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North Adams mayoral candidate has apologized for a text made two years ago but is facing other allegations.

North Adams Councilor Apologizes for Text

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A declared mayoral candidate is apologizing for an inappropriate text message more than a week after the message was first posted to a Facebook chat group. 
 
City Councilor Jason LaForest had sent Emily Bryant a text with clapping hands and the hashtag "hottie" in 2019. Bryant, who is married, posted the message and her response (which started with "Dude, don't go there ...") to the North Adams Chat group. 
 
LaForest in his public apology on Facebook (with a Jason LaForest for Mayor logo) wrote that Bryant was someone he was "acquainted with briefly" in 2019 and he had sent the post in response to a workout selfie she'd posted as a compliment. 
 
"While the sole intent of this message was one of encouragement and support, it was obviously perceived otherwise, and I wish to extend my sincere apology to her," he wrote. 
 
LaForest does not address Bryant's other complaint against him — that he, a licensed practical nurse, discussed with other people her postpartum depression after a complicated birth and making comments about her in public. This information allegedly came from someone close to him. 
 
Bryant's post was removed (and reposted and removed) after administrators for the page said they had been threatened with a lawsuit. Bonnie Sunn, one of the administrators, posted on Feb. 26 they had been split on keeping the post up. 
 
"Some of us decided that the public figure in a position of power should have accountability. The subject of this post decided to block the administrators instead of having a conversation. He is now threatening to sue us if we don't remove all posts and comments related to the accusation," Sunn wrote. 
 
WAMC Public Radio on Tuesday spoke with a number of people about the allegations and posted comments that LaForest made to chat page administrator Sher Bernasconi, which included that he had dated one of Bryant's friends and "this nothing more than an opportunistic and silly way to get back at me, even thought it's not her place to do so."
 
The friend LaForest was referring to is Stefani Forrest, who has backed up Bryant's claims in Facebook posts. LaForest told Bernasconi it was a lie. 
 
WAMC's Josh Landes spoke to City Councilors Jessica Sweeney and Keith Bona, with Sweeney saying she had tried to mediate between Bryant and LaForest and that he had turned down the chance to apologize. Bona told WAMC that LaForest "was seeing" different women and that weighed on the council in relation to his pitch in 2019 to be elected council president. Neither Bona nor any other councilors referenced LaForest's relationships at the time and he was elected as vice president.
 
After LaForest's public apology, Bryant posted on her Facebook page: 
 
"Let me start off by saying I will give him credit for apologizing for one issue with him I've addressed," she said. "It's taken almost a full week to get him to admit to any wrongdoing, and the messages he has addressed are only one small piece to this puzzle."
 
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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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