BCC to Celebrate 65 Years

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) invites all for a free Community Fest 2025, celebrating the College's 65th anniversary, on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 
 
The celebration will take place on BCC's main campus, located at 1350 West Street, Pittsfield. Community Fest honors BCC's accomplishments over the years, from new academic buildings and programs to an accessible quad and a new One Stop Enrollment Center. 
 
Community Fest  includes Build a Bear workshops (the first 200 children can build a free BCC Falcon stuffed animal), a "touch a truck" activity, face painting, arts and crafts, a community bake-off and tarot readings. Plus, visitors can join guided hikes of BCC's 180-acre campus, partake in athletic competitions at the updated Paterson Field House and take a dip in the only public outdoor pool in Berkshire County. 
 
Local food trucks, including La Chalupa and La Enchilada, Krispy Cone, BB's Hot Spot and KJ Nosh, will offer delicious food for sale, while Balderdash Wine Cellars, Hot Plate Brewery, and Big Elm Brewery will sell local brews and wines. 
 
Additional activities include: 
  • Guided tours of the newly reimagined campus 
  • Talks with student and alumni artists in the new Koussevitzky Arts Gallery 
  • An opportunity to record yourself in the new Recording Studio 
  • An archival display from the new BCC Library, featuring historical photographs and documents of the College over the years. 
  • Tours of the new nursing SIM lab and A&P lab 
  • Hands-on science experiments in the new Berkshire Science Commons 
  • Kid-friendly educational opportunities in the new Early Childhood Education lab 
 

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Lanesborough OKs Open Space Plan, Short-Term Rental Forms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set fees for short-term rentals and adopted an Open Space and Recreation Plan.
 
Town Administrator Gina Dario discussed the draft for STR registration and certificate of inspection since the new bylaws were passed at the annual town meeting.
 
The draft shows the process to file for inspection through Permit Eyes, the town's online permitting system that includes the state building code and safety requirements. Dario said members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the building commissioner looked at other town models to come up with the best process for registration.
 
Inspections will be annually for non-owner occupied units and five years for owner-occupied. The inspection fee is a flat $50. The last suggestion discussed was the posting requirements for key information.
 
Dario said they looked at about four other communities on how they used non-sensitive information on owner contacts. Chair Deborah Maynard motioned to have the information posted both inside and out to help with law enforcement if needed.
 
"I'm going to make a motion that we put that relevant information not only on the inside of the short-term rental but on the outside, so if the police need to respond, ambulance needs to respond, fire especially needs to respond, all that information is there, nobody has to go searching for it," she said. "If push comes to shove, and it's a matter of minutes, that's going to make a big, a big difference in the outcome of the incident."
 
The board then heard a presentation from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's community planner Andrew McKeever and Open Space and Recreation Committee Vice Chair Mark Hawthorne.
 
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