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BRPC Supporting Measure to Create Comprehensive Health Districts

Laura Kittross, public health program manager for the commission, explained at Thursday's meeting of the Executive Commission that the bill if passed would accelerate the recommendations released last year after a two-year study of local and regional public health.

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BRPC Eliminates Community Assessment Increases

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission accepted an amended budget Thursday with no increases to community assessments.

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Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Responds to COVID-19 Crisis

On Thursday, BRPC Executive Director Tom Matuszko told the agency's executive committee that one of its initiatives was able to quickly pivot to addressing the fallout from the novel coronavirus.

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BRPC Hopes to Gain Louder Voice for Rural Communities

The entity was created by the state Legislature to "enhance the economic vitality of rural communities" and put together a master plan. What the RPAC ultimately wants is a voice in the State House.

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Berkshire Regional Planning Tackles Rural Issues

Thomas Matuszko, executive director of BRPC, presented the board with an executive summary of the Rural Policy Plan put together by the state's Rural Policy Advisory Commission.

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North Adams Councilors Review Potential Eagle Street Designs

The presentation by Eammon Coughlin, senior transportation planner with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, reviewed three designs presented to the public over the summer and two modifications based feedback.

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Kennealy Points to Lack of Quality Housing as Economic Threat

And while there's still work needed in these areas, the adminstration is looking at what Kennealy is describing as a "major threat to the economy" statewide: Housing.

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Hinds Chats Priorities With BRPC

The Berkshires don't have the traffic congestion or real estate prices that the Boston area does. And Jim Lovejoy, from Mount Washington, sees that as an opportunity. He envisions using the effort to expand broadband in Western Massachusetts as a chance to build a far superior internet connection that will incentivize companies to build and grow here instead.

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Five Years Later, 'Sustainable Berkshires' Plan Being Implemented

When it comes to local planning efforts, nothing was more ambitious than the Sustainable Berkshires master plan. The 800 or so page document was developed by stakeholders throughout the county as it looked to create a master plan for the entire county. After three years of work, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission adopted the full document in 2014.

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BRPC Looks to Kick Start Mountain Biking Project

BRPC is hoping to kick off an effort to bolster mountain biking in the area. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is joining with two others Western Massachusetts planning organizations in a grant application to map, analyze, identify trail conditions, and lay the framework for a marketing effort to make Western Massachusetts known as a mountain biking hub.

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BRPC Raises Concerns With Removal of Tel-Electric Dam

BRPC officials would like the state to consider reusing dams for power more often. The comment comes from the organization's review of the removal of the Tel-Electric Dam on Mill Street. In that long-awaited project, the state did not require an alternative option of restoring the dam to generate power to be explored.

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Census Bureau Preparing For 2020 Count

A community has 675 billion reasons to make sure every resident is counted on the Census. The 2020 Census may still be a year and a half away but the bureau is already preparing for it. The effort is to count where every single person living in America puts their head down at night.

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