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Business Bootcamp Seeking Entrepreneurs With Great Ideas

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Getting a great idea or service to market can be challenging, even for those with business savvy. 
 
That's why 1Berkshire and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts are building on last year's Business Bootcamp to create a free program aimed at "fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem throughout the Berkshires."
 
"One of the challenges we face here in Berkshire County is we have more entrepreneurs than what we think we do and they need support," said David Curtis, economic development specialist with 1Berkshire. "They don't know that the help is there simply for the asking."
 
Business Bootcamp, part of the Berkshier Starts program, accepted 13 entrepreneurs last year. The program was designed to guide participants through the elements necessary to start up and evolve a successful business in the Berkshires — from developing a business plan to pitching investors. 
 
"We had some great people go through we're still working with two or three of them," Curtis said, including three MCLA students who presented their deep-sea fishing gear finder at the college's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge. "It was worth running it again this year."
 
This year, the program hopes to double that number and is getting the word out early. The deadline to apply is Nov. 15 and the workshops don't start until next March, but Curtis said the goal is to raise awareness that there are resources available. 
 
Applications will be screened for viability to get the best available candidates and concepts, but the deadline may be pushed back to ensure a good field of candidates. The program is open to students, entrepreneurs, and early-stage business owners.
 
"We're very excited to partner again with MCLA to offer this important educational resource for entrepreneurs,"  Jonathan Butler, president and CEO of 1Berkshire, said in a statement. "As the scope and breadth of small business ownership continues to evolve in the Berkshires, programs like these are critical to supporting the changing needs of those leading those businesses."
 
The 12 workshops planned to run between March and April next spring include canvas business plan modeling, legal structure and intellectual property, funding, marketing and pitching investors, with extra focus in business accounting and design thinking. Each three-hour workshop will be presented by MCLA faculty and by business mentors in the Berkshire Starts program. 
 
"The idea is to expose them to all the different aspects that they need," Curtis said. "They come to the table with a pretty good skill set but it's not perfect and we try to fill in the gaps." 
 
Applications and more information can be found at 1berkshire.com/business-bootcamp/

Tags: 1Berkshire,   business development,   entrepreneurs,   startup,   workshops,   

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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