Topic: Sex and Dating in the Berkshires.
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posted by G.M.Heller at Friday, March 25, 2005
Friday, March 25, 2005
About Me
- Name: G.M.Heller
- Location: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., United States
Hailed by Berkshire cognoscenti as that "crank on the grassy knoll".
Previous Posts
- Topic: Berkshire Sports.
- Topic: Wahconah Park
- Topic: Pittsfield's City Council.
- Topic: Pittsfield's Mayor
- Topic: Northern Berkshire County.
- Topic: Central Berkshire County.
- Topic: Southern Berkshire County.
- Topic: Politics -- National.
- Topic: Politics -- State.
- Topic: Politics -- Local.
6 Comments:
The thing that really bugs me about living here is that if I have a friend stay over, EVERYBODY seems to know about it the next day because they've seen a car, not mine, parked in the driveway or out front. It's gotten to the point now where I ask visitors to park a distance away. There's just no privacy otherwise.
RE: Berkshire County needs Women Politicians!
Dear Berkshire Bloggers, News Media, Politicians, and the People:
Berkshire County's politicians -- especially in Pittsfield and North Adams -- are NOT serving the needs of their local women and children residents. On the state and federal level, Berkshire County has ALL men politicians: President Bush 2, Sens. Kennedy & Kerry, Rep. Olver, State Sens. Rosenberg & Downing, and State Reps. Bosley, Pignatelli, Guyer & Speranzo. On the local level, most of the political positions -- especially in Pittsfield and North Adams -- are controlled by men politicians, too.
On the federal level, Berkshire County's delegates to Capitol Hill and The White House in Washington, D.C. MARGINALIZE the common citizen. As a former native, lifelong Berkshire County resident until I was over 28.5-years of age, I made it a point to always write my political concerns to the president, 2 U.S. Senators, and Congressman, and I was rarely, if ever, listened to because I am NOT part of the corporate elite that gives them money for power. Even Congressman John Olver responded to my many concerns with coldness, despite his Pittsfield district office helping me with my nearly 6-year old claim before the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, D.C. Although, everytime he came to the Berkshires, I would talk to him, and he probably became a little irritated with me for voicing so many of my concerns to him. BUT, that is the way it is supposed to be. Moreover, I remember one time waiving to John Kerry in the 1996 North Adams Fall Foliage Parade, wanting to shake his hand, and his response was to clench his fists and give me an arrogant look. Now, I realize that John Forbes Kerry was born into a trust fund larger than Bill Weld's $80 million, and his maternal ancestors included Massachusetts' first Governor, John Winthrop, but he certainly could have shaken my hand instead of mocking me and passing me by. In 2004, Sen. Kerry's aide, Mike Vito, made a put down against me when I talked to him in Pittsfield. Lastly, Sen. Kennedy only comes to the Berkshires for corporate elite business interests and also entertainment. NONE OF THE FEDERAL DELEGATES TO THE WHITE HOUSE & CAPITOL HILL CARE ABOUT THE COMMON INTERESTS IN BERKSHIRE COUNTY!
On the state level, all Berkshire County gets are mostly incompetent -- save one: Dan Bosley -- delegates to Beacon Hill's State House. Denis Guyer is beyond stupid! Ben Downing is a Good Old Boy! Smitty Pignatelli is a minion to the special interests! Chris Speranzo has potential, but won't buck the power brokers! I hope Chris Speranzo becomes the next Silvio O. Conte as John Olver's future successor to U.S. Congress. Western and Central Massachusetts could not do any better than Chris Speranzo. And, despite Dan Bosley's high level of intelligence, all he gives the Berkshires is state lottery tickets that redistribute the low-incomes of the "have nots" to the wealthy corporate elite or "haves." Bosley is the biggest disappointment because he could really change the system, but chooses to profit off of it instead. Moreover, Governor Deval Patrick is so unfocused on his +$4 billion in new spending initiatives, while the state faces a $1.3 billion FY08 state budget deficit (and an even larger forecasted liability gap in FY09), that he is not going to be able to even begin to restore the drastic state aid funding cuts from FY02-FY04 to municipal governments. NONE OF THE BERKSHIRE DELEGATES TO THE STATE HOUSE REALLY CARES ABOUT THE COMMON INTERESTS IN BERKSHIRE COUNTY!
