Bill Shein - Reason Gone Mad (Page 2)

NOTED: Advancing storm clouds darken ‘Sunshine Week’

With government transparency and press freedom under attack in Washington, a timely look at a little-known Great Barrington story from the nineteen thirties.

By Bill Shein

/ 19 Mar 2025

NOTED: Advancing storm clouds darken ‘Sunshine Week’

Will Trump’s January 6ᵗʰ pardons absolve a pipe bomber?

With conspiracy-minded leadership installed at the F.B.I., and federal prosecutors now broadly applying the president’s controversial pardon, will a still-unidentified bomber escape justice?

By Bill Shein

/ 2 Mar 2025

Will Trump’s January 6ᵗʰ pardons absolve a pipe bomber?

NOTED: Lee activists take their fight against a PCB dump to Boston

As plans for a PCB landfill in Lee, Massachusetts reach a critical stage, a group of Berkshire County residents rallied in Boston—near the headquarters of General Electric, the company responsible for dumping PCBs into the Housatonic River.

By Bill Shein

/ 28 Feb 2025

NOTED: Lee activists take their fight against a PCB dump to Boston

At the Pentagon, reality likely to trump rhetoric on climate change and national security

Even as the Trump administration rolls back climate-related initiatives, current and former Pentagon officials told The Argus that work related to climate and national security is likely to continue.

By Bill Shein

/ 7 Feb 2025

At the Pentagon, reality likely to trump rhetoric on climate change and national security

NOTED: A few words from an 'enemy of the people'

Organizations that protect journalists here and abroad are concerned about Trump's attacks on the press as he prepares to take office again. Labeling reporters "the enemy of the people" also recalls specific threats made against Massachusetts journalists in 2018.

By Bill Shein

/ 8 Jan 2025

NOTED: A few words from an 'enemy of the people'

A nonprofit newsmagazine for the Berkshires

The Argus is now a fiscally sponsored project of the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports independent, watchdog journalism. It will enable significantly more support for reporting that delivers “important stories fully told.”

By Bill Shein

/ 28 Dec 2024

EXCLUSIVE: MassDEP fines Housatonic Water Works $10,205 for withholding test results

A previously unreported penalty-assessment notice sent to the company in November called the facts “undisputed” and the company’s violations “willful.” The penalty was revealed in a response to a public-records request filed by The Argus.

By Bill Shein

/ 12 Dec 2024

EXCLUSIVE: MassDEP fines Housatonic Water Works $10,205 for withholding test results

In race for state rep, Mitts and Davis navigate choppy waters of ‘Rest of River’ debate

As developments in a major Housatonic River remediation project accelerate, two candidates for state representative confront a challenging issue—and its sticky politics.

By Bill Shein

/ 3 Nov 2024

A graphic of the Rest of River map overlayed with photos of Marybeth Mitts and Leigh Davis.

MassDEP cites Housatonic Water Works for withholding poor test results

The company withheld results from July that showed manganese levels at more than double the regulatory limit and a health risk to infants.

By Bill Shein

/ 12 Oct 2024

MassDEP cites Housatonic Water Works for withholding poor test results

AUDIO: In new book, Berkshires rock critic Seth Rogovoy explores the music of Beatles guitarist George Harrison

"Within You, Without You: Listening to George Harrison" is a deep, passionate dive into the music of the so-called "Quiet Beatle."

By Bill Shein

/ 11 Oct 2024

AUDIO: In new book, Berkshires rock critic Seth Rogovoy explores the music of Beatles guitarist George Harrison

Doing the Job: Paramedics, EMTs, and the Crisis in Rural EMS

Complex funding and staffing challenges have hampered rural EMS for years. Will elected officials finally step up to help those doing the job?

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Aug 2024

Doing the Job: Paramedics, EMTs, and the Crisis in Rural EMS

AUDIO: Amid Gaza protests and sharp rhetoric, a conversation about nonviolence

A discussion with journalist Eric Stoner about protest movements, nonviolent strategy and tactics, and the present moment.

By Bill Shein

/ 1 Jul 2024

AUDIO: Amid Gaza protests and sharp rhetoric, a conversation about nonviolence