Berkshire Immigrant Center Benefit

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LENOX, Mass. — The Berkshire Immigrant Center presents its fourth annual One World Celebration on Sunday, June 4, 2023. 
 
The live event returns to Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. with a headline performance by the Wanda Houston Band.
 
Performers Jason Ennis and Natalia Bernal will open the event with songs for voice and guitar. UK native and Berkshire resident James Warwick will be the Master of Ceremonies, with State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli as guest auctioneer for the paddle raise.
 
Tickets are $100/person, with sponsorship opportunities also available. T
 
he event begins at 5:30 p.m. on seats in the outdoor tented area adjacent to the Tina Packer Playhouse. The evening will include complimentary wine donated by Domaney's Liquors and Fine Wines, and beer donated
by Hot Plate Brewing. 
 
Tickets also include heavy hors d'oeuvres by KJ Nosh, and In My Dreams Events, a local immigrant-owned business, has helped plan the event.
 
For details and tickets, visit: https://www.berkshireic.org/one-world-celebration.
 
All proceeds benefit the legal and educational services that Berkshire Immigrant Center offers to all members of the region's immigrant community. 
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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