WCMA Announces Closure of Upper Galleries

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will close its upper galleries as it prepares for a new purpose-built facility. The closure marks the end of nearly a century of exhibitions in Lawrence Hall, which has undergone multiple renovations and additions over the years.
 
To commemorate this transition, WCMA will host "Last Chance Glance" events on the following dates: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 3-5 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 12, noon-2 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2-4 p.m.; and Thursday, Dec. 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Visitors can view the current exhibitions, including "Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art," "Pallavi Sen: Colour Theory," "SO–IL \ WCMA: Building A New Museum," "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art," and "Remixing the Hall."
 
The events will also feature light refreshments, opportunities to talk with staff, and slideshows showcasing the history of the museum's galleries.
 
WCMA is open daily through Sunday, Dec. 22, with holiday hours listed on its website. The museum will reopen on Jan. 6 with a limited footprint featuring "Object Lab," an interdisciplinary exhibit that highlights selections from the collection. Updated visitor hours and programming information are available at artmuseum.williams.edu.

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Williamstown Fire Committee Sees FY27 Budget with Sizable Operational Increase

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

The Prudential Committee held its first meeting in the new station in late March with Treasurer Billie Jo Sawyer, left and committee members Lindsay Neathawk, David Moresi and Craig Pedercini.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee last week reviewed a draft annual fire district meeting warrant that includes an operational expenses budget up 9.4 percent from the figures approved at the May 2025 annual meeting.
 
And, with a new line item added to the district's operational budget the total increase is closer to 24 percent.
 
Last May, meeting members — the meeting is open to all registered voters in town — approved an FY26 spending plan that totaled $686,991.
 
On July 1, the first day of the fiscal year, a special district meeting voted to allocate $40,000 from the district's stabilization fund to the operating budget, effectively raising the baseline to $726,991, a 34 percent increase, year over year, from FY25 to FY26.
 
The July 1 meeting moved $20,000 of stabilization funds to the firefighter pay line and $20,000 to the maintenance and operation line — nearly doubling the former and raising the latter by 75 percent from FY25 to FY26.
 
Both those lines are up again in the planned FY27 budget, but more modestly: 2 percent for M&O (up from $123,000 to $125,500) and 27 percent for firefighter payroll ($110,000 to $139,900).
 
Most of the other line items net out to no significant change; some are up a little, some are down a little.
 
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