image description — Memorial in South Boston to Harriet Tubman who escaped slavery but returned to the South time and again as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, then became a scout and spy for the Union Army and an advocate for women's right to vote along with Susan B. Anthony.

Holiday Hours: Juneteenth

10:00AM / Thursday, June 18, 2026Print Story | Email Story

A mural to the 54th Mass is unveiled last year in Pittsfield, which holds its Juneteenth celebration Sunday.

Juneteenth will be celebrated in Massachusetts as a state and federal holiday on Friday, June 19.

The date of June 19 was first designated as a state holiday in 2020 and federal holiday in 2021, but it has been commemorated in Massachusetts since former Gov. Deval Patrick first signed a proclamation in 2007.

The date has long been celebrated in other parts of the country, sometimes as Emancipation Day, the day in 1865 when Union Army Gen. Gordan Granger proclaimed freedom for more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas, completing the end of slavery in the areas of the United States after more than 300 years. These freed Texans took the celebration with them as traveled to other states although their liberty was still limited by the enforcement of Jim Crow laws, bigotry, fear and violence.

Juneteenth has been a state holiday in Texas for nearly 40 years following renewed interest and energy during the Civil Rights Movement. It has also been called Jubilee Day, Freedom Day and Black Independence Day.

In 2016, 89-year-old Opal Lee, who had watched a mob of racists burn down her house on Juneteenth in 1939, walked from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the date to become a federal holiday. She stood next to President Biden when he signed the declaration.

On Friday, June 19

Closed:
Federal, state and local offices; no mail delivery.
Banks; Wall Street
Public colleges and schools, most private schools
Public libraries
BRTA operates as usual; offices are closed.

Open:
Most retail outlets, groceries
Restaurants and bars, by choice
Convenience stores

Tags: holiday hours,

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Dalton Considers Updating its Municipal Code

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
01:21PM / Thursday, August 27, 2026

DALTON, Mass. — The town is considering updating its original 18-year municipal code to 2026 standards.

During a recent Select Board meeting, General Code New England account manager Zach Dumont outlined the 18- to-24 month process.

General Code New England is a division of the International Code Council, which writes all the statewide building codes across the United States. For the last 18 years, the organization has been the codifier for municipalities.

"We work with communities to build, maintain, and update your local municipal code. That is your collection of bylaws, ordinances, regulations, and any other legislation you've ever adopted," Dumont said.

Once the project is complete, the town would have a fully updated set of books and an improved eCode360 site, he said.

"The way the process would work is we would put together a scope of work, a timeline, a price point, and everything that we would want to touch or do as a part of the code project," Dumont said.

When a municipal code is built, it has a general lifespan of about 15 to 20 years, and although that is a long time, it goes by very quickly, he said.

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