On the local level, you have Mayor Jimmy Ruberto running the City of Pittsfield for the benefit of a very narrow community focused on the small-minded interests of the Good Old Boy Network. Ruberto equals special interests! Moreover, you have Mayor John Barrett III running the city of North Adams in a manner that mirrors a dictator controlling his subjects through intimidation, poverty and little opportunity to move up that social divisions or climb over the artificial but real wall of class and status. In short, Ruberto likes to see poor people buy state lottery tickets, and Barrett ensures the state's lottery, or inequitable business of regressive taxation, stays alive and well. Both Pittsfield and North Adams make many millions of dollars of pure profit from Berkshire County's myriad of social problems through their respective city's use of perverse incentives by complementing social service and education federally funded, state administered revenues to their municipal tax and other forms of revenue base. The perverse incentive is for a Mayor to complement social service and education funds to their tax base in order to keep their property tax and fee structural rates artificially lower than it should really be, thereby keeping themselves in office. Only a marginal amount of the millions of dollars Pittsfield and North Adams receives ever goes to solving the many social problems and other issues of social injustice there. Ruberto and Barrett administer municipal systems that have been labeled, "BANAL", by many different observers over the years. Pittsfield and North Adams are ran by men politicians who see social problems and other issues of social injustice as a perverse means to increase public revenues into their respective cities, thereby perversely incentivizing the never-ending cycles of poverty and social injustice. Because these men politicians choose to profit off of social injustice and social problems, their cities have become known as "BANAL" and no rational parents would ever subject their innocent children to such exploitation. Ergo, the long-term trend in population -- especially by middle class families -- has been to bolt from both Pittsfield and North Adams. That is also why BERKSHIRE COUNTY IS THE NUMBER ONE REGION IN THE COMMONWEALTH FOR JOB LOSSES!
The bottom line is, that while I am a man who chooses to always participate in politics, none of the political elite and politically connected federal, state and local men politicians, currently serving in political office, representing Berkshire County care about the common interests of Berkshire County. On every "federal" level of government, Berkshire County is only represented by men politicians, which compounds these social problems. The corporate elite is well served by the federal and state all men Berkshire delegates. The special interests and Good Old Boy Network is well served by the predominantly local men politicians. However, the entire system is NOT serving the COMMON citizen, which includes the social and economic need of Berkshire County's women and children. The answer is that Berkshire County needs Women Politicians!
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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[Berkshire] County health lacking
In most categories, the Berkshires trail the rest of the state in care.
By Jack Dew, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Thursday, June 14, 2007
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire County is lagging behind the state in many crucial health categories, including prenatal care, obesity, diabetes and tobacco use.
John Auerbach, the new commissioner of the Department of Public Health, unveiled a thick book of statistics last night showing that the health of Berkshire residents is not keeping up with the state. He presented the findings during a public meeting attended by three dozen public health workers, physicians and medical personnel, one of eight such meetings he is convening around the state as the DPH looks to deepen its understanding of the health problems that each region faces.
"We need you to help us understand the health issues in your communities," he said.
Several members of the audience said the county's rural makeup creates unique challenges. With just 2 percent of the state's population but 15 percent of its land, the Berkshires are the state's most sparsely populated region. That means longer trips to a hospital or doctor's office and a harder time delivering a public health message to the community, they said.
In almost every major category, Berkshire County is doing worse than the state. The numbers were particularly stark in many major birth indicators, considered by many to be a yardstick for the overall health of a region.
Led by Pittsfield and North Adams, Berkshire County has a higher teen birth rate than the state average. Meanwhile, 8.6 percent of all babies born to Berkshire mothers have low birth weight, compared with 7.9 percent statewide.
And only 72.5 percent of Berkshire mothers received adequate prenatal care versus 84 percent statewide. Pittsfield was even lower, with only 61 percent of mothers making sufficient doctors visits during their pregnancy, a statistic that Auerbach called "about the lowest" he had seen. "This is a very troubling indicator."
Berkshire mothers also have high smoking rates, with 20.7 percent saying they smoked during pregnancy, almost three times the state average of 7.1. Auerbach called that spike "relatively astounding."
And the Berkshires also have a higher percentage — 45.7 percent — of pregnant women covered by public insurance programs such as Medicaid versus 32.6 percent in Massachusetts. Pittsfield leads the way in this category, with 53 percent of mothers.
Fewer women — 66.8 percent — breast-feed their children than the Massachusetts average of 79.3 percent. "I don't know what that is," Auerbach said. "Is that about health education? Is that about access to care?"
Other important indicators were equally worrisome. More adults smoke in Berkshire County than in the state; there are more obese adults; and there are more hospitalizations for diabetes.
More Berkshire residents go to the emergency room after suffering a fall than the state average, and more are hospitalized for car accidents; in Pittsfield, the motor vehicle injury rate was twice the state average.
The Berkshires' cancer statistics are roughly in line with the state average, with slightly higher rates of lung cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer, and a slightly lower rate of breast cancer.
