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Howard Rosenberg is running for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen.

Selectman Candidate Rosenberg Wants to Change Adams' Narrative

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — Selectman candidate Howard Rosenberg wants to change the narrative in Adams.
 
"The reason I am running is because Adams is a winner, and we have a narrative that does not show that," Rosenberg said. "We define ourselves based on the past ... and the narrative of the past will not work in the future."
 
He is one of three candidates vying for two three-year seats in the Board of Selectmen in the Monday, May 3, election; the other two are incumbent John Duval and former board member Donald Sommer.
 
Rosenberg, a native of San Jose, Calif., worked as an engineer at General Dynamics, where he earned an engineering excellence award for his manufacturing automation work on the F-
16 aircraft. He went on to become a business executive and business consultant in both high-tech and traditional industries. 
 
He moved to Adams some three years ago and purchased the former East Renfrew school building on North Summer Street. He runs a yoga studio in the renovated building, now called Anahata Schoolhouse.
 
"I found Adams because I found a wonderful old school house … now that I am here, I got to know the people and I got to know the area and it is a hidden gem," he said. "I am an outdoors guy, and I spend a lot of time hiking, biking, and skiing. I can do all of that by walking out my front door."
 
Rosenberg, who has traveled the world, said he would bring a "fresh" and diverse background to the select board.
 
"I have lived in many places in the country and overseas, and I have experience with a lot of the issues Adams is facing," he said. "Economic development is one and another is education and taxes. I have a background in business and finance."
 
Rosenberg said he will use data to inform decisions and hopes to reframe problems to find positive solutions.
 
He has worked with people form different cultures and backgrounds and sees opportunities in bringing together people with opposing views.
 
"This is my comfort zone, and I thrive on it. I enjoy seeing people find common ground and putting their past disagreements behind them," he said. "They can think about a problem differently. It is a strength, not a weakness because now we have different perspectives to solve a problem."
 
Rosenberg sees opportunities in Adams and feels that if the town can harness its strengths, it could become a destination. He sees Adams as an outdoor recreation hotspot, especially in the post-pandemic world.
 
"We have opportunities like we never had before and people ... are moving to Adams they are moving to the Berkshire," he said. "We are sitting on an opportunity, and we need to be brought together with a common narrative. That is why community is the bedrock of my campaign because together we can solve any of these problems."

 


Tags: election 2021,   town elections,   


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State, Local Leaders Celebrate Funding Boost For Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Extension

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

ADAMS, Mass. — State officials and local leaders kicked up their kickstands and took a ride along the final stretch of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail on Thursday to celebrate new investments in rural communities.

Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office (FFIO) Director Quentin Palfrey joined local leaders, including State Rep. John Barrett III and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) Executive Director Laura Brennan, in Adams to highlight the newest round of FFIO funding. The grant will provide BRPC with $64,700 in state funds to help advance the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail expansion.

"When Governor Healey came into office, one of her big day-one commitments was to make sure that Massachusetts was fighting for every dollar possible coming out of Washington," Palfrey said, speaking about FFIO, a program created in 2023 to help the state aggressively pursue and coordinate federal funding opportunities.

This builds on a $17.3 million federal award secured last year for the project, dubbed the A2A project, which supports the design of a 9.3-mile shared-use path connecting the existing Ashuwillticook Rail Trail to the Williamstown Mohican Path.

"One of the things that she emphasized to me when we set up the Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office was that we need to make sure that these resources not only come into Massachusetts, but benefit all of Massachusetts," Palfrey added.

The additional $64,700 will allow BRPC to gather information about transportation needs in northern Berkshire County to help inform the design of the trail expansion. BRPC will partner with Williams College and Luminary Evaluation, LLC to use the University of Michigan's Transportation Security Index (TSI).

Brennan said BRPC will deploy a 16-question survey that will allow them "to research local and regional perspectives and surface the needs of our neighbors when it comes to transportation in the Berkshires."

"The best-case scenario would be if the survey turned up results that all needs are met and that everyone has access to the places and the things that they need to travel to – but we know that is not true," Brennan said. "We know that folks in Berkshire struggle to get to their place of employment, to be able to access important medical appointments, [and] other engagements. So, the transportation security index is going to help us really hone in on those specific needs, identify pockets of needs or areas where there is a strong concentration or depth of need."

She said FFIO's investment offers a "wonderful augmentation" to BRPC's current plans for the bike trail extension. It's also an investment that will make the region more competitive for other transportation opportunities.

"This is an incredibly multifaceted and valuable investment, and we deeply appreciate it," she said.

Barrett said these investments drive growth in the Berkshires.

"I've always found that if you're going to grow an area, you grow with what you have here to grow. You don't bring something in. We have a natural beauty. We have an environment that's second to none, and that's what we are going to grow on," he said.

Barrett said that in the First Berkshire District alone, 4,000 new people moved to the area.

"We're seeing that migration here. They're going to have activities. They're going to have jobs, and we're going to have a great educational system that goes with it with our two colleges that are here," he said.

Palfrey said it was clear during the initial creation of FFIO that federal funding often went to wealthier and more urban communities with larger planning departments and greater access to consultants. He added that FFIO helps reverse this trend and get projects in rural communities off the ground.

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