If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
Regardless of his suggestions for Pittsfield, Charles Murray is a notable right wing hack. His main claim to fame is the incredibly ignorant book The Bell Curve. He also works for AEI which was one of the big cheerleaders that lied us into the Iraq War.
His work should be taken with a grain of salt. I can guarantee that every economic analysis he does will boil down to blaming poor people and giving the ruling class (unless they are Democrats, in which case they supposedly created the poor) a pass.
You've got the wrong Charles Murray dude. AIER's Charles Murray is Charles Edgar Murray,
Editor: Thanks for pointing that out. As a followup, Mr. Murray from AIER is a former professor of economics; the Mr. Murray who wrote "The Bell Curve" is a political scientist with the American Enterprise Institute. I could see how someone might be confused by similar names and institute acronyms. But if he had been the "The Bell Curve" author, we certainly would have mentioned it.
While you have politely and properly withdrawn your assertion, I will respectfully suggest that we do follow your advice and take all economic opinions with a "grain of salt", as you put it.
In many ways, I "feel" for Mr. Murray as economists must deliver a static forecast in a dynamic world.
Whie I am by no means pointing the finger directly or solely at Mr. Murray or AIER, I would imagine that he would agree that forecasts are based on a series of "if/then" statements. As the actual scenarios vary from those expected (and they could be less than material variations), then forecasts are subject to modification.
A year from now any (or all) predction(s) Mr. Murray made at this meeting could be completely wrong. And that's not a flaw of Mr. Murray specifically (the same could be said of any forecast I make), it's simply a flaw of delivering a set of one-time predictions and then leaving that information with a group of listeners that are not able to receive fairly regular updates.
My point? If whatever Mr. Murray said at this event (static forecast) turns out to be "wrong" a year or so from today, it is extremely likely that he, like any good economist, changed his mind somewhere along the line (dynamic world).
"When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir." - John Maynard Keynes
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The redevelopment of Site 9 for mixed-use in the William Stanley Business Park is set to take off.
Edward Weagle, principal geologist at Roux Associates, gave an update on the yearlong work to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority last week.
"It's been a real pleasure for me to work on a project like this," he said. "This is kind of like a project of a career of a lifetime for me, and I'm very pleased to see that we're just at the finish line right now. My understanding is that all the documents are in front of the commissioner, waiting for her to sign off."
Mill Town Capital is planning to develop a mixed-use building that includes housing on the site. Roux, headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., was hired assist with obtaining grant financing, regulatory permitting, and regulatory approvals to aid in preparing the 16.5-acre site for redevelopment. Approximately 25,000 cubic yards of concrete slabs, foundations, and pavements were removed from the former GE site.
Once the documents are signed off, PEDA can begin the work of transferring 4.7 acres to Mill Town. Weagle said the closing on this project will make it easier to work on the other parcels and that he's looking forward to working on Sites 7 and 8.
PEDA received a $500,000 Site Readiness Program grant last year from MassDevelopment for Sites 7 and Site 8. The approximately 3-acre sites are across Woodlawn Avenue from Site 9 and border Kellogg Street.
In other news, the state Department of Transportation has rented the east side of the parking lot for CDL (Commercial Driver's License) training. This is an annual lease that began in September and will bring in $37,200 in revenue.
Lastly, the meeting concluded with congratulations to Maurice "Mick" Callahan Jr. on his retirement.
Callahan is a former chair and a founding member of PEDA, dating back to when the board was established in the 1990s. He has also served on a number of civic and community boards and has volunteered for many organizations in the Berkshires. He is the president of M. Callahan Inc.
"The one thing that's been a common denominator back is that you've always put others before yourself. You've served others well. You've been a mentor to two generations of Denmarks, and I'm sure many generations of other families and people within this city," said board Chair Jonathan Denmark. "We can never say thank you enough, but thank you for your services, for the creation of this board, your service to the city of Pittsfield, and to all the communities that you've represented and enjoy retirement."
"It wasn't always easy to be in the position that you were in Mick, but you handled it with so much grace, always respecting this community, bringing pride to our community," member Linda Clairmont said. "I could not have accomplished many of the things I did, especially here for this business part, without you all of the Economic Development discussions that we had really informed my thinking, and I'm so grateful."
Callahan left the team with a message as this was his final meeting, but said he is always reachable if needed.
"I also have to say that a lot of great people sat around this table and other tables before the current board, and the time that I had with Pam [Green] and Mike [Filpi] sticking around, the leadership of this mayor [board member Linda Tyer], and it really, it was always great synergy," he said.
"So don't be afraid to embrace change. And you know, you got a business model. It's been around long time. Shake it up. Take a good look at it, figure out where it needs to go, and you're lucky to have leadership that you have here."
Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, and a little bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.
click for more
A 700-square-foot outdoor water attraction is planned for the 2.1-acre park at 30 John Street. City officials hope to have it operational by summertime.
click for more
