Congressman Jamie Raskin to Speak at OLLI/BCC Lecture Series

03:52PM / Friday, May 27, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Berkshire Community College (BCC) presents the 2022 Mona Sherman Memorial Lecture on Saturday, May 28 at 5 pm.

Congressman Jamie Raskin, author of "Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth and the Trials of American Democracy," will be the guest speaker.

"The Mona Sherman Memorial Lecture is always a special highlight of OLLI programming at BCC, and this year is no exception," said Ellen Kennedy, BCC President. "Congressman Raskin has transformed personal tragedy into a powerful story that is both compelling and inspirational. We are honored to welcome him to the Mahaiwe for this much-anticipated event."

Tickets to the event, held at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, are sold out, but a free live stream will be available from Community Television of the Southern Berkshires. To access the live stream, visit https://ctsbtv.org/EDUCATION-channel-1302/.

No registration is required.

Congressman Raskin has represented Maryland's 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017. Previously, he was a three-term state senator in Maryland and the Senate Majority Whip. He was also a professor of constitutional law at American University's Washington College of Law for more than 25 years. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and a former editor of the Harvard Law Review.

According to a press release: In "Unthinkable," Raskin writes about the tells the story of the 45 days at the start of 2021 that permanently changed his life — and his family's — as he confronted the painful loss of his son Tommy to suicide, lived through the violent insurrection at the Capitol and led the impeachment effort to hold President Trump accountable for inciting political violence.

In support of the Mona Sherman lecture series, donors of $50 or more to the Mona Sherman Endowment will receive a complimentary copy of "Unthinkable." To donate, visit https://berkshireolli.org/Donate.

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Pittsfield Projects See $1M in Community One Stop Grants

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:10AM / Monday, October 05, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — City projects were allocated $1 million through the Community One Stop for Growth portal in fiscal year 2027.

This includes hundreds of thousands of dollars for the adaptive reuse of two downtown buildings into apartments: the former St. Joseph's High School and Berkshire County Savings Bank.

Developer David Carver of Scarafoni Associates & CT Management Group plans to convert the former Catholic high school on Maplewood Avenue into 19 units, four of which will be designated affordable. The City of Pittsfield was allocated $500,000 from the Housing Choice Grant Program to support accessibility improvements and elevator installation for the project.

Allegrone Companies saw $350,000 from the Underutilized Properties Program to support interior demolition and remediation for the adaptive reuse of a long-vacant, historic building overlooking Park Square into housing units and commercial space.

Since 2021, the Community One Stop for Growth has distributed more than 1,900 awards totaling more than $1 billion in funding for housing and economic development growth goals in Massachusetts communities.

Pittsfield has received 30 awards, totaling $11.7 million.

Over the summer, Housing Secretary Juana Matias visited the shuttered St. Joe's school that functioned as a shelter during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The then 120-year-old Catholic high school ceased operations in 2017.

The City Council approved a 10-year tax increment exemption agreement that freezes the current property value base, starting at 100 percent forgiveness in the first year, decreasing by 10 percent annually; a local incentive is required to submit an application to the EOHLC.