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A sign appeared on the door of the Regal Cinemas in Lanesborough on Monday stating the 10-screen movie theater is closed permanently.

Regal Cinemas at Berkshire Mall Closes Permanently

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Regal Cinemas at the Berkshire Mall has permanently closed, according to a sign posted on its door.

It's not clear when the sign was posted but the phone no longer works as of Tuesday and residents were posting images of the sign on Monday. There are two Facebook pages for the 10-theater cinema, both of which state that it is open.

The sign on the door states:  "This location has been permanently closed. All ticket sales will be refunded.  If you have any questions please contact Regal through their Twitter or Facebook page, or Contact Us on regmovies.com. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Looking inside through the window, it is clear that the theater is shuttered. It had been using a door that goes directly into the Regal lobby rather than the mall food court entrance just feet away because the mall has been closed for more than two years. 

iBerkshires was not able to reach a representative from Regal but has left messages at the corporate office. An email connected to the Lanesborough cinema no longer works. The Regal website still lists one movie screening this weekend. 

Last year, mall owner Durga Property Holdings handed over property and management decisions to consultation agency Bedi & Associates. New and former tenants were expected to be in the mall by late 2021 along with needed repairs to the facility after sitting vacant since 2019.

Similar to Target, Regal owns its property within the mall located at Old State Road and Route 8.

Regal is part of the international Cineworld Group that operates nearly 800 theaters in 10 countries. The bulk of those theaters, 527, are located in the United States. Regal is the second-largest theater chain in the nation and has 10 locations in Massachusetts. Only two were in Western Mass, in Lanesborough and Springfield. 
 
The international group reported operating losses of $209 million at the end of last year's second quarter but indicated attendance and concession sales growth in the past two quarters. 
 
The mall location's closure doesn't seem indicative of a widespread reorganizing but there have been scattered instances of permanent closings over the past two years. The closest recent closing is a theater in Branford, Conn., at the beginning of the year. 
 
Theaters have had a rough time during the pandemic, opening and closing based public health regulations and film availability. Regal closed all of its theaters between October 2020 and April 2021. More recently, North Adams MoviePlex 8 shut down for the past week because of a "lack of new releases and staff levels," according to its Facebook page. It's expected to reopen this Friday with five movies, including new release "Moonfall."

Tags: closure,   movie theater,   

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Hinsdale Select Board Comes to Heated Ending

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
HINSDALE, Mass. — A Select Board meeting came to an abrupt end after a public comment period was cut short following a heated exchange between a board member and the audience. 
 
The board's agenda items on Sept. 9, most notably to "discuss and vote" on an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by iBerkshires and the "discussion and possible action regarding the appointment of David Tarjick" as a police officer were expected to create some discussion.
 
The town has faced criticism from community members since the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Biagio Kauvil last January. 
 
The Wednesday meeting was filmed and uploaded to YouTube by Julia Kurek, a nursing student and mental health advocate.  
 
Kurek, who is not a Hinsdale resident, has been working to create an open letter with policy recommendations alongside several Hinsdale community members, particularly with Kauvil's family, in addition to public safety professionals. 
 
At the end of the meeting, when the board called for public comment, Kurek requested to speak and said she had attended Daigle Law Group's community information session on its organizational analysis of the Police Department.
 
She urged the board to take the community's concerns and recommendations on policy reform seriously, arguing that the town could face challenges recruiting new personnel unless officials begin implementing meaningful changes and taking initiative on reform.
 
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