Applause for Eagles Band performance

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To the editor: On Sunday, my husband and I attended a concert by the Eagles Band at the First United Meth-odist Church in Pittsfield.

Once again, along with many others, we enjoyed the sound of local musicians who obviously enjoy being part of a community band.

For a couple of hours, we were able to relax, forget about politics and gun violence, and lose ourselves in the warmth of joyfully played music conducted by guest conductor Dr. Karen LaVoie, then Principal Conductor Carl Jenkins, and lastly, by Associate Conductor Dr. James Stakenas.

How privileged we were to sit in a local venue surrounded by a happy audience and enjoy a couple of marches, several familiar pieces and a couple of pieces new to us.

We look forward to the next Eagles Band concert as well as the local choral presentations by several choruses in the area. We are blessed here in the Berkshires.

Laurel Caluori, Lee

Support Massachusetts single-payer health care legislation

To the editor: Several recent letters to the editor left readers with the impression that state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, does not truly support the Medicare for All legislation (H.1239/S.744) that was reintroduced in January.

This characterization of her position is wholly unwarranted. The fact is that Rep. Farley-Bouvier co-sponsored the bill this session as she did last session. By doing so, she has allied herself with the statewide coalition - known as "Mass-Care," or Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer Health Care - comprising 80 civic groups and unions, including the Massachusetts Nurses Association and the Massachusetts Teachers Association. Its aim is to establish a system of single- payer health care in the commonwealth.

The current for-profit health care industry is not working to keep our nation in good health, and its sky-high costs are unsustainable. Under the current system, many people - especially those in low-income communities- cannot afford and must forgo or delay the care they need. Annually, nearly 45,000 people in our nation die as a result of a lack of health insurance.

A system of comprehensive universal health care as proposed by the Mass-Care legislation is a critical first step on the road to making health care a right in our country.

The legislation would guarantee quality coverage for all medically necessary care, with no financial barriers, as the right of every resident for life. It would include hearing, vision, dental and mental health. Care would be free at the point of service. And with no more networks that limit choice, people could continue to see their current providers or choose new ones. This legislation would reduce health care costs for just about everyone, while providing benefits that cover all health care needs.

It is these features that generated overwhelming support last November for Ballot Question 5 in Pittsfield, where 75 percent of the votes favored Medicare for All. In a January meeting, Rep. Farley-Bouvier provided insights about the legislative process to a group of us "yes" voters. We concluded that changing the health care model will require the advocacy of our entire state community, including individuals, business owners and other employers, municipalities and health care providers.

Medicare for All will only become law with a massive grassroots effort behind it. Please join the campaign and become part of the solution to our health care crisis by volunteering with Mass-Care at masscare.org.

Frank Farkas, Pittsfield Louise Farkas, Pittsfield Jeffrey Leppo, Pittsfield Sheila Irvin, Pittsfield

I thought North Adams official's reaction to sewage spill stunk

To the editor: I was shocked to read that North Adams Commissioner of Public Services Tim Lescarbeau thought the 10,000-gallon sewage spill into the Hoosic River was not "a big deal … nothing new to the city or the world." ("A sewer pipe collapsed in North Adams, sending more than 10,000 gallons of sewage into the Hoosic River," Eagle, Tuesday.)

If he truly believes this, perhaps it is time for a change in leadership over public services. The Hoosic River is an important regional waterway. Individuals and nonprofits are working hard to conserve and restore habitat of the river and its watershed.

We need leaders who understand that their job is the wellbeing of the community.

Leslie Gura, Williamstown

Dalton makes progress in going green

To the editor: In June 2022, the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued its report of a clean energy plan for 2025 and 2030.

The report includes how to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions in the areas of building, transportation and electric power. The report projects that by 2030 Massachusetts will require 75,000 electric vehicle charging stations to support 900,000 EVs. By 2035, it will be a violation for car dealerships in Massachusetts to sell vehicles which are nonelectric.

In January, the Department of Public Utilities approved $400 million (on a first-come, first-served basis) to municipalities, workplaces, residences and fleets for the build out of EV charging stations. Make-ready is the utility side of the build out program where electricity is brought to the EV charging station. Electric vehicle supply equipment is the other half of the EV charging station and includes the hardware, software and operation/ maintenance of the EV charger.

Dalton is an environmental justice community given that its median income is below our state's median income. Consequently, it is entitled to 100 percent coverage of make-ready costs and a rebate of up to 100 percent for electric vehicle supply equipment. All such public charging stations must be publicly accessible 24/7 and be Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant.

The Dalton Select Board authorized and the voters approved money for the buildout of two EV charging stations. Massachusetts' decarbonization subsidies coupled with Dalton's commitment to the buildout of two EV charging stations is a step toward ensuring that the Berkshires remain beautiful while providing for the real needs of our citizenry. Antonio P. Pagliarulo, Dalton The writer is a member of the Green Dalton Committee.

Is this really the spirit of North Adams?

To the editor: My state representative thinks that it is "great news" for North Adams and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts that President James Birge decided not to move forward with the governor's request to temporarily use an empty dormitory as a family homeless shelter. ("MCLA will not move forward with plan to put a homeless shelter on campus," Eagle, Wednesday.)

That is the reaction I would expect from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, not a supposedly liberal Democrat from a very blue section of the bluest state.

What Barrett is celebrating as "great news" is the acknowledgement that North Adams is too poor, too under-resourced, too unwilling and too afraid to help 50 to 75 homeless families with school-age children and pregnant women. This might be true. I assume it's the reason MCLA chose, understandably, not to proceed. But it's the exact opposite of anything good, let alone great.

Regardless of the shelter, the xenophobic, anti-homeless, circle-the-wagons rhetoric of the past two months has me wondering if North Adams is really the town I thought I lived in for the past 20 years. However, it does give me insight as to why my fellow residents continue to reinforce the self-defeating stereotypes that keep our city, our schools and our tax base among the weakest in the state.

I'd like to think we are not the city that's been on display since the proposal became public. I fear we are.

Greg Roach, North Adams

US has too many bridges to nowhere

To the editor: As the number of bridges in Berkshire County devolve into one-way traffic patterns, I cannot help but ponder how quickly the bridges would be fixed if military personnel carriers and tanks had to cross them.

Civilians be damned.

William Swindlehurst, Lee