MCLA Green Living Seminar on March 23

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Madeleine L. Scammell, Boston University School of Public Health, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, will give a talk titled "Public Health and Community Based Participatory Research in Urban Environmental Justice Communities" at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23 at the MCLA Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121.  
 
Part of MCLA's Green Living Seminar series, this event is free and open to the public. Masks are required in all buildings on MCLA's campus. 
 
About Dr. Madeleine L. Scammell 
Scammell is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health and a JPB Environmental Health Fellow at Harvard School of Public Health. Her expertise is in the area of community-driven and community-based participatory research and includes the use of qualitative methods in the area of environmental health and epidemiologic studies. Dr. Scammell is Principal Investigator of a recently funded longitudinal study of agricultural workers in El Salvador, focused on identifying and preventing exposures that may contribute to the epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Central America known as Mesoamerican Nephropathy (MeN). She also leads a study examining health care claims and electronic medical records examining incidence, prevalence and risk factors of chronic kidney disease in the US. Scammell is also a member of the Consortium for the Epidemic of Nephropathy in Central America and Mexico.  
 
Additionally, Scammell leads the Community Engagement Cores of two research centers: The Boston University Superfund Research Center (funded by NIEHS/NIH), and the Center for Research on Social and Environmental Stressors in Housing across the Lifecourse (joint center between Boston University and Harvard-Chan School of Public Health funded by NIMHD/NIH and EPA). In this capacity her work includes developing mechanisms to support long-and short-term research relationships between community groups and scientists, and responding to community requests for scientific assistance. Scammell has also partnered with the Boston Housing Authority, the Boston Public Health Commission and investigators at the Boston University School of Social Work on several studies to address systemic, social and structural environmental health stressors in the home environment. Scammell serves of the Board of Health in the City of Chelsea, and as Chair of the board of directors of the Science & Environmental Health Network. 
 
MCLA's annual Green Living Seminar Series continues through April, presenting a series of lectures on the theme of "Greening the City." Every semester, the Green Living Seminar Series centers around a different topic, timely and relevant in current sustainability issues. Seminars take place on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. until April 20.  
 
The series is a presentation of the MCLA Environmental Studies Department and MCLA's Berkshire Environmental Resource Center. 
 
Presentations will also be broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television Channel (NBCTC) 1302 at the following times: 
 
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 
Fridays at 4 p.m. 
Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. 
Sundays at 11:30 a.m. 
Mondays at 5:30 p.m. 
 
Recordings will also be available on the College's YouTube channel. 
 
For more information, visit www.mcla.edu/greenliving or contact Professor of Environmental Studies Elena Traister at (413) 662-5303. 

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North Adams Restaurant to Closing in Two Weeks

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A downtown restaurant announced on Wednesday that it will be closing.

In a Facebook post, Door Prize stated its last day of service is Saturday, Nov. 14.

"We are not making this decision lightly and wish there was another way forward," read the post by owners Bryan "Swifty" Josephs and Jenny Klowden.

"We feel great pride for our successes and for a wonderful year of serving our community. Now on to the next adventure!"

They also thanked their staff and patrons who enjoyed their food 

The restaurant opened over a year ago in Hotel Downstreet after Josephs and Klowden previously had a residence at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, where they sold some of their signature dishes, as well as working in area restaurants, bringing their food to farmers markets and operating a catering business. 

The two named the restaurant after a John Prine song that they danced to at their wedding. Josephs described their fare as European comfort food, with one of their most popular dishes being pierogies. 

They also successfully renovated the covered porch outside the restaurant for dining, raising $7,000 through a Kickstarter

While their post did not allude as to why they are closing, iBerkshires has reached out for more answers. 

The 90-room hotel has reportedly been sold, with a closing expected by the end of the month. Owner Peregrine Group put the former Holiday Inn up for sale earlier this year after purchasing the property for $4.45 million in 2021. According to reports in The Berkshire Eagle, the cost of renovations to the 55-year-old property put a dent into revenues that limited the hotel's ability to cover obligations. 
 
It's not clear if this has anything to do with the restaurant, which operates as a separate entity.
 
"We are not looking for a public discourse on our business model or the closure," the Door Prize post states, inviting patrons to personally contact the Josephs or Klowden rather than comment on the posting. 

 

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