Clark Art Presents Constant Smiles and Ava Mirzadegan

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute's Music at the Manton Concert spring series concludes with a performance by Constant Smiles and Ava Mirzadegan on Sunday, May 5 at 5 pm.
 
The performance takes place in the Clark's auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.
 
According to a press release:
 
Constant Smiles began in 2009 in leader Ben Jones' home of Martha's Vineyard. Inspired by the island's now-defunct community record store Aboveground Records, the group made their live debut as a noise duo opening for Ralph White (Bad Livers). Fourteen indie-folk albums later, Constant Smiles returns to their electronic roots with their latest release Kenneth Anger, evoking the eponymous filmmaker with hypnotic, '80s-inspired synth classics that examine how rituals and community can heal feelings of isolation.
 
Ava Mirzadegan opens for Constant Smiles. Mirzadegan writes quiet songs about heartbreak, longing, letting go, and befriending the night sky. Accompanied most often by fingerpicked nylon string guitar, her work rings of unembellished honesty.
 
Tickets $10 ($8 members, $7 students, $5 children 15 and under). Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. Advance registration encouraged. For more information and to register, visit clarkart.edu/events.
 
Presented in collaboration with Belltower Records, North Adams.

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Williamstown Fire District Expects Slightly Lower Tax Rate

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A rise in operating expenses for the Williamstown Fire Department will be offset by lower debt service payments on the new fire station, resulting in a slightly smaller tax bill from the district, officials noted last week.
 
One week after the Prudential Committee, which oversees the district, reviewed the fiscal articles it will send to May's annual district meeting, the fire chief explained that while operational funding is up by by nearly $125,000 from the current fiscal year to FY27, a drop in principal and interest payments will make up the difference.
 
Currently, the tax rate for the district — a separate taxing entity apart from town government — is projected to be $1.15 per $1,000 of valuation in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The current rate is $1.24.
 
In FY26, district taxpayers paid $1.9 million toward principal and interest for the Main Street fire station. The draft warrant for the May 26 annual district meeting calls for $1.7 million to be raised for that capital expense, a drop of just more than $198,000.
 
"The impact of the new debt and, indeed, the entire budget is offset by certain revenue items, particularly the $5.5 million in gifts from Williams College and the Clark [Art Institute]," Chief Jeffrey Dias wrote in an email discussing the proposed budget.
 
The $500,000 pledge from the Clark and the $5 million donated by Williams College are being utilized at the start of the payback period for the bonds that fund the station's construction — when those payments are higher.
 
Melissa Cragg, chair of the Fire District's Finance Committee, explained that the use of those gifts early in the process will not necessarily mean a sticker shock down the road.
 
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