Berkshires - Reason Gone Mad

Welcome to the (Nuclear) Berkshires

In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the rebuilding of America’s nuclear arsenal is bringing a surge of money and jobs—and little public discussion.

By Bill Shein

/ 25 Mar 2026

THE ARGUS EYE: A long-overdue D.P.H. report on PCBs and cancer delivers no surprises

PCBs may play a role, the agency says, but the mix of diffuse exposures, data limitations, and many other cancer risk factors leaves no clear culprit.

By Bill Shein

/ 15 Sep 2025

THE ARGUS EYE: A long-overdue D.P.H. report on PCBs and cancer delivers no surprises

THE ARGUS EYE: Rep. Neal gets a challenger, junk fees get a spotlight, and The Argus gets on WAMC

In this edition of The Argus Eye, news of what may be an interesting race for Congress in western Massachusetts next year.

By Bill Shein

/ 2 Sep 2025

Photos of Rep. Richard Neal, at left, and challenger Jeromie Whalen, at right.

Berkshire Health Systems told regulators it can’t afford a full investigation of decade-long data breach

Even as it acknowledged a decade of improper access to patient data by a “rogue employee,” the largest employer in Berkshire County—and provider of health care to most residents—claimed a full audit would be an “undue burden.”

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Aug 2025

Berkshire Health Systems told regulators it can’t afford a full investigation of decade-long data breach

THE ARGUS EYE: Unexplained delays continue to hold up PCB cancer study

The state’s Department of Public Health has again pushed off release of a Housatonic Region cancer study it began in 2021.

By Bill Shein

/ 9 Aug 2025

THE ARGUS EYE: Unexplained delays continue to hold up PCB cancer study

The Uncertainty Machine: A Story of PCBs, Cancer, and Doubt

Concerned about PCB exposure and cancer, in January 2021, members of the Pittsfield City Council asked the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for an updated cancer-incidence study. After more than four years, they're still waiting. But when results are finally released, will they even matter?

By Bill Shein

/ 18 Jun 2025

The Uncertainty Machine: A Story of PCBs, Cancer, and Doubt

Argus acquired for $1 billion in stunning all-cash deal

From scrappy little newsletter producing in-depth journalism to something ... different.

By Bill Shein

/ 1 Apr 2025

Argus acquired for $1 billion in stunning all-cash deal

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’

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

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