Letter: Eight Weeks to Change the World

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To the Editor:

In just eight weeks you can vote to save our democracy, our planet, and your own personal freedoms. You have that power, and your choice is as simple as it is stark.

Vice President Kamala Harris offers a brighter future for your family — and all Americans — including a guarantee of reproductive freedoms, voting rights, civil rights, and an economy based on economic opportunity for all. A former prosecutor and attorney general, Kamala has the experience, backbone, and character to be president, to stand up for working families and to stand up to bullies, liars, cheats, and fraudsters at home and abroad.

Her opponent represents the darkest side of human nature. Promising to be a dictator on "Day One," he represents an America of continued chaos, violence, darkness, hate, fear, racism, continued carnage at our schools, stores, and places of worship — and a further widening of the gap between rich and poor. He is the un-American candidate.



In 1630, future Gov. John Winthrop and passengers on the Arbella left England for Massachusetts, intending to be an example for the rest of the world in rightful living. During the voyage Winthrop stated their purpose clearly: "We shall be as a shining city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us."

For almost 400 years — through a Civil War and two World Wars — America has been a beacon of hope, freedom, and democracy to the world. Your vote for Kamala Harris — just eight weeks from now — will ensure Winthrop’s vision continues both here in Massachusetts and throughout the nation at large.

Lee Harrison
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 


Tags: election 2024,   

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Williamstown Finance Committee Finalizes Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Proposal

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The tax bill of a median-priced single family home will go up by 8.45 percent in the year that begins July 1 under a spending plan approved by the Finance Committee on Wednesday night.
 
After more than a month of going through all proposed spending by the town and public schools and searching for places to trim the budget and adjust revenue estimates, the Fin Comm voted to send a series of fiscal articles to the May 19 annual town meeting for approval.
 
The panel also discussed how to appeal to town meeting members to reverse what Fin Comm members long have described as an anti-growth sentiment in town that keeps the tax base from expanding.
 
New growth in the tax base is generated by new construction or improvements to property that raise its value. A lack of new growth (the town projects 15 percent less revenue from new growth in fiscal year 2027 than it had in FY26) means that increased spending falls more heavily on current taxpayers.
 
The two largest spending articles on the draft warrant for the May meeting are the appropriations for general government spending and the assessment from the Mount Greylock Regional School District.
 
The former, which includes the Department of Public Works, the Williamstown Police and town hall staffing, is up by just 2.5 percent from the current fiscal year to FY27 — from $10.6 million to $10.9 million.
 
The latter, which pays for Williamstown Elementary School and the town's share of the middle-high school, is up 13.7 percent, from $14.8 million to $16.8 million.
 
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