Archive - Reason Gone Mad (Page 3)

The madness of the fees

Oh, the ticket fees! The rising, countless, too-many fees!

By Bill Shein

/ 1 Apr 2024

A concert at Tanglewood's Seiji Ozawa Hall in 2022. (Bill Shein/Berkshire Argus)

NOTED: Letter from Florence

The birthplace of the Renaissance confronts a housing and identity crisis fueled by short-term rentals.

By Bill Shein

/ 23 Mar 2024

A view of the Duomo di Firenze from the Boboli Gardens in Florence's Oltrarno district.

In Great Barrington, a tale of two sidewalks

Without the Select Board’s knowledge, town officials secured a million-dollar state grant to aid a developer’s struggling luxury housing project and pay for a landscaped “pedestrian walkway.” Meanwhile, across town, safe sidewalks for low-income residents remain elusive and unfunded.

By Bill Shein

/ 8 Mar 2024

In Great Barrington, a tale of two sidewalks

BOOK SEARCH: Twelve scenes from a narrative

Great Barrington police overstepped with their determined quest to find a copy of "Gender Queer" at Du Bois Middle School. But the full story of what happened that day, and why, is more complicated.

By Bill Shein

/ 8 Feb 2024

BOOK SEARCH: Twelve scenes from a narrative

AUDIO: A conversation with Matt Tannenbaum of 'Hello, Bookstore'

After nearly a half-century running The Bookstore in Lenox, Matt Tannenbaum is both a renowned bookseller and a tireless, entertaining raconteur.

By Bill Shein

/ 29 Jan 2024

AUDIO: A conversation with Matt Tannenbaum of 'Hello, Bookstore'

NOTED: Tommy Smothers’ impactful life

Lessons in truth, humor, and meeting the moment

By Bill Shein

/ 29 Dec 2023

AUDIO: Great Barrington's Affordable Housing Trust takes on the community's largest economic challenge

In this episode of the Berkshire Argus Podcast, Bill Cooke and Ananda Timpane talk about the Trust and its efforts to move the ball forward on housing.

By Bill Shein

/ 28 Dec 2023

A photo of Bill Cooke and Ananda Timpane.

As Great Barrington Airport ignores some special-permit conditions, the town's government takes no action

Some requirements related to the environment, taxes, emergency response, and others remain unmet—highlighting zoning-enforcement challenges in the Berkshires.

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Dec 2023

As Great Barrington Airport ignores some special-permit conditions, the town's government takes no action

NOTED: In Alford, a vote to cloud transparency is defended with ‘raised voices’

Another small-town Select Board votes to end hybrid in-person-and-remote participation for its meetings. Two members didn't like a question about their decision.

By Bill Shein

/ 15 Dec 2023

NOTED: In Alford, a vote to cloud transparency is defended with ‘raised voices’

AUDIO: Is it possible to have civil online conversations?

A Berkshire Argus Podcast discussion with Jon Rosen, founder of an online discussion group called "Fair Game." What inspired him to start it in 2016, how it's going, and what he's learned.

By Bill Shein

/ 14 Dec 2023

AUDIO: Is it possible to have civil online conversations?

Mason Library gets its 'Beauty Day'

With help from a trio of interior designers, and funding from the nonprofit Friends of Great Barrington Libraries, the downtown library's historic reading room gets a worthy overhaul.

By Bill Shein

/ 12 Dec 2023

FOLLOW UP (Part Two): Nearly two years on, a 'landscape hotel' is rising at Egremont's Prospect Lake

Long-sought parking and lake access for Egremont residents are both connected to an agreement for dam-repair funds. Whether—and how—that will work, and what it will mean in practice, is complicated.

By Bill Shein

/ 8 Dec 2023

FOLLOW UP (Part Two): Nearly two years on, a 'landscape hotel' is rising at Egremont's Prospect Lake