Investigations

• Fully Told

As Great Barrington Airport ignores some special-permit conditions, the town's government takes no action

Some requirements related to the environment, taxes, emergency response, and others remain unmet—highlighting zoning-enforcement challenges in the Berkshires.

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Dec 2023

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FOLLOW UP (Part Two): Nearly two years on, a 'landscape hotel' is rising at Egremont's Prospect Lake

Long-sought parking and lake access for Egremont residents are both connected to an agreement for dam-repair funds. Whether—and how—that will work, and what it will mean in practice, is complicated.

By Bill Shein

/ 8 Dec 2023

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FOLLOW UP (Part One): Nearly two years on, a 'landscape hotel' is rising at Egremont's Prospect Lake

At the former campground, a zoning disagreement is escalating while questions linger about public parking, lake access, and vital dam repairs. An occupancy-tax windfall is also on the horizon.

By Bill Shein

/ 30 Nov 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part Eight): The arc of Great Barrington’s zoning history is long. With respect to the airport, which way does it bend?

In the final installment of THE AIRPORT, a detailed history of Great Barrington’s zoning bylaw and its role in the past, present, and still unknown future of the town’s 92-year-old country airport.

By Bill Shein

/ 20 May 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part Seven): Flight lessons, aviation careers, and questions about safety are all part of the conversation

The Great Barrington Airport offers lessons to those interested in aviation as a hobby and, in some cases, a career with the airlines. Some neighbors worry about the flight school and their safety.

By Bill Shein

/ 29 Apr 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part Six): A noisy debate about more than noise

The debate over Great Barrington Airport's activity and the noise and disturbance it produces has been contentious for decades. Better information and consistent zoning enforcement would help.

By Bill Shein

/ 1 Apr 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part Five): Helicopter air-ambulance flights are fast, vital, and expensive. How do they work?

According to Fairview Hospital officials, each year around fifteen air-ambulance flights lift off from Great Barrington Airport. Here’s how those flights work—and how they fit into our rural health-care system.

By Bill Shein

/ 22 Mar 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part Four): Atop a vital aquifer, the airport’s environmental compliance has been spotty. Who’s been watching?

The airport sits atop the only aquifer that supplies much of Great Barrington’s water. It's in a zoning district with strict water-protection rules. Is the town doing enough to monitor its activities?

By Bill Shein

/ 12 Mar 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part Three): How busy is Great Barrington Airport?

With its level of operations at issue in court and in front of town boards, why has there been so little effort to document what's actually happening at the airport?

By Bill Shein

/ 25 Feb 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part Two): Rick Solan’s story begins with Robert Wheeler’s in 1929

The complicated present of the Great Barrington Airport is deeply rooted in its equally complicated past.

By Bill Shein

/ 19 Feb 2023

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THE AIRPORT (Part One): It’s not entirely about aviation

As Berkshire Aviation Enterprises goes in front of the Great Barrington Selectboard for the third time seeking release from zoning restrictions, a contentious community discussion is again underway.

By Bill Shein

/ 14 Feb 2023

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THE DEVELOPER (Part Seven): Whose vision, which ideas, and where’s the action plan for housing?

With other similarly challenged communities around the country taking far bolder action on housing, when will Great Barrington and the southern Berkshires do the same?

By Bill Shein

/ 4 Nov 2022