Saturday, July 02, 2011

Three open "visioning" sessions to chart Berkshire County's future

This is a news release from the Berkshire County Regional Planning Commission.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) announced on Thursday the initiation of development of "Sustainable Berkshires: Community Strategies for a Sustainable Future." Development of the plan is funded by a Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant, a highly competitive new federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

DOWNLOAD ONE-PAGE FLYER

Given the broad scope of Sustainable Berkshires, both in content and geographic area, the efforts will take place over three years and will replace the existing regional plan, adopted ten years ago.

The Sustainable Berkshires plan will be developed with significant community participation, including public workshops, focused topic forums and a public website providing access to information.
The first round of workshops will focus on highlighting key trends and crafting a vision for the future. The visioning workshop will be held three times - in northern, central and southern locations . for ease of attendance. The public is encouraged to participate in any of these visioning sessions:
  • Wed., July 6 at the All Saints Church in North Adams, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
  • Tues., July 12 at the Berkshire Athenaeum Auditorium in Pittsfield, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and
  • Tues., July 13 at the Fire Station in Great Barrington, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
In addition to traditional planning topics such as economic development, transportation, and land use, the plan will pay particular attention to new topics such as non-traditional economic activities, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change adaptation measures, energy conservation and renewable energy generation, community health and wellness, social equity and justice, and food security.

The plan will identify a number of short- and long-term actions and priorities in each work area.Implementation will be stressed and encouraged both during and after the planning process. As opportunities for immediate implementation are identified during the three year planning process, they will be advanced to encourage new partnerships and investment into the region.

A unique feature of the grant is that it carries with it a "preferred sustainability status" designation which provides bonus points to compatible applications from the region to select federal agencies.
Once the planning grant is completed, the region will also be eligible for implementation grants through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which is comprised of Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, and Environmental Protection Agency.Prior to the launch of the project website, information can be found at www.berkshireplanning.org.
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Contact BRPC for additional information on this project or the upcoming visioning sessions at (413)442-1521.
Nathaniel Karns, Executive Director (x26)
Amy Kacala, Senior Planner, Project Manager (x12)

Summer at the Northshire Bookstore -- events listed

THIS IS A NEWS RELEASE from the Northshire Bookstore, sent as
email, authored by Chris Morrow, proprietor. It's sort of advertorial, but
we post without compensation but merely FYI.

Greetings,

For those of you who have been in the store in the last few weeks you have seen
the changes. After a couple of years of resisting, we have shrunk the music section
down significantly. We have added 4 new listening stations, but the
department as a whole is much smaller. There is no denying that theworld is downloading its music
these days. It is sad for many of us who still like to browse CDs, to be exposed
to new artists and to buy a physical product. But we simply can no longer afford
to devote the space to CDs.

We moved the cards and stationery up to where music and DVDs were and have opened
up the lower floor and moved many of the book sections around to accommodate the
new space. Part of what we are trying to accomplish is to emphasize the Vermont
and Sustainability sections more. We will be tweaking things as the summer progresses,
but I think you will like the new openness and flow of the store. Please come check
it out and let me know your thoughts.

On the events side of things, I want to be sure you know about our Conversation
on Climate Change happening on July 30th. While mitigating the impacts of climate
change is still essential, we are hosting two authors who look at how we will have
to adapt to a world with different climate dynamics. Amy Seidl ecologist, writer,
and teacher and the host of Emerging Science [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppJWa_QZ4ATx3vu_mEeMiDKJaBG2KtHCn7TlzceX5L9TLRV-iewtLYFqExG0_ePuJx86no2_M-ABtb5A1TJWA_5285SPmrK9uXv_bDPZ9WiSPlhMTJHFuONmuAn44nFWqdjNXWNXOColAaAoKvRmgAc8]
on Vermont Public Television will discuss her great new book, Finding Higher Ground:
Adaptation in the Age of Warming [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppLi64HUJpduo3dZxw4NJbKg0m9NJRZJDQdLvDYk5VtH38CP4AAdFxP971Ut9QfBdhNwt1vAkODfrtU1uwjTeo20G6xuLtFHhaxMMnRi-qJKRX0mT5LYSyA-ABQvoQMhTzDZJH5psKmgnPapZQv0hxAueF2XklOEhUk=].
Amy will be joined by paleo-climatologist Curt Stager with his book Deep Future,
The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppKmFWLrLDOV9u8-cLY2dAFjQetpAWAH_kZJWGPhpPvmyVw3KOE8vgq29cqMgaTgCp0wIztBhS49xtiyL6tlQvnI7S-lsktvqHQXbMqNZx76UUOEdxPPmZZA-d9KFKr5YEsqI8RdQJTdwwwOi9p9fgme6vixDInU2Bk=].
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppKmFWLrLDOV9u8-cLY2dAFjQetpAWAH_kZJWGPhpPvmyVw3KOE8vgq29cqMgaTgCp0wIztBhS49xtiyL6tlQvnI7S-lsktvqHQXbMqNZx76UUOEdxPPmZZA-d9KFKr5YEsqI8RdQJTdwwwOi9p9fgme6vixDInU2Bk=]
Please join us!

