MCLA travel course to Italy slated for next Spring

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The first informational meeting for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ spring 2008 travel course to Italy will be held on Friday, April 20, at 3 p.m. in Bowman Hall room 202. All are welcome. “The Culture of Italy” is open to MCLA students, staff, faculty, and community members who enroll in the travel course. The nine-day trip – which includes visits to Rome, Vatican City, Florence and Venice – will be led by MCLA modern languages professor Graziana Ramsden, a native Italian. Ramsden also will teach the course. This course will familiarize students with the past as well as the present aspects of Italian culture - history, art, socioeconomics and politics. Guided tours will include those to famous art museums and venues, as well as to historical sites. In addition, insights into Italian culture will be provided by visiting relevant sites such as mask-making shops and glass-blowing factories in Venice. For more information, contact Ramsden, (413) 662-5399.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Construction is underway to transform the former Harry's Supermarket into a restaurant

Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building. 

"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu. 

A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building. 

White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.  

He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns. 

Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot. 

A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use. 

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