The annual Buddy Walk is a national event established in 1995 to promote inclusion and awareness. It's raised more than $15 million.
DALTON, Mass. — For the 17th year, the Berkshire County Arc's Down Syndrome Family Group and its allies took over Main Street for the annual Buddy Walk.
Hundreds of people in maroon walk T-shirts gathered at Craneville School for a festive event that includes the signature walk through downtown, music, food and games on school's playground.
The walk was one of two in Massachusetts (the other is in Wakefield next Sunday) and dozens across the country under the auspices of the National Down Syndrome Society, which started the program in 1995.
The goals of the walk are three-fold: to celebrate Down syndrome awareness, to educate the general public and to advocate on behalf of the 5,100 Americans born with Down syndrome each year.
Locally, BCArc is the lead agency serving Berkshire County residents with developmental disabilities, brain injuries and autism and their families.
A longtime advocate of the agency and its clients is state Sen. Paul Mark, D-Peru, a member of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities and one of several public officials to participate in Saturday's walk.
Mark was back in his district after joining an overwhelming majority in both houses of the Legislature to pass a $1 billion tax relief measure earlier in the week.
On Saturday, he said there is no concern that the tax cuts to be phased in over several years will negatively impact social service agencies, like BCArc, that rely on state funding and have struggled to address staff salary needs even before this year's tax relief push.
"Overall, everything we're hearing is that this [tax cut] is safe, that we're on a good pace of revenue growth," Mark said. "And the cuts and the [tax] credits that are happening aren't going to hamper that, that they're in line with what we think is going to keep our state growing in a responsible manner.
"We have an $8 billion rainy day fund that we're sitting on, and also the cuts are going to be phased in."
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BRPC Committee Mulls Input on State Housing Plan
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Regional Issues Committee brainstormed representation for the county in upcoming housing listening sessions.
"The administration is coming up with what they like to tout is their first housing plan that's been done for Massachusetts, and this is one of a number of various initiatives that they've done over the last several months," Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said.
"But it seems like they are intent upon doing something and taking comments from the different regions across the state and then turning that into policy so here is our chance to really speak up on that."
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and members of the Housing Advisory Council will host multiple listening sessions around the Commonwealth to hear input on the Healey-Driscoll administration's five-year strategic statewide housing plan.
One will be held at Berkshire Community College on May 15 at 2 p.m.
One of Matuszko's biggest concerns is the overall age of the housing stock in Berkshire County.
"And that the various rehab programs that are out there are inadequate and they are too cumbersome to manipulate through," he explained.
"And so I think that there needs to be a greater emphasis not on new housing development only but housing retention and how we can do that in a meaningful way. It's going to be pretty important."
Non-commission member Andrew Groff, Williamstown's community developer director, added that the bureaucracies need to coordinate themselves and "stop creating well-intended policies like the new energy code that actually work against all of this other stuff."
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. proposed angled parking on North Street and was pleasantly surprised that the city responded with an in-depth study and new plans — even if they don't include angled parking.
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Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.
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Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.
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