New England News

By Dan Bobkoff

AMHERST, MA – While avian flu and mad cow disease continue to capture attention, there are dozens of other ailments that affect the animals in the food supply. Now the University of Massachusetts Amherst is spearheading a new effort to combat many of these diseases.

WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Dan Bobkoff reports from UMASS's Hadley Farm.

By Pat Bradley

St. Albans, VT – A group of farmers in northwestern Vermont has started an alliance to make sure legislators in Montpelier understand their concerns over pollution regulations. The group also wants to educate the public that it's everyone, and not just the agricultural industry, that's contributing to pollution run-off into Lake Champlain. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Carrie Saldo

Great Barrington, MA – The First annual Berkshire International Film Festival is gearing up to hit Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Our Berkshire Bureau Chief, Carrie Saldo spoke with the Berkshire County native Mike Haley who will be honored when the festival kicks off in May.

By Carrie Saldo

Lenox, MA – Plans for the restoration and re-use of a former Berkshire Cottage - as the county's great Gilded Ages estates were called - were unveiled in Lenox, Massachusetts Thursday night.

By Pat Bradley

Montpelier, VT – Vermont Governor James Douglas says the state faces a dilemma regarding illegal immigrants on its dairy farms. It has been a low priority for Vermont law enforcement to check for undocumented immigrants and refer them to federal authorities, but the feds may be cracking down. The Governor's comments highlight what the Farm Bureau notes has been a long known problem - a labor shortage on the state's dairy farms. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Carrie Saldo

Lenox, MA – The decision process on a three-story, 92-room hotel project proposed in the Berkshires has been delayed.

By Carrie Saldo

North Adams, MA – The state's longest serving mayor said he isn't surprised that Massachusetts Attorney General and potential Democratic candidate for governor Thomas Reilly has decided to go without a running mate. Reilly's choice, State Representative Marie St. Fleur, withdrew from the contest late yesterday because of her financial problems disclosed by news media yesterday. Details from WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief, Carrie Saldo;

By Pat Bradley

Essex Junction, VT – Some Vermont schools are trying to save money by turning down the heat, in some cases dropping the thermostat to 65 degrees. But they've had to turn the temperatures back up after finding they've run afoul of regulations setting a minimum temperature. WAMC's North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.

By Carrie Saldo

Great Barrington, MA – During his State of the Union speech Tuesday night President Bush outlined initiatives for health care, education, improving fuel efficiency and decreasing this country's dependence on foreign oil. Carrie Saldo has reaction from state and federal law makers.

By Carrie Saldo

Great Barrington, MA – Over the past two decades, average incomes among the highest earning families in Massachusetts have grown almost five times as fast as those for low income families, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. As our Berkshire Bureau Chief, Carrie Saldo reports, while there have been similar trends across the country, the gap between upper- and lower-income families has grown more in Massachusetts than in forty seven other states.

By Carrie Saldo

Pittsfield, MA – A Louisiana family has relocated to Pittsfield, Massachusetts to be with friends and family and to figure out where to call home in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

By Kelly Wilkinson

North Adams, MA – In the face of mostly bad news about school funding cuts, state charter schools heard some good news yesterday when US education officials awarded a $6 million dollar grant. It could affect a controversial Berkshires school set to open next year, as WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief Kelly Wilkinson reports.

By Arlen Cellana

North Adams, MA – Plans for the new Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School are moving forward in anticipation of its opening in September 2004. Berkshire Bureau Chief Arlen Cellana sat down with some of the school's board members to find out where they are in the planning stages.