Letter: Constitutional Crisis

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To the Editor:

In his inaugural speech, the president invoked America in the late 19th century when political corruption was rampant, Jim Crow laws were enacted, and disparities in income and wealth soared. Since then, the daily barrage of presidential edicts have ranged from absurdity, recklessness, vindictiveness and most concerning lawlessness. His words and actions have sown seeds of uncertainty, anxiety and fear. Presidential governance has become the politics of chaos in an attempt to grab power. MAGA/Republican legislators in the House and Senate feign their responsibilities. Blind loyalty to the president is their number one priority.

The Constitution is the law of the land, the bedrock of our democratic state. However imperfect, it aspires to secure, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans. Beggaring belief, we are currently witnessing a constitutional coup intent on circumventing the legislative and judicial branches. Laws, regulations, norms and protocols are being violated. Americans of all ilk, various organizations, Democratic legislators and the federal courts are attempting to check this presidential overreach.

Authoritarianism is defined as a political system which rejects democracy, the separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law. The most recent remarks by the president, vice president, the billionaire aide-de-camp, and his MAGA minions indicate an attempt to undermine our system of government. These actors mean to overrule judicial review by our federal courts and ultimately our Supreme Court.

What to do? At this time, our duty as citizens is to become informed and active. Millions of Americans are becoming aware of this constitutional crisis at hand. People are following, joining and contributing to pro-democracy organizations at the local, state, and national level. It is incumbent upon all Americans to raise our voices, protest and vote to ensure that this great experiment, American Democracy, survives.

Antonio Pagliarulo
Dalton, Mass. 

 

 

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State Housing Secretary Tours Downtown Pittsfield Developments

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state's new secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities on Monday saw how local developers are transforming historic buildings into downtown housing units. 

Secretary Juana Matias, appointed to the role in February, toured the former St. Joseph's High School on Maplewood Avenue and the near-complete Wright Building Block on North Street.   

Matias observed local leaders working collaboratively to dismantle bottlenecks in housing production, something she said the administration wants to see across all 351 municipalities.  

"This is a perfect model of the partnerships we want to see, and we love coming to the ground and seeing how people are leveraging public taxpayer dollars to help address the issue of our time, which is housing production," she said after the tours. 

Developer David Carver, of Scarafoni Associates & CT Management Group, is seeking support from the state Housing Development Incentive Program to transform St. Joe's into apartments, and Allegrone Companies has secured millions from the program towards the Wright Building renovation

They first visited the shuttered school that functioned as a shelter during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, greeted by broken windows and leaving with Carver's vision. 

The plan is to transform the school with good bones into 19 apartments, 20 percent designated affordable, and 30 percent of the building for commercial use.  Units are expected to cost between $1,700 and $1,900 per month; 14 one-bedroom units and five two-bedroom units are planned. 

The project team is in talks with the nearby Berkshire Family YMCA to expand their childcare activities to the building's lower level.  Residents and the daycare would use different entrances. 

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