SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Laura Orlando, Senior Scientist at Just Zero and an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health, will speak at the July Berkshire Green Drinks event on Wednesday, July 9.
This free hybrid event will take place online via Zoom and in person at Big Elm Brewing's Sheffield Taproom, 65 Silver St, Sheffield, MA.
The in-person social gathering will begin around 5:15 PM; the presentation and Zoom meeting will start at 6:00 PM.
According to a press relsase:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or "Forever Chemicals") are a dangerous class of chemicals that seem to be everywhere. They cause tremendous harm to human health in concentrations so low that scientists and regulators have concluded there is no safe level for them in our drinking water. Laura will be talking about where they are and are not, and how to keep them off the farm, out of the garden, and away from food and water. PFAS contamination is a big, nasty problem—with some surprisingly easy solutions.
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King and Confidantes Debate Hope and Change in 'American Five'
By Alan PetrucelliSpecial to iBerkshires
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Fiction and fact meld in the regional premiere of "The American Five," now playing at the Larry Vaber Stage of the Unicorn Theatre.
The play takes a fictionalized look at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his four closest confidants in the months leading up to the famed March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. The quintet, through differing opinions, animated arguments, constant threats of violence and a late-night meal featuring challah bread and wine, become a family as they prepare for the history-making march that galvanized the Civil Rights movement.
Most of us know the King saga. It's the second act in which playwright Chess Jakobs' genius shines. Prejudice runs rampant here: Is Stanley Levison, a Jewish lawyer from New York who shows up in Montgomery to join the fight for racial equality and "to repair the world," viewed as white? Jewish? Both? And march strategist and organizer Bayard Rustin experiences his own fight for civil rights because of his homosexuality. Here, Jakob explores prejudice on different levels.
The cast is top-notch with many emotional highs. As King, Rashun Carter (who would look more like his character if he had a full moustache) and Sydney Elisabeth (as Coretta Scott King) are at their best during a scene that bounces between humor and poignancy.
She questions her husband about his meeting with President John F. Kennedy; he is angry and refuses to discuss it. "There is no 'you' out there, without a 'me,' in here," she says, leading King to agree that because of her self-worth and unwavering devotion to him, she is "Coretta Scott Queen."
As Clarence Jones, King's personal counsel, Brett Diggs has assurance and dignity; Harry Smith's portrayal of lawyer Stanley Levison, is nothing short of extraordinary. Destan Owens' performance as gay Bayard Rustin is the play's most outstanding performance as he defends his relations with men: "You don't get to judge me!" he tells King. "I'm just trying to find love."
"The American Five" is tightly directed by Gerry McIntyre; the historic period projections and footage/designed by Alex Hill remind people that there are dreams, such as hope and change, that are still being fought.
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