Enjoy your Summer,

Chris

cmorrow@northshire.com
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Featured Events in July
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Fiction lovers will not be disappointed with our July Author Event Series! What
better way to kick July off than with VPR commentator Deborah Luskin on Friday,
July 8th at 5:30 PM and her novel Into the Wilderness [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppIakwgzTpnH6Ii9QixsLZmx881ihcFqkCgJcdL9Sg77kH2AexHMOQ9XJwXayohW731MgAoFJokTkg4E6TyUfeeIa7nFeIMsDXsJSf6ybJZNoGpbczpGyLxZErwErFxu6AR-fAjtsJ4obC0exEchd3vw11n3Hv0-llQ=].

In 1964, Rose Mayer buries her second husband and wonders what she's going to do
with the rest of her life. Reluctantly, she visits her son at his summer place
in Vermont, where there are neither sidewalks, Democrats nor other Jews. There
is, however, the Marlboro Music Festival. It's there that she meets Percy Mendell,
a born and bred Vermonter who has never married, never voted for a Democrat, and
never left the state. Come find out why Into the Wildernes [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppIakwgzTpnH6Ii9QixsLZmx881ihcFqkCgJcdL9Sg77kH2AexHMOQ9XJwXayohW731MgAoFJokTkg4E6TyUfeeIa7nFeIMsDXsJSf6ybJZNoGpbczpGyLxZErwErFxu6AR-fAjtsJ4obC0exEchd3vw11n3Hv0-llQ=]s
was the winner of the Independent Publishers' Gold Medal for Regional Fiction.

Saturday, July 9th at 7 pm

We made sure to schedule this when bookseller Karen was not on vacation! One of
her favorite writers, Roland Merullo, acclaimed author of twelve previous books,
including Breakfast with Buddha [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppKErZfXupTPqP-0hoPMxZmVUj40m-MgWgKT4NvFfmmMOTUC6YV8J_NmQqpW4Y5iOFSM60AB32-ednKqvs0bhX7lTmz6wm2dvaZTVyTQ3syvwo3yEGw8_DevfBNmm-3XKrCAK5azCyTYn3OHHp_eC3SIZBHlYXEFmVM=],
(in June we sold our 1000th copy) will be here to present his new novel The Talk
Funny Girl. [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppLnmjjKXDX1UCdos-JZmzTvUnYqN03O-qS2tWCbyteZDgxWeVJ-N_QBmHCcI3qXTSfRoTYHjwbJU1TZx6lS3XG5NJ_t2qU6LC4yp_40HRdqSzPKS_htSOuj3InQJltAfM6sCo9fL-N8CSfzAJpnY5bLbObRLE9qvOQ=]
"Language, both spoken and silent, is at the core of this amazing story about a
young girl trying to find a way through the maze of pain and ignorance that defines
her childhood. Set along the Vermont/New Hampshire border, the novel raises questions
about nature versus nurture and the definition of a personal God, while sweeping
the helpless reader into the lives of these characters. I could not stop reading
it" - Karen Frank

Bookseller Emilia (who is, unfortunately for us, leaving to teach in Spain, we
are going to miss her) has this to say about Simon Van Booy's new novelEverything
Beautiful Began After [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppITWd477kwt21QVoG0LK7vSWPbDBCD8GVtypNgtNPnwnRUev-NSb1vG0RiW3jtYDkQLRnOUepQi8Hny1kTn_msTJIwXKGEcJkjTmXMCU9bPd1j6v7aKuPMbUuKhokSHyn0t3QSpLOq0nms0Kdo5GbT04Lf3AE9zZtM=];
"Lyrical prose. Rich slices of

intimate narrative.

