'Good Trouble' Rallies Planned in Berkshires

02:02PM / Tuesday, July 15, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Rallies honoring the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis will be held on Thursday in several Berkshire communities.

The "Good Trouble" rallies are being held on the anniversary of the Georgian congressman's passing at age 80 in 2020. The name refers to Lewis' oft-repeated phrase to disrupt through nonviolent means.

Indivisible Mass Coalition, Mass Indivisible Groups, Massachusetts 50501, and allies will join with groups across the country to honor the legacy of Civil Rights icon.

Some 50 rallies are being planned across the state, including in Great Barrington, Pittsfield and Williamstown to protest any attacks on the Constitution by the Trump administration; the estimated $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and food benefits; the $150 billion allocated to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the gutting of federal agencies like the National Weather Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Organizers for "Good Trouble" estimate that tens of thousands of protesters will attend rallies across the commonwealth, and millions of others will attend rallies across the nation.

• Great Barrington, 4 to 5:30 p.m.: South County Resistance, in conjunction with Left Field, will hold its rally in front of Town Hall. It will feature a performance by local musician, lecturer and speaker Doug Mishkin.

• Pittsfield, 7 to 9 p.m.: Hosted by Stand Up, Berkshires, NAACP, Indivisible Berkshires, Berkshire Democratic Brigades at Park Square with Shirley Edgerton of the NAACP as speaker. It will include a performance by the Pittsfield Community Gospel Choir, a candlelit vigil (phones or battery-operated candles or tea lights only) and stroll around the park.

• West Stockbridge, 4:40 to 6 p.m.: front lawn of West Stockbridge Congregational Church.

• Williamstown, 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.: Greylock Together will project images, speeches and performances on First Congregational Church in partnership with the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Bring a chair.

Find where rallies are being held in Massachusetts here and in other parts of the country here.

Tags: protests,

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Pittsfield Committee Recommends Scanlon for City Audit

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:30AM / Thursday, August 06, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— After the bid for a new auditing company came back over 30 percent higher, Pittsfield will stick with Scanlon and Associates.

On Tuesday, the Auditing Services Evaluation Committee voted to advance Scanlon to the City Council for an independent audit. CliftonLarsonAllen also responded to the bid, but came in costing $120,000 more.

"I have to go with saving money for the city. I mean, the discrepancy is too much of a difference," committee member Karen Kalinowsky said.

"The city could have use for that difference over the next three years."

This process was prompted by Rule 40 of the council rules and the City Charter, where in any year the City Council votes to hold a procurement process for an independent certified public accountant or firm to audit Pittsfield's books and accounts, the city must, through its Finance Committee with the assistance of the purchasing department, solicit requests for proposals or invitations for bids before June 1.

The council in March recommended that the purchasing agent draft a request for proposals and put it out to bid.

Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren, who has been vocally in favor of the independent audit for years, said the city doesn't have to follow a bidding process for the professional service, "We are doing this so the public knows that we're being professional, and a looking for other options, looking at what the best options are, and comparing them based on what they can offer and what the cost is."

Board member Kathy Amuso said both CLA and Scanlon have equitable reviews with high recommendations. Especially considering the budget crisis Pittsfield is in, she moved to recommend Scanlon to the full council.

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