State Awards $35K to Stockbridge for Local Hazard Mitigation Planning

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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. – The Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded a $35,000 grant to the Town of Stockbridge for local hazard mitigation planning. 
 
Stockbridge will use its award to update its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP), which expires in 2027. Having an approved Hazard Mitigation Plan is a requirement for communities to be eligible for certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). MTTA funding will allow the town to hire a qualified vendor to support updating its HMP.   
 
The funding, distributed through the Municipal and Tribal Technical Assistance program, is administered by the Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office and awarded grants to communities spanning from Western Massachusetts to Cape Cod in this round. 
 
These grants were part of a round of MTTA awards made to 25 communities across Massachusetts. In total, $1,108,700 in grant awards were made to support technical assistance for local infrastructure projects across the state. 
 
"Massachusetts is pursuing every federal dollar we can get, and we are making sure that our communities are ready to compete and win," said Governor Maura Healey. "We are giving cities and towns the tools they need to move projects forward, unlock federal funding, and deliver results for their residents. From safer roads to stronger infrastructure and climate resilience, these investments will help communities take action and build for the future." 
 
The Municipal and Tribal Technical Assistance program was enabled by legislation filed by Governor Healey, Chapter 214 of the Acts of 2024 ("An Act to Provide for Competitiveness and Infrastructure Investment in Massachusetts") to support infrastructure projects in cities and towns across the state. Governor Healey filed the bill as part of a comprehensive strategy to increase Massachusetts’ competitiveness for federal funding and empower local governments with more resources to pursue federal opportunities.  
 
This is the second round of Municipal and Tribal Technical Assistance awards made by the Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office (FFIO). In total, FFIO has awarded $2,048,950 in MTTA grants to communities across Massachusetts.    
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King and Confidantes Debate Hope and Change in 'American Five'

By Alan PetrucelliSpecial to iBerkshires
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Fiction and fact meld in the regional premiere of "The American Five," now playing at the Larry Vaber Stage of the Unicorn Theatre. 
 
The play takes a fictionalized look at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his four closest confidants in the months leading up to the famed March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. The quintet, through differing opinions, animated arguments, constant threats of violence and a late-night meal featuring challah bread and wine, become a family as they prepare for the history-making march that galvanized the Civil Rights movement.
 
Most of us know the King saga. It's the second act in which playwright Chess Jakobs' genius shines. Prejudice runs rampant here: Is Stanley Levison, a Jewish lawyer from New York who shows up in Montgomery to join the fight for racial equality and "to repair the world," viewed as white? Jewish? Both? And march strategist and organizer Bayard Rustin experiences his own fight for civil rights because of his homosexuality. Here, Jakob explores prejudice on different levels.
 
The cast is top-notch with many emotional highs. As King, Rashun Carter (who would look more like his character if he had a full moustache) and Sydney Elisabeth (as Coretta Scott King) are at their best during a scene that bounces between humor and poignancy. 
 
She questions her husband about his meeting with President John F. Kennedy; he is angry and refuses to discuss it. "There is no 'you' out there, without a 'me,' in here," she says, leading King to agree that because of her self-worth and unwavering devotion to him, she is "Coretta Scott Queen."
 
As Clarence Jones, King's personal counsel, Brett Diggs has assurance and dignity; Harry Smith's portrayal of lawyer Stanley Levison, is nothing short of extraordinary. Destan Owens' performance as gay Bayard Rustin is the play's most outstanding performance as he defends his relations with men: "You don't get to judge me!" he tells King. "I'm just trying to find love."
 
"The American Five" is tightly directed by Gerry McIntyre; the historic period projections and footage/designed by Alex Hill remind people that there are dreams, such as hope and change, that are still being fought.
 
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