Fairview Hospital Entryway Impacted by Facility Upgrade Project

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) has announced changes to the Lewis Avenue entryway to Fairview Hospital as part of Fairview's campus revitalization plan. 
 
Effective Monday, April 27, 2026, the main hospital entry on Lewis Avenue will be altered.
 
The Lewis Avenue entryway to Fairview is a forked road, with the left side taking traffic to the front of the hospital and its parking area, while the right side is for access to the Fairview Emergency Department. The left side will be permanently closed as the construction project begins, leaving the right side open for both Emergency Department access and main hospital and parking access. Drivers can also continue to use the hospital's West Avenue entry to access the hospital and parking.
 
The Fairview revitalization project will feature construction of a new outpatient building adjacent to the current hospital which will include a new MRI, imaging, and surgical suites, and an expanded emergency department. The upgrades will offer more space for state-of-the-art treatment and technology, allowing Fairview Hospital to meet the changing needs of its community.
 
These crucial upgrades to strengthen Fairview Hospital will be made possible in part due to support from the community.

Tags: BHS,   Fairview Hospital,   

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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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