It's that time of year - when the top 10 lists of pretty much everything begin popping up in the media and across the Web.
People love lists. Maybe because it's an easy way to encapsulate a year, a decade, a trend, a profit. A list let's you know with a glance what the majority of people were watching, reading and eating at any given time.
While lists of hard facts - like box office receipts - can't be argued with, those based on subjective review are really just opinions given heft by the use of a numbering system. But those lists are the most fun because they tend to spark debate over what was included -and especially over what was omitted.
Some lists are more democratic - people vote on what should be included and the majority gets to choose. Of course, the voters are usually people who feel invested enough in a topic to bother to voice an opinion on it. Compared to the general population, that's a pretty small sample. It's more like a caucus than an election.
We've scoured the Internet to bring you a sample of the top 10 books, songs, shows and whatnots of the past year. We'll let you know, where possible, how the list was generated.
But we'll start off with our own top 10 - stories and events culled from the iBerkshires archives over the past year. Some events were important to the Berkshires, other stories were popular with our readers. We expect many to differ with our opinion.
1. Politics came out on top as the year began with a dramatic reversal by state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley. The powerful North Adams Democrat had been among the first supporters of Gov. Deval Patrick and was poised to take a leadership role in the newly elected governor's adminstration.
But Bosley's role as economic czar changed radically as Patrick slashed the position's responsibilities. Surrounded by the Berkshire delegation, Bosley announced he'd stay in the House - crushing the aspirations of at least a half-dozen politicos hoping to replace him.
And we can't forget that Boston came to North Adams when native daughter Martha Coakley was sworn in as state attorney general on the Hunter stage at Massachusetts Museum of Art in January.
The hometown celebration for the Drury High graduate included a raft of political stars (including a former and the current lieutenant governor) teachers, bands and others, all presided over by Mayor John Barrett III. Pittsfield native and Supreme Court Assistant Justice Francis X. Spina gave her the oath. And hundreds lined up afterward to shake the new attorney general's hand.
There were a few elections, too, this year. Williamstown voted for an elected Planning Board and added two new faces to the Selectmen, Pittsfield had a hard-fought School Committee race and North Adams replaced one-term Councilor Christopher Tremblaywith another newcomer, Lisa Blackmer.
2. Northern Berkshires' Big Three educational and cultural institutions came together in new ways to share the wealth, as it were. Even more intriguing, the two Williamstown icons, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and Williams College, made concrete moves to create a more permanent presence in North Adams.
In August, the Clark and Mass MoCA announced that the Clark would take custody of Building 12 to create Clark at Mass MoCA. Clark officials haven't determined exactly how the space will be used, but ideas ranged from off-site exhibits to student work space.
Williams, which partners with the Clark on the college's graduate degree in art history, presented Mass MoCA with a $1.8 million gift to kick-start its regional capital fund, both expressing its faith in the contemporary art museum's fiscal future and sealing its participation in the landmark Sol Lewitt exhibit to be installed at MoCA.
Oh yeah, the Clark also got a very impressive $90 million gift from the Manton Foundation that included a collection of paintings by famed 19th-century British artists.
3. Time Warner Cable's takeover of the bankrupt Adelphia coverage area caused a local brouhaha after it released its lineup earlier this year. The company's basic service dropped Aldephia's classifed channel, which offered a wide range of local postings and simulcast of WNAW, and the area's one Boston station.
But the cable company went up against Barrett and lost.
4. Pittsfield and Dalton got some very good news when Berkshire Biodiesel decided it would build a $50 million facility straddling the municipalities' border. The company has been held up as an example of the next economic wave - alternative energy - that turn the region's economy around.
5. William R. Wilson Jr. called it quits last year after steering the Berkshire Visitors Bureau for 23 years. He's credited with maintaining and growing the bureau through some tough financial times, but decided it was time to pursue a higher calling.
6. Some property transactions in North Adams may have put a couple of waiting projects on track, including the sale of the gravel bank to development company, Clark Biscuit to a housing developer and the decision to purchase the Notre Dame site.
But the city will end up with Notre Dame Church after the Contemporary Artist Center pulled, or was pushed, out of the deal to acquire the property.
And Adams finally moved forward with the Jones Block as developer Gerardo "Gerry" Sanchez struck a deal to develop that block and the nearby Carlow building in retail and residential space.
7. A devastating fire on Spring Street in Williamstown closed the landmark Purple Pub and several other businesses in March.
8. A $25 million proposal would bring dedicated broadband to Western Mass. The initiative, part of Gov. Deval Patrick's economic program, is awaiting approval in the Legislature but is strongly supported by the Berkshire delegation.
9. It doesn't sound like much, but Pittsfield's role as host of the Babe Ruth world softball series this year certainly helps cement its position in baseball history - and will bring hundreds if not thousands of visitors eager to spend their cash in the rejuvenated city.
10. The MoviePlex 8 opened in downtown North Adams after closing six months before in the shuttered North Adams Plaza. Everything was shiny new and the ceiling didn't leak!
11. OK, this is more than 10, but when acclaimed Swiss artist Christoph Buchel and Mass MoCA battled over Buchel's massive and incomplete installation, it set off reverberations throughout the art world.
It also had a significant impact on Mass MoCA - the museum spent hundreds of thousands of dollars getting all Buchel's materials and more trying to get rid of it.
That's our highly subjective take on the year. So, what did we forget?
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
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If these are some of your top stories than iberkshires as a staff is out of touch with news. Stop with the fluff and go for substance. I feel your site will go the way of the do do bird. Real news please, not retirements, cable owenership transfers, or broadband access?
Well, the cable ownership transfer had a direct effect on consumers here - and our ability to get news from the eastern end of the state, where policy is made. And $25 million for broadband? That's a lot of taxpayer money. Bill Wilson put the Berkshires on the map. Hardly fluff stories. But if you think our list lacks substance, what should we have put on it?
Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
