Global Warming, Energy Depletion Course Available at BCC

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Global warming and world energy resources depletion will be the topic of a new course starting this month at Berkshire Community College. The course, “Global Warming, Peak Oil and Humanity” (ENV-128-01), will meet once a week in the evening for four weeks and is open to the public as well as BCC students.

The instructor for the one-credit course, which was not listed in BCC’s spring semester schedule, is Mark Miller, a former editor of The Berkshire Eagle who worked on the daily news summary of the Climate Crisis Coalition in 2005 and 2006.

Classes will be held Thursday evening from 5:30 to 9:15 beginning April 24 and ending May 15. The course will include reading assignments from recent books and articles, lectures, guest appearances by specialists in the topics under consideration, a final exam, and a class project or individual research projects.

Anyone from the public wishing to take the course may do so as a non-degree student without having to apply for admission to BCC. When registering, both degree and non-degree students may also indicate that they are not interested in receiving a grade for the course and simply wish to audit it without have to complete course assignments or examinations. All students, regardless of their status, must satisfy an English prerequisite in basic reading and writing before registering for this course.

For more information, or to register, call BCC’s Academic Advising Center at 413-236-1620; or 800-816-1233 (in Mass. only), Ext. 1620. All registrations should be completed no later than Wednesday, April 16.

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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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