Letter: Accessing Benefits From Recent Climate Legislation

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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. 

 

 

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Pittsfield Teacher on Leave for Allegedly Repeating Slurs

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Herberg Middle School teacher was put on leave after allegedly repeating homophobic and racial slurs used by a student. 

The teacher was reportedly describing a classroom incident when the slurs were repeated. On Wednesday, the Pittsfield Public Schools Human Resources department confirmed that an 8th-grade teacher at the middle school was placed on leave this week. 

The complaint was publicly made last week by parent Brett Random, who is the executive director of Berkshire County Head Start. 

On her personal Facebook page, she said her daughter reported that her math teacher, "used extremely offensive language including both a racial slur (N word) and a homophobic slur (F word) and then reportedly tried to push other students to repeat those words later in the day when students were questioning her on her behavior."

"While I appreciate that school administrators have begun addressing the situation, this is bigger than one incident. It raises serious questions about the culture within our schools and what students may be experiencing from adults they're supposed to trust," Random wrote.

"This moment should be used to take a hard look at how we're supporting responsive teaching, anti-racism, respect and creating truly inclusive classroom environments."

Her original post was made on April 30. On May 2, she reported that interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips and School Committee members Ciara Batory and Sarah Muil promptly responded and recognized the seriousness of the situation. 

"We are aware of allegations involving a staff member at Herberg Middle School and take concerns about derogatory and discriminatory language very seriously," Phillips wrote in an email to iBerkshires. "We recognize the impact this type of language has on students and families, and our priority is maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment while we conduct a fair and thorough review. Because this is a personnel matter, we cannot share additional details at this time."

The Berkshire Eagle, which first reported on the incident, identified the teacher as Rebecca Nitsche, and the teacher told the paper over the phone, "All I can tell you is it's not how it appears." Nitsche told the paper she repeated the words a student used while reporting the incident to another teacher because officials needed to know it happened. 

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