Astonishing, original metaphor. If Raymond Chandler

swapped gin for chamomile tea and devoted himself to stories of love, he might
have written this splendid debut. The romantic novel just got fresh literary
legs." Emilia promises to return with the Spanish translation of Everything Beautiful
Began After [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppITWd477kwt21QVoG0LK7vSWPbDBCD8GVtypNgtNPnwnRUev-NSb1vG0RiW3jtYDkQLRnOUepQi8Hny1kTn_msTJIwXKGEcJkjTmXMCU9bPd1j6v7aKuPMbUuKhokSHyn0t3QSpLOq0nms0Kdo5GbT04Lf3AE9zZtM=],
but Simon will present in English on Thursday, July 21 at 7 pm.

Friday, July 29th at 7 pm. The buzz for Alice LaPlante's debut novel, Turn of Mind
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppIX1kBHo0VQnSChjs0iVf-bHlT4RJcZuJ6AXYIqjL3lvPz9Cv65mSGwzrgW_J1483bEdVCAneTC8C5X9HX7d72s7njhDvRTrCyPaD26hHBZF5MBRhDD4Co-ZJE6yoYKsRkYuS7KZ1uZnCPi5_WLeMG81Al-WhdBl50=],
has been growing for months and is aJuly Staff Pick Feature [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppLml1n6A9D8gVUwXgynraHLCBSPLuTTRn4kcSWY6djNY5qLfFRB9LYM-u4IkLLaCPQRBT6KXoR1BK6IJMyB0q3geXgbs6nF9DzkWnC2atYZjsIyFxZw3vXPBQ3XlH69q8oVXY2Z58eVCg==].
Many of us have read Turn of Mind [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppIX1kBHo0VQnSChjs0iVf-bHlT4RJcZuJ6AXYIqjL3lvPz9Cv65mSGwzrgW_J1483bEdVCAneTC8C5X9HX7d72s7njhDvRTrCyPaD26hHBZF5MBRhDD4Co-ZJE6yoYKsRkYuS7KZ1uZnCPi5_WLeMG81Al-WhdBl50=]
and are eager to spread the word about this stunning, beautifully crafted novel
Ann Packer describes as "An electrifying book, impossible to put down. Gripping,
thought-provoking, humane, funny, tragic, it is masterfully done, a tour de
force that can't be a first novel-and yet it is. I'll read whatever LaPlante
writes next, and the sooner the better." Come find out why you need to add this
book to your library.

Rounding out our July schedule - Every summer Manchester welcomes the Vermont Summer
Festival Horse Shows [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppKPcOR8u4EvGMxRVQ2p5VFYPxDKAsqoWuYcCNJPYLvPK6IFZYhH5SYa23E-pQz4EBK09PGLEPeh7vIHS2RbOozZUio19U1_Y8xgVGISmbYqbUWs5B6pjsrI]
for 6 weeks of top equestrian competition. With that in mind we are pleased to welcome
Hollie McNeil as she presents 40 Fundamentals of English Riding [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppKVjcajamlk-y4SqSITspS9PcTBK8zmu5mecXrXIqMKuDXJY0NK-DxbiGvbwvvwAPB75cfgEcZVZbYiNYXkHZbtC2wmGSlk6nLAfSfPBIHigk35WvwHMjPXMXy4tEEaa55BIhuxufe0heFfzVm3k0yE1YUJSv54FcY=].
A unique book and DVD combination that provides a systematic presentation of
all 40 elements needed for all English riders, including those interested in dressage,
jumping, and eventing. With detailed text, full-color photography, and expert
video produced by Hollie's husband, Mike McNeil (a film producer who as worked
on such major motion pictures as The Lord of the Rings), readers will find a comprehensive
guide to learning the fundamentals of horsemanship. Join us Sunday, July 24th at
6 pm.

