BCC Assistant Professor Awarded $5K Grant from Mass Cultural Council

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PITTSFIELD, Mass — Berkshire Community College (BCC) announced that Assistant Professor of English Liesl Schwabe has been awarded a Mass Cultural Council Grant for Creative Individuals for $5,000. 
 
The funding will support Schwabe as she works to complete a collection of essays, largely pulling from the research and reporting she conducted while serving as a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar in Kolkata, India, during the 2024-2025 academic year. Schwabe's previous writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Review of Books, World Literature Today, Words Without Borders and LitHub, among other publications. 
 
"While essential federal funding for the arts is cut or eliminated entirely, it is all the more important to recognize Massachusetts for its ongoing support of and advocacy for individual artists and our communities," Schwabe said. "I am tremendously honored to receive this Mass Cultural Council grant, which provides both material support and vital professional encouragement." 
 
Mass Cultural Council adopted a $34 million spending plan for the current fiscal year, allowing the agency to award at least 2,200 grants totaling approximately $26.2 million to the Commonwealth's creative and cultural sector. This funding derives primarily from public dollars, including the agency's $26.9 million state budget appropriation and support from the National Endowment for the Arts. The agency also runs the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment. 
 
Mass Cultural Council funds reach every community in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to advance the Commonwealth's creative and cultural sector by celebrating traditions and talents, championing its collective needs, and equitably investing public resources. 

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Pittsfield Traffic Commission OKs Stop Signs, Parking Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Traffic Commission granted stop signs and downtown parking requests during its recent regular meeting. 

A petition from Ward 7 Councilor Kathy Moody to install stop signs at the corner of Thomas Road and Thomas Island Road was approved. One sign will be installed at Thomas Road and Thomas Island Road, and one at the corner of Thomas Island Road and Pecks Road. 

Moody said for some reason, people don't understand they need to stop at the "very clear" intersection into the neighborhood alongside Onota Lake off Peck's Road. 

"It's really difficult to see right there. Because of the corners, people are not stopping, and I have several phone calls from constituents that live on Thomas Island who have nearly been in very bad accidents there," she explained about the corner of Thomas Road and Thomas Island Road. 

"If we could put a stop sign there, that would be terrific. It would help improve the safety of the neighborhood. It's a very small neighborhood. The roads are narrow. There are pedestrians everywhere. Having a stop sign to protect people at that almost blind corner would be very useful." 

Police Sgt. David Hallas couldn't recall any significant vehicle accidents in that area, but said that speeding on that section of Peck's Road is "quite an issue." 

Other commissioners commented that the roads on the island are very narrow, and it is one of the few places with mirrors so that drivers can see around corners. 

Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren's request for a stop sign at the intersection of Partridge Road and Oak Hill Road was also approved. He said it is a similar situation to Thomas Island. 

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