The Rogovoy Report 1.29.24

From around the corner to around the globe...

Jan 28, 2024

The Suburbs Have Become a Ponzi Scheme

(The Atlantic) - The racial and economic fissures in our cities have gotten much attention, but less has been written about how these same fault lines have manifested themselves in the suburbs. This is surprising because the suburbs serve as such a deeply powerful symbol for American aspiration. A house. Good schools. Safe streets. Plentiful services. Consider that from 1950 to 2020, the populations of the nation’s suburbs grew from roughly 37 million to 170 million, which Benjamin Herold, author of “Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America’s Suburbs,” writes represents “one of the most sweeping reorganizations of people, space, and money in the country’s history.”

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Why not keep our highways humorous? It's not the quirky signage that's distracting drivers, by Donald Morrison (Berkshire Eagle)

Car industry seeks to crush AM radio; Congress may rescue it (WSJ)

Trump’s White House clinic handed out narcotics like candy (WaPo)

BSO president and CEO Chad Smith (left) and BSO music director Andris Nelsons (photo Suzanne Kreiter/courtesy Boston Globe)

Andris Nelsons Signs Evergreen, ‘Rolling’ Contract with BSO; Will Expand His Role at Tanglewood

(Boston Globe) LENOX, Mass. - Andris Nelsons says he is doubling down on Boston and has signed an evergreen, “rolling” contract that will extend his tenure with the symphony indefinitely. He will also expand his responsibilities at Tanglewood, where he has been named head of conducting. Nelsons, who’s now in his 10th season as music director at the BSO, last signed a contract in 2020. That contract, which had its own evergreen clause, extends through the 2024-25 season. He described his new rolling arrangement with the orchestra as “long term,” adding that he intends to stay “as long as we enjoy making music together and the audience isn’t [saying] it’s enough.”

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Theater, comedy, and music slated for the Foundry’s winter-spring season (The Rogovoy Report)

10 Berkshire gallery shows that can help you kick the winter blues (B Eagle)

Photographer recounts ‘taking a ride outside my comfort zone at MASS MoCA’ (Berkshire Eagle)

Dolly Parton joins forces with Phoenicia author Holly George-Warren in book ‘Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones’ (Daily Freeman)

’Hudson, America’ documentary now on streaming platforms (Chronogram)

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NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

Sketch of the historical building by Mike Zippel, winner of the 2023 Dewey Hall Drawing Contest (image courtesy Dewey Hall)

Dewey Hall: A ‘Friendly Union’ with a Lasting Mission

(Berkshire Edge) SHEFFIELD, Mass. - Since its founding by Orville Dewey as the Sheffield Friendly Union Library Association back in the 1850s, Dewey Hall’s mission has been “to strengthen the health of the community by convening and connecting Berkshire County neighbors.” Nearly 175 years later, it remains committed to that goal, “fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and creative community by providing a diverse range of arts and humanities programming, cultural and educational events, and community gatherings” (as its website proclaims). At a time when people are growing more polarized by politics, economics, age, and creed, Dewey Hall continues to serve as the heart of the community, inviting people of all backgrounds to come in and connect with each other.

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EPA calls GE’s Housatonic River cleanup transportation plan ‘inadequate’ after public outcry against trucking toxic waste through local roads and communities (Berkshire Edge)

Former MASS MoCA union member says museum fired him over sounding the alarm about improper asbestos disposal (WAMC)

School Committee approves resolution concerning school district-police relations, sends letter of concern to GB police department over ‘Gender Queer’ investigation (B Edge)

GLAD, ACLU explain legal issues with Great Barrington Police intervention into middle school over “Gender Queer” (WAMC)

Stockbridge-Munsee community encouraged by changes in federal repatriation rules (NEPM)

50 years after urban renewal leveled parts of Pittsfield’s West Side, student architects are imagining how the land can have ‘purpose’ again (B Eagle)

First-ever drag-themed bed & brunch in Berkshire County to open in Pittsfield (B Edge)

Farmer raising Nigerian dwarf goats in Housatonic (RI)

Waubeeka Golf Links in Williamstown purchased by Kapiloff’s Glass owner. Course was his backyard while growing up in house adjacent to greens (B Edge)

North Adams Walgreens to close next month (iBerkshires)

Damage from a burst pipe will keep Kripalu closed until mid-February (B Eagle)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

A truck driver is seen locking the gate to Colarusso’s property directly south of Henry Hudson Waterfront Park on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in Hudson. (photo Lori Van Buren/courtesy ATU)

City of Hudson Sued Over Approval of Industrial Road to Waterfront

(ATU) HUDSON, N.Y. - A local coalition filed a lawsuit last week against Hudson’s Planning Board for approving an industrial haul road leading from a gravel quarry to the city’s waterfront. In December, the Planning Board voted 5-1 in favor of granting A. Colarusso and Sons a conditional use permit to expand a haul road it owns. The lawsuit challenging that approval was filed by a small band of opponents who have established three informal groups mostly focused on the haul road issue. They claim the Planning Board contravened or overlooked various aspects of local law in its decision, including never determining if approving the expansion was in line with the city’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan.

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Main road to Hudson could flood daily in future (ATU)

Citizens and Hudson city officials alike are aghast at county's plans for large Warren Street complex (GoR)

Plans presented for county office space on Warren Street in Hudson disappoint many in community (HV360)

Hochul proposes adjustments to school aid formula, Hudson district could see $2.9 million cut (HV360)

Want to glamp at the Woodstock festival site? Now you can (ATU)

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