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Berkshire Native Needs New Ending For Housatonic River Documentary

Josh Landes
/
WAMC
Aaron Kalischer-Coggins

For decades, corporate giant General Electric polluted the Housatonic River with chemicals from its Pittsfield, Massachusetts factory. A documentary filmmaker from Berkshire County was just finishing a movie about the ongoing saga of the river, the communities along it, and the activists battling for a voice in its future. When news broke on February 10th that a deal had been hammered out between GE and the towns adjacent to the river in Berkshire County, it sparked protest from locals opposed to the plan, which would create a new landfill in Lee. Now, Aaron Kalischer-Coggins says his documentary – “The River Guards” – will have a new ending.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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