Letter: Accessing Benefits From Recent Climate Legislation

To the Editor:

The Berkshire chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby and its partners are hosting a free public forum on the evening of Monday, April 3, that will highlight recently passed climate legislation and the opportunities available to local governments and their constituents.

The Berkshire chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby and its partners are hosting a free public forum on the evening of Monday, April 3, 2023, at the Berkshire Innovation Center, at 45 Woodlawn Ave. in Pittsfield. The event is open to the community, and the reception with appetizers will begin at 5:30 p.m., and panelists will begin at 6:15 p.m.

The panelists are Massachusetts state Sen. Paul Mark, former Undersecretary of Energy and Climate Solutions Judy Chang, Executive Director of Green Energy Consumers Alliance Larry Chretien, and Congressman Richard Neal with a brief message.

The forum, sponsored by The Berkshire Eagle, Berkshire Innovation Center, Ener-g-Save, and Citizen's Climate Lobby, will highlight recently passed climate legislation and the opportunities available to local governments and their constituents. The panelists will explain the benefits of these new laws including job creation, access to immediate rebates, generous tax credits, and more, and will appeal to businesses and individuals alike. The event will be live-streamed on Pittsfield Community Television. Moderated questions from the audience will be posed to the panel.

"I am excited to join local leaders, community members, and climate activists to discuss state and federal legislation recently signed into law and how these new policies can benefit us in the Berkshires," declared Senator Paul Mark. "Climate change is one of the most important issues we face as a state and as a nation and how we respond to this challenge and work to proactively mitigate the negative consequences is going to impact all of us in a tangible way for years to come."

Uli Nagel of Lee, liaison to Congressman Richard Neal's office, shared her concern, "Lack of snow cover in the winter is hurting our local ski resorts, and the drought-like conditions in the summer are difficult for local farmers. Events like these help educate our community; these new laws can help to slow that trend."

Christine Kelly
Sheffield, Mass. 

State Economic Development Secretary Visits Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:28PM / Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Eric Paley was appointed secretary last year. This was his first time visiting in the Berkshires in that role. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state secretary of economic development visited Pittsfield on Monday to hear about the condition of its economy and downtown. 

Executive Office of Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley joined local small-business owners, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, state Sen Paul Mark, and Mayor Peter Marchetti for a roundtable discussion at the Berkshire Black Economic Council at the beginning of the day. 

"I think supporting downtowns and keeping them vibrant and energetic is a challenge in many parts of the state, and certainly many gateway cities, but I think people want to live where there's lively, strong downtowns," Paley said. 

"And they want to spend their money where they feel there's an energetic, long downtown, and that's a critical factor for Pittsfield that we do see in other gateway cities." 

He said Berkshire County has "extraordinary" strengths as a tourism and cultural leader, but like many other places, its small businesses are struggling with operating costs and affordability, as "Housing is a challenge, childcare, healthcare, these are challenges we see all across the state, but they kind of hit differently in different locations." 

The secretary feels Berkshire County competes "very" well with the nearby Catskills, Hudson Valley, and Adirondacks in New York State because of how strong the cultural community is, but sustaining those communities is a challenge. 

"Making the community fun year-round when so many people come in the summer, but also making sure that resources keep building and growing here is key, and there's been some flattening of some of the key economic indicators, and extending that strength is really important," Paley said. 

"…There were a lot of just a lot of heartfelt, thoughtful comments and things that we need to be talking about every day as we think of different regions of the state and how we support them."