Press

After Berkshire Nursing Families identified that there were no Black doulas working in Berkshire County, Health New England made a $50,000 grant to Springfield Family Doulas to help train and support Black people in Berkshire County to become doulas and lactation counselors.

The W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy hires an executive director, elects emeritus and executive officers, and announces theme for 2024 season.

BOSTON — On January 15, 2024, during the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, Governor Maura Healey, in partnership with the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO), announced additional efforts to increase state contracts with diverse and small businesses by assessing and reopening contracts that can provide such opportunities. This effort also includes swearing in the state’s first Diverse and Small Business Advisory Board for the Supplier Diversity Office. 

Volunteers donated their time to various organizations in North County on Monday as part of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday.

The Rev. Mary Frances Curns of All Saints Berkshire Episcopal Church in North Adams was the recipient of the Peacemaker Award.

Andrew Ritter (pictured left) and Shivon Robinson of Williamstown sew fleece mittens at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ Church Street Center on Monday morning as part of the annual Day of Service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Gladys Allen Brigham Center in Pittsfield. The community center, along with Berkshire United Way and Greylock Federal Credit Union, accepted donations on Saturday for an MLK Day Community Clothing Drive, which will be held on Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Coloring books aren’t just for kids anymore. Most recently, coloring has been recognized as a helpful tool for those practicing good mental health. According to the Mayo Clinic, coloring is good for your health — it promotes mindfulness, relieves stress and helps us “embrace the imperfect.”

For Desiree Addy and her family, a jam-packed afternoon of sledding and snowball fights was about far more than enjoying the winter’s first real snow.

Pine Cobble School has appointed longtime educator Alana Harte as head of school as of Jan. 1,  according to a December announcement sent to the school community by its board of trustees.

Makai Shepardson paints Christmas ornaments in Colleen Quinn’s art class at Pittsfield High School. 

In a Pittsfield courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, a different kind of case was heard: a fictional one.

The attorneys, on either side, were middle schoolers.

For the second straight year, students at Reid Middle School participated in a proceeding through the Discovering Justice Mock Trial Program. The program provided volunteer attorneys to 34 middle schools across the commonwealth, accounting for more than 400 students statewide.

(Pictured left: Romelo Holley)

Devante Owens hold scripts while fully costumed in “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley” in 2021, a skill they’ll both bring to “Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley.”

Pittsfield, Massachusetts received over $40 million in federal relief through the American Rescue Plan Act President Biden signed into law in 2021. Its allotment from that windfall to the Berkshire Black Economic Council has led to a flourishing of the city’s Black businesses, which are filling vacant storefronts downtown and contributing to a culinary golden age for Pittsfield.

A new scholarship program from the state now gives back to students who plan to make a career caring for people in their communities. With the passage of the fiscal 2024 budget, Gov. Maura Healey and state legislators set aside $18 million to cover the costs nursing students at community colleges would normally take on in tuition fees, books and supply costs.

A portrait of Agrippa Hull (1759-1848), who was born free in Northampton and became the most prominent Black landowner in Stockbridge, has been borrowed by New York City’s American Folk Art Museum for its new exhibit, “Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North.”

Area veteran groups decided to recognize Bradley as Veteran of the Year during services following the city’s annual Veterans Day Parade. The honor was bestowed in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument just off South Street, as part of remembrances for those who gave their lives in service to their country. Bradley, who’s still recovering from a heart attack earlier this year, was lauded and given a standing ovation by his fellow veterans and onlookers.

WILLIAMSTOWN — A new work on Broadway had its start at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” — which follows a day in the life at a Harlem hair braiding shop — was commissioned by the festival in 2018, but was never staged in Williamstown before its world premiere on Broadway this fall.

NORTH ADAMS — McCann Technical School held a pinning ceremony Tuesday for 24 students who completed the school’s postsecondary practical nursing program.

Simon’s Rock presents activist and author Shanae Watkins as the Keynote speaker for the Symposium on Social Justice and Inclusion.

Former World Champion NBA player and coach Clifford Ray visited the Berkshires from Oct. 18-20 to discuss his book, “Big Clifford Ray Saves the Day.”

GREAT BARRINGTON — In what she described as “a miracle,” a postal worker and her family of five are the winners of a housing lottery that will allow them to purchase one of the few affordable homes in town.