On the positive side, Berkshire County had lower rates of hypertension hospitalizations, lower admission rates for heroin abuse, lower HIV/AIDS statistics and fewer visits to the emergency room for firearm-related injuries.
Edward Perlak, vice president of Berkshire Medical Center's Hillcrest campus, told Auerbach that the state needs to recognize the dilemmas faced in a rural setting and not just target public health campaigns on large population centers.
"When you consider health disparities, you really need to consider rural as a disparity," he said. "Our population is small, but it is spread out. And when you look at fixed costs (for providing care), our fixed costs are higher."
Tricia Farley-Bouvier, a Pittsfield city councilor at large, called the Berkshire situation a "crisis" and asked Auerbach to provide a DPH staff member to oversee public health efforts in Berkshire County.
Auerbach asked Farley-Bouvier and others which model works best: spreading grant dollars around the region to fund targeted health initiatives or having a Department of Public Health employee focusing on the area.
Whatever the answer, it could come over the next several months. Auerbach said the DPH is working to reshape the department based on data and community input and is trying to strengthen ties with local-level health agencies.
Berkshires' unique health care issues
A Berkshire Eagle Editorial
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The dispiriting state of health care in the Berkshires as revealed last week by John Auerbach, the new commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, testifies to the unique and deep-rooted health issues that face a sparsely populated rural area confronted with economic difficulties. There are no easy solutions to be had, but a start can be made if the DPH focuses more specifically on Berkshire health issues that are dramatically different from those in Boston or other large cities in the commonwealth.
Boston and its surrounding communities dominate Massachusetts economically, culturally and politically, and the Berkshires have far more in common with Vermont to the north than the urban eastern end of Massachusetts. The Berkshires' primary care physicians are severely taxed and will be more so as residents enroll for health insurance under the new law designed to provide insurance to all. Many low-income residents in small, economically struggling Berkshire towns don't have health insurance yet, and even when they get it they will still confront long drives to doctor's offices and hospitals. People who can't make ends meet, and there are many in the beautiful Berkshires who cannot, will often let medical treatment slide because of its high cost.
The high teen birth rate in Pittsfield and North Adams is hardly news, as this stubborn problem has defied resolution even though many state and local agencies confront it head-on. Teens with little interest in school and less hope of advancing in a competitive job market too often end up as single parents, perhaps because they see this as a way to build self-esteem or a stable family life. This ties in to the economic struggles of the Berkshires, where low-income families have few opportunities to advance and middle-income families struggle to maintain that status.
The Berkshires' leadership in rate of adult smoking in the state and the high rate of obesity are deeply troubling. There is no disputing the dangers of smoking and obesity — has that message not made its way west or don't Berkshire residents care? The low rate of firearm injuries and instances of heroin abuse do speak to the advantages of rural living, though the latter has emerged as an issue.
Mr. Auerbach's appearance in Pittsfield was welcome and his interest in the region's specific health issues genuine. As City Councilor Tricia Farley-Bouvier proposed, designating a DPH staffer to focus health efforts in the Berkshires may be the best way to make a dent in these complex problems.
Wednesday, 20 June, 2007
Political Joke...
BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCE
This week we celebrate a special birthday. Monica Lewinsky turned 31.
Can you believe it? It seems like only yesterday she was crawling around the White House on her hands and knees, and putting everything in her mouth.
They grow up so fast, don't they?
What would you call it if Barack Obama is elected President?...An "Obama-Nation".
7/20/2007, 2:56 P.M.
Re: I got to shake Barack Obama's hand this afternoon
Dear Berkshire Bloggers, News Media, Pols, & the People:
I attended a speech by presidential candidate Barack Obama this afternoon. He spoke about ending the War in Iraq, reforming Military discharges, reforming the VA, Universal Healthcare, and Energy initiatives that will create market based solutions to our environmental issues. During the speech, a young woman fainted about 10 feet in front of me. People ran to help her, and I ran to the nearest police officer so that an ambulance was promptly called. After the speech, I went inside the building to thank the police officer for responding to my call for help for the young woman who fainted before me during the Obama speech. Then, Barack Obama walked by the police officer and I, and he shook my hand. I told the police officer the condition of the young woman -- she was still on the ground, the paramedics put an IV in her arm, and she was having trouble breathing -- and the police officer told me that she will be O.K. The police officer thanked me for helping out with the situation. I called my mom after I got home and told her that I shook Barack Obama's hand this afternoon and helped assist a young woman who fainted in front of me during his speech. My mother was happy that I got to meet a candidate for president and that I helped with a medical emergency, too.
In Truth,
Jonathan A. Melle
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