Investigations - The Berkshire Argus

THE ARGUS EYE: A long-overdue D.P.H. report on PCBs and cancer delivers no surprises

PCBs may play a role, the agency says, but the mix of diffuse exposures, data limitations, and many other cancer risk factors leaves no clear culprit.

By Bill Shein

/ 15 Sep 2025

THE ARGUS EYE: A long-overdue D.P.H. report on PCBs and cancer delivers no surprises

THE ARGUS EYE: Berkshire Health Systems told regulators it can’t afford a full investigation of decade-long data breach

Even as it acknowledged a decade of improper access to patient data by a “rogue employee,” the largest employer in Berkshire County—and provider of health care to most residents—claimed a full audit would be an “undue burden.”

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Aug 2025

THE ARGUS EYE: Berkshire Health Systems told regulators it can’t afford a full investigation of decade-long data breach

THE ARGUS EYE: Unexplained delays continue to hold up PCB cancer study

The state’s Department of Public Health has again pushed off release of a Housatonic Region cancer study it began in 2021.

By Bill Shein

/ 9 Aug 2025

THE ARGUS EYE: Unexplained delays continue to hold up PCB cancer study

The Uncertainty Machine: A Story of PCBs, Cancer, and Doubt

Concerned about PCB exposure and cancer, in January 2021, members of the Pittsfield City Council asked the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for an updated cancer-incidence study. After more than four years, they're still waiting. But when results are finally released, will they even matter?

By Bill Shein

/ 18 Jun 2025

The Uncertainty Machine: A Story of PCBs, Cancer, and Doubt

Will Trump’s January 6ᵗʰ pardons absolve a pipe bomber?

With conspiracy-minded leadership installed at the F.B.I., and federal prosecutors now broadly applying the president’s controversial pardon, will a still-unidentified bomber escape justice?

By Bill Shein

/ 2 Mar 2025

Will Trump’s January 6ᵗʰ pardons absolve a pipe bomber?

At the Pentagon, reality likely to trump rhetoric on climate change and national security

Even as the Trump administration rolls back climate-related initiatives, current and former Pentagon officials told The Argus that work related to climate and national security is likely to continue.

By Bill Shein

/ 7 Feb 2025

At the Pentagon, reality likely to trump rhetoric on climate change and national security

EXCLUSIVE: MassDEP fines Housatonic Water Works $10,205 for withholding test results

A previously unreported penalty-assessment notice sent to the company in November called the facts “undisputed” and the company’s violations “willful.” The penalty was revealed in a response to a public-records request filed by The Argus.

By Bill Shein

/ 12 Dec 2024

EXCLUSIVE: MassDEP fines Housatonic Water Works $10,205 for withholding test results

In race for state rep, Mitts and Davis navigate choppy waters of ‘Rest of River’ debate

As developments in a major Housatonic River remediation project accelerate, two candidates for state representative confront a challenging issue—and its sticky politics.

By Bill Shein

/ 3 Nov 2024

A graphic of the Rest of River map overlayed with photos of Marybeth Mitts and Leigh Davis.

MassDEP cites Housatonic Water Works for withholding poor test results

The company withheld results from July that showed manganese levels at more than double the regulatory limit and a health risk to infants.

By Bill Shein

/ 12 Oct 2024

MassDEP cites Housatonic Water Works for withholding poor test results

Doing the Job: Paramedics, EMTs, and the Crisis in Rural EMS

Complex funding and staffing challenges have hampered rural EMS for years. Will elected officials finally step up to help those doing the job?

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Aug 2024

Doing the Job: Paramedics, EMTs, and the Crisis in Rural EMS

In Great Barrington, a tale of two sidewalks

Without the Select Board’s knowledge, town officials secured a million-dollar state grant to aid a developer’s struggling luxury housing project and pay for a landscaped “pedestrian walkway.” Meanwhile, across town, safe sidewalks for low-income residents remain elusive and unfunded.

By Bill Shein

/ 8 Mar 2024

In Great Barrington, a tale of two sidewalks

BOOK SEARCH: Twelve scenes from a narrative

Great Barrington police overstepped with their determined quest to find a copy of "Gender Queer" at Du Bois Middle School. But the full story of what happened that day, and why, is more complicated.

By Bill Shein

/ 8 Feb 2024