Eversource Ready for An Active 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season

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BOSTON, Mass. — As the ocean waters churn along the east coast and another hurricane season begins, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting above-normal activity for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

Between June 1 and November 30, NOAA is forecasting a 60 percent chance of an above-normal season with 6-10 hurricanes having winds of 74 mph or higher and 3-5 major hurricanes with winds 111 mph or higher. With the changing climate increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather around the globe, including here in New England, Eversource is reminding customers to plan and always be prepared for severe weather. The energy company works year-round to safeguard the electric grid through upgrades, maintenance, and proactive vegetation management to ensure reliability for customers.  

"As we've seen in Massachusetts many times over the years, extreme weather can hit hard here causing significant damage just as it can anywhere else in the country, so we know how crucial it is to be prepared—especially during hurricane season," said Eversource President of Electric Operations in Massachusetts Doug Foley. "We've been meeting to discuss NOAA's hurricane season forecast and review and update storm response protocols accordingly, but we really prepare for storms year-round. We always monitor multiple forecasts and take steps to prepare, including having crews ready to go if a storm is heading our way so they can respond as quickly and safely as possible to get customers back on if they do lose power."

With trees causing more than 90 percent of power outages during storms, trimming and removing hazard trees that threaten overhead electric lines is fundamental to emergency preparedness and crucial to providing customers with reliable power in all types of weather. Eversource also reminds customers that homeowners are responsible for keeping branches away from the lower-voltage service wires connecting their homes to the main utility lines on the street. The energy company strongly recommends contacting a professional tree service to perform this work.

A worker proactively trims a tree in Massachusetts to help ensure reliable power for customers.

Eversource offers several simple tips and steps customers can take to help prepare for hurricane season at home. The energy company provides a storm safety checklist and encourages customers to always have an emergency plan in place, assemble a storm kit with essential items, plan a meeting place for family members and be ready to check on neighbors. Customers can also download Eversource's mobile app or sign up for the company's two-way texting to report and check outages in the event they do occur.

For all the latest storm information and updates, follow Eversource on X and Facebook. For more information on the energy company's emergency preparedness efforts and restoration process, visit Eversource.com.


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Pittsfield School Board See Update on Middle School Restructuring

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wheels are moving on the Pittsfield Public Schools plan to realign the middle schools in the fall. 

Last week, the School Committee received updates on the transition to an upper elementary and junior high school model in September, with Grades 5 and 6 attending Herberg Middle School and Grades 7 and 8 attending Reid Middle School. 

"This is an equity strategy that was started maybe a year ago, a year and a half ago, that we’ve been working towards to ensure that every intermediate and middle school student has access to equitable educational opportunities," Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said. 

"I know that there are a lot of moving parts that we are working toward, but I just always want to anchor us in that this decision was made with equity in mind for serving all of our students." 

Resident Rebecca Thompson pointed to the diverse demographics of Pittsfield schools and the importance of understanding them when shaping priorities and policies. In the 2024-2025 school year, students were 51.5 percent white, she reported, and 48.5 percent were a part of the global majority, meaning they are Black, indigenous, or a person of color. 

Additionally, 70 percent of Pittsfield students live in poverty

"I hope my giving you this data is not news to you, as it is critical to creating an educational system in which all students, every single one, have a decent chance to reach their potential. Each of you needs to bring an equity lens to your work as a School Committee member," she said. 

"… We all need to face the reality that our inequities stem from our history, and are based primarily on skin color. The whiter an individual's skin, the fewer obstacles stand in the way of them achieving their potential. An equity lens is how we own this reality, talk about it, and make changes in systems, policies, procedures, and our own behaviors in order to interrupt it." 

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