In Bennington, creating a downtown food hub

A new nonprofit market in downtown Bennington aims to bring fresh, healthy food to a town center where some grocery staples have been scarce. The Bennington Community Market, which opened in March at 239 Main St., says its mission is to “support local farmers, increase access to healthy food for all members of our community, and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Bennington.” The new store is designed to fill a need that community leaders began discussing at least a decade ago after the U.S. Department of Agriculture labeled Bennington a “food desert.”

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Tax credit might help to save ‘white elephants’

A historic, five-story mill building in the Saratoga County village of Victory has been vacant for nearly a quarter of a century since Victory Specialty Packaging Co. closed its operations there in early 2000, laying off 75 workers. Since then, a series of developers have proposed redeveloping the structure, mainly for apartments, but so far none has found enough investors willing to back the project. But Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, says cavernous abandoned structures like the Victory mill could help to ease the state’s housing crunch with the aid of an expanded tax credit for repurposing “white elephants.”
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Classic text, today’s context in show about Constitution

As a teenager explaining the meaning of the Constitution in debate competitions around the country, Heidi Schreck set an idealistic tone. But as she grew into an adult woman, she began to ask questions and to come to terms with the limits of the nation’s founding document. This month, Schreck’s acclaimed Broadway play, “What the Constitution Means to Me,” will come to the Berkshires in a production by WAM Theatre.
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