premiums in the fiscal year that begins on July 1.
 
Ten of the 12 voting members on the BHG board decided Wednesday morning at McCann Technical School on a vote of 8-2 to set the health plan rates for municipal employees in the member towns and districts.
 
The hike is a little more than half of the 16 percent increase the joint purchase group enacted for the current fiscal year.
 
Wednesday's decision will come as welcome news to town managers and administrators and school superintendents who may have been fearing a repeat of FY26, but the 8.75 percent hike still likely will constrain the spending decisions that officials will be making over the next few months as they prepare to send budgets to town meetings across the county this spring.
 
The main decision point for the BHG board on Wednesday morning: how to cover Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists or GLP-1 medications, commonly marketed under trade names like Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus.
 
The board decided that the weight-loss drugs no longer will be covered for all employees covered under BHG plans and will be covered only for those people who have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
 
Joseph Anderson of Gallagher Benefit Services told the Berkshire Health Group board members that demand for the GLP-1 medications has exploded in their member units in recent years.
 
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