SU FYI

1. A personal thank you to Moose for calling me "The Godmother of Stockbridge". Nothing I would like to be called more or would treasure more. Moose, I don't think we've met, but you seem to know me, and I thank you.

2. Somehow the memorial plaque at the head of Mary Flynn trail disappeared. The replacement will become a rededication ceremony open to the public.

Pat Flinn, who arranged the original dedication, Tom Stokes, Christopher Baumann, and I hope any more, remember the first dedication. I still miss my best friend and sure hope I can say a few words invoking her presence. She was a light among us.

3. "Massachusetts Cable Subscriptions Continue to Plummet"

You may not pick up the Federal Communications Commission newsletter as light reading, but if you did, you would know that headline is a dire warning.

Our Community Television of South Berkshire (CTSB) is funded by receipt of 5% of the subscriptions paid by subscribers to Spectrum. As Spectrum's subscriptions plummet, so does the income of CTSB and its ability to serve us and the community as our public access television. Public Access TV is our place for educational and government programs. In addition, it is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content. To read all about it, the problem, and a possible solution, see the article below in this issue.

4. Community Preservation Coalition is thrilled to report that the MA Senate has just adopted an important amendment that may help address this year's declining revenue for the CPA Trust Fund. During the Senate FY24 budget debate this morning, Senator Cynthia Stone Creem's budget amendment, "Community Preservation Trust Fund," was adopted. This legislation would allocate up to $30 million in state budget surplus funds for this November's statewide CPA Trust Fund distribution.

Photo: Lionel Delevingne