Great Barrington Awarded Microtransit and Last-Mile Transit Grant

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — MassDOT awarded the town $600,000 to continue their microtransit program serving Southern Berkshire County. 
 
The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced nine awards totaling $10 million through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Microtransit and Last-Mile Transit Grant Program. 
 
The funding will support Regional Transit Authorities, municipalities, and a Regional Planning Agency in expanding flexible, technology-enabled transit options that improve access to jobs, housing, education and essential services across Massachusetts.  
 
"Through MassDOT's new Microtransit and Last Mile Transit Grant Program, MassDOT is empowering municipalities, RTAs and Regional Planning Agencies to deliver innovative transportation solutions that focus on connectivity between transit hubs and destinations. These programs will connect riders to the jobs, housing, education and destinations they depend on, while improving quality of life across the Commonwealth," said Interim MassDOT Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phil?Eng. "Thank you to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their leadership in supporting these investments and to the Legislature for their continued commitment to expanding transportation options for all Massachusetts residents."
 
The grants will support projects that use microtransit, on-demand shared-ride services, and last-mile connections that link riders to transit hubs and key destinations. Award recipients will use the funding to expand rural access, improve mobility for people who lack transit options, and support communities advancing sustainable housing and transportation planning. Three awards will fund regional bikeshare initiatives that strengthen first and last mile connections, while six awards support microtransit services.  
 
This is a new grant program made possible by $10 million in Fair Share funding through the FY25 Supplemental budget. This round was competitive, and additional applications will be funded through the Community Transit Grant Program operating and mobility management funding, with award announcements forthcoming.  

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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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