There is a lot more going on at the Northshire this month, click here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppJrRIS6pES-kF8hP45AnVEXmaUeYjs6L5l7jjbZn_hOQwkGbCdWxiVZP7d-M2VT4QkFSbLuSaJkizFPYNx8_BRuSxcCSnPgZ515wCG4QKamrOHHosratCp5]
to see what else is happening. We look forward to seeing you!
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Crafty Tuesdays
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Come join Northshire Bookstore and Downtown Bookworks for FREE hands-on projects
for kids every Tuesday in July from 11:30-1. Projects are perfect for kids 5 and
up.We'll be emphasizing Earth-friendly activities and will ask you to bring something
from your yard, or from the recycling bin as the basis for a craft project each
week. We will always have extra supplies, so don't sweat it if you can't find something.

July 5th: The Lonely Sock Club [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppKJJDXR6TQNfu9ICZZ38bNvtME30VUIrZSGjOIrpTnZKIeVsI-aujSTYn7MQGTY_vQ5ASSBdJFMOWJDg9e21uVczcRfUYSZ-YPiqe1MUYyLS5T06MH4C81MAtYcv3OgQAZTYXpm1W66hNvkeWlejxlNH3soVhGgd2I=]:
Sock Softies or Colorful Vases
Grab your bag of unmatched socks and throw in any torn ones. We'll transform them
into adorable critters or beautiful vases - whichever you like.

BRING: as many single or torn socks as you have (the more colorful, the better),
a clean, empty pasta jar or canister or plastic water bottle (if you want to make
a vase)

July 12th:Butterfly Treats and Hummingbird Sweets [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppLjYxudBRgtQqjynvnpdJnmR0hZF7ojbPMHQKg5NhxSkPQ9A1f7lcDKBYzHo4TsLXXUB_8M2OvbRyuht-x-9RDf-YOQt_IaYpTdzU8T2-pcvj4LoCZpNyHRzXJ8xUE5GbYFdKdQ_aEcgbTHFOR1EHPFnk9XvGiLLO4=]

Build a Butterfly House! Butterflies don't like rain. We will build a safe retreat
for them - and stock it with butterfly treats. Then you can take your butterfly
house home with you,hang it on a tree, and enjoy the butterflies that flock to your
yard.

BRING: an empty, clear, plastic soda bottle, a mesh fruit or vegetable sack (the
kind produce is sold in - it can be torn),a few twigs, any over-ripe fruit.

July 19th: Boy Made [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppLT_zC4G3Ic8_4cBJuJz1RT0PvvFznXciiTctMiLXld-0uamXRwOKfZQfowCOXztMH1oMnXTSnv9TrspnGrKw3OGimF52Z9C6z2Iw5n74kvwJxTG9UG109rKu9q8iE7KNubnkTrzDWcbWu2U_Dv8czivYhQ7jsUWnU=]
and Fairy Crafts [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppJrR026Shyq8Z8No1AaGdF8CYXmZzM-ucLaDFh3EEFiJg7oePNaKUi22JC6Feg88xeMi5mFBveUii4Gi4l-NB7cqjzi_SgEUmTSaKbKezOAiRMoqtZ6VXhgXT2VQHf6WjYo9RTbjllZVBDSQn-qDmg7dVMdOknEfBY=]:
Spectacular Sticks and Stones

Collect a bunch of twigs and small branches, pebbles, pine cones, acorns, and anything
else that strikes your fancy. We'll make fairy wands, cool signs, and sparkly things
for you to put in your fairy garden.

BRING: sticks, pine cones, acorns, and pebbles, cardboard or wood scraps (to be
repurposed into a sign)

July 26th: We celebrate a month of fun with a "Do It Myself" Ice Cream Party [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wl8mnwbab&et=1105909747310&s=6296&e=001EEl5KeJwppIxe7Q2ryTD6xfI_mQjBNhJOo6l67M2pdKhdoZtv24Kk4KKuZ8ZCSQVy2SGGnYGG3OkTnwVWCiwPKoGaxgRBdFbz0KSKjEVX54_pCXadAgxnjyG6rXxRY4iJRBNtoopnA0BDstvzxZN5B6LtX3pTln2t3DWbBEemtc=]
(all you need to bring is your appetite!)

Reserve a spot. RSVP to events@northshire.com

For more information or questions. Please email: events@northshire.com
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