Attorney Jeffrey T. Collins Appointed to State Ethics Commission

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BOSTON — Jeffrey T. Collins, a partner at Boston-based law firm Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP, has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to the State Ethics Commission. Commissioner Collins succeeds former Commission member Wilbur P. Edwards Jr.
 
Prior to joining Morgan, Brown & Joy, Commissioner Collins worked for 18 years at the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts, where he was an Assistant Attorney General and served as Deputy Chief of the Government Bureau's Trial Division. Before joining the Attorney General's Office, he was Legal Counsel and Senior Policy Analyst for the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. Commissioner Collins served for two decades as an intelligence analyst and officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and is a veteran of the Iraq War.
 
Commissioner Collins earned a B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. degree from University of New Hampshire School of Law. He teaches at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, has served as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School, and has taught at the National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute.
 
The State Ethics Commission is a non-partisan, independent state agency which administers, provides advice and training concerning, and civilly enforces the conflict of interest and financial disclosure laws. There are five Commissioners: three, including the Commission Chair, are appointed by the Governor, one is appointed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and one is appointed by the Attorney General. No more than two of the Commissioners appointed by the Governor, and no more than three Commissioners overall, may be from the same political party.
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Pittsfield Celebrates Arbor Day at Taconic

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Mayor Peter Marchetti presented the framed original cover art for the day's program. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Generations of Taconic students will pass the tree planted on Arbor Day 2026 as they enter school. 

Pittsfield's decades-long annual celebration was held at a city school for the first time. Different vocational trades at Taconic High School worked together to plant the Amelanchier, or flowering serviceberry, mark it with a plaque, record the ceremony, create artwork for the program's cover, and feed guests. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said the students' participation reflects the spirit of Arbor Day perfectly: learning by doing, serving the community, and helping Pittsfield grow greener for generations to come.

"It's not unknown that trees help shade our homes, help clean our air and water, they support wildlife, and make our neighborhoods and public spaces more beautiful and resilient," he said. 

"And Arbor Day is our chance annually to honor that gift and to remember that when we plant something today, we are investing in the future of our green world."

The holiday was established 154 years ago by J. Sterling Morton and was first observed in Nebraska with the planting of more than a million trees.

CTE environmental science and technology teacher Morgan Lindemayer-Finck detailed the many skilled students who worked on the event: the sign commemorating this Arbor Day was made by the carpentry and advanced manufacturing program, specifically students Ronan MacDonald and Patrick Winn; the multimedia production program recorded the event, and the culinary department provided refreshments. 

The program's cover art was created by students Brigitte Quintana-Tenorio and Austin Sayers. The framed original was presented to Mayor Peter Marchetti. 

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