BRPC Seeks Input On Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

11:00AM / Wednesday, October 19, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is seeking public comment on a draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Berkshire County, which will be in effect from 2023 through 2027.

The CEDS is a coordinated regional planning process that documents current economic conditions, identifies priority economic development projects, and sets goals and strategies for the upcoming 5-year period. Two previous CEDS have been published for Berkshire County, in 2011 and 2017. The 2023 edition will include an expanded Resiliency Planning chapter, as well as an overview of COVID-19 impacts on unemployment rates and labor force statistics.

The Berkshire County CEDS is developed by BRPC staff in partnership with a regional CEDS committee, made up of representatives from local government, priority industries, non-profits, and regional agencies involved with economic development. After the public comment period completes on November 12th, 2022, and the CEDS document is endorsed by the BRPC Commission, it will be submitted to the US Economic Development Administration for approval. Implementation occurs over the course of the next five years, with annual progress reports filed each year.

The draft document can be found on BRPC’s website at berkshireplanning.org/initiatives/berkshire-comprehensive-economic-development-strategy-ceds/ or at bit.ly/BerkshireCEDS, along with more information about the initiative and copies of former CEDS documents and annual reports.

The PDF document includes links to online forms for members of the public to suggest additions to the Action Plan and Resiliency Recommendations included in the draft. General comments can be emailed to BRPC Economic Development Program Manager, Laura Brennan, at lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org, with the subject line "CEDS draft."

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Trial Scheduled for North Adams Woman Accused of Killing Grandmother

Staff reportsiBerkshires
04:59PM / Monday, October 05, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A 2027 trial date is scheduled for a woman accused of killing her grandmother in North Adams four years ago.

A jury trial for Kelsie Cote is set for May 24, 2027, in Berkshire Superior Court.

Cote, 30, is alleged to have killed 74-year-old Doris A. Cote, who was found dead with sharp and blunt force injuries in her Church Street, North Adams, home on Nov. 1, 2022.

Cote has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges: murder, armed assault to murder a person age 60 or older, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon of a person age 60 or older, and one count of withholding evidence from official proceedings.

Hearings for evidence suppression will be held on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

A conference to review the case's status was held on Sept. 28. Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey, representing the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office, filed a motion to impound certain documents, which was allowed by Judge Maureen Hogan.

Cote is represented by attorney Kevin Joseph Reddington, who is also the defense lawyer for Lindsay Clancy, a Duxbury woman accused of killing her three children in 2023. Cote's case has reportedly been delayed because of the seven-week Clancy trial in Plymouth County, which ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4.

The Berkshire Eagle reported that Reddington told the court he seeks to suppress Cote's statements because he argues she was not read her Miranda rights, and that he will file motions to suppress evidence found during the execution of a search warrant, arguing that the police did not have probable cause.

Allegations include:

On or about Oct. 26 and on Nov. 1, Cote allegedly altered, destroyed, mutilated, or concealed a record, document, or other object or attempted to do so to impair the record, document, or object's integrity for use in an official proceeding.

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