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North Adams Cinemas Planning to Reopen

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams cinemas are expected to reopen this Friday under new management.

The MoviePlex 8 closed abruptly a month ago when its parent company, Cinema North Corp. of Rutland, Vt., went bankrupt.

At the time, Neil Ellis, owner of Steeple City Plaza where the theaters are located, said he was aware of the company's financial issues and had been working on ways to keep the theaters open.

On Tuesday, Mayor John Barrett III said Ellis had informed him that the theaters would reopen under a management agreement with a Greenfield theater company.

Ellis could not be reached for comment but the cinema marquee was quietly changed on Tuesday with recent and opening films, including the much-anticipated "New Moon" from the "Twilight" series.


On the bottom corner of the marquee for Theater 4, the morbid "Final Destination" was replaced by the more optimistic "Opening Friday."

The listings also include "2012," "Planet 51," "Capitalism: A Love Story," "A Christmas Carol," "The Men Who Stare At Goats," "Blind Side" and "Where the Wild Things Are."

Final details were reportedly being ironed out and a more formal announcement is expected on Wednesday.

Some of Cinema North's seven other properties may also reopen. Several franchises are bidding for the lease to the MoviePlex 9 in Rutland, according to the Rutland Herald, and the MoviePlex 8 in Greenport, N.Y., was purchased by a former Cinema North partner who's looking at a second theater as well, said the Catskill Daily Mail.
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North Adams Draft Budget Includes Full-Time Tourism Director

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Finance Committee endorsed a half-dozen smaller budget lines for fiscal 2027 on Tuesday morning with the understanding two of the larger departments may be seeing cuts. 
 
The committee has not yet seen a total budget for FY27 but Mayor Jennifer Macksey said she anticipated bringing that figure to the committee next meeting. 
 
"I've given you most of the budgets that I don't feel I'm going to be slashing," she said. "Now I'm focusing on other departments that I need to make some decisions on. So I think at this point our next meeting will have the full budget."
 
Macksey said she's still trying to close a gap and "I've only got so much to around."
 
Committee Chair Lisa Blackmer asked if they could save the date for June 1, a Monday, as next week has Memorial Day and City Council on Tuesday. 
 
The committee unanimously voted to recommend the budgets for assessor, treasurer, city clerk, mayor's office, administrative officer, Office of Tourism and Events, Council on Aging and the library. 
 
Most of the increases in these budgets is for 3 percent cost-of-living and step salary increases with the exception of the assessor and the city clerk. The Office of Tourism and Events is also increased for a full-time director again. 
 
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