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 Board of Health Looks to Regulate Nitrous Oxide Sales

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health last week agreed to look into drafting a local ordinance that would regulate the sale of nitrous oxide.
 
Resident Danielle Luchi raised the issue, telling the board she recently learned a local retailer was selling large containers of the compound, which has legitimate medical and culinary uses but also is used as a recreational drug.
 
The nitrous oxide (N2O) canisters are widely marketed as "whippets," a reference to the compound's use in creating whipped cream. Also called "laughing gas" for its medical use for pain relief and sedation, N2O is also used recreationally — and illegally — to achieve feelings of euphoria and relaxation, sometimes with tragic consequences.
 
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year found that, "from 2010 to 2023, there was a total of 1,240 deaths attributable to nitrous oxide poisoning among people aged 15 to 74 years in the U.S."
 
"Nitrous oxide is a drug," Luchi told the board at its Tuesday morning meeting. "Kids are getting high from it. They're dying in their cars."
 
To combat the issue, the city of Northampton passed an ordinance that went into effect in June of this year.
 
"Under the new policy … the sale of [nitrous oxide] is prohibited in all retail establishments in Northampton, with the exception of licensed kitchen supply stores and medical supply stores," according to Northampton's website. "The regulation also limits sales to individuals 21 years of age and older and requires businesses to verify age using a valid government-issued photo ID."
 
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