WAMC Northeast Report on WAMC

 The suicide of Aaron Swartz made me focus on what he’d been fighting for – free access to knowledge on the internet. Swartz’s methods were misguided and illegal but his purposes are nevertheless worth thinking about. He was part of a movement devoted to giving us all free access to government documents, research papers and much else, believing that it should all be available on the internet at no charge.

As President Barack Obama was sworn in for a second term today, the nation celebrated the life of civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  And January First marked the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing hundreds of thousands of slaves.  

An annual day of service was held in the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in North Adams. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard spent time with volunteers in the community and filed a report…

The 20th Annual Martin Luther King Day of Service was celebrated by a small army of volunteers and community organizations that came together in North Adams. Alex Daugherty, chair of the Northern Berkshire’s Martin Luther King Day Committee, said that volunteers came from all corners of the community to celebrate “a day on, not a day off"

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A touring exhibition celebrating the world’s most recognizable and influential musical instrument, the guitar, opened today in Springfield Massachusetts.

The exhibit at the Springfield Museums is a mix of art, history, science and pop culture. It shows the evolution of  string instruments from the guitar’s early ancestors,  the first appearance of  the now familiar guitar curve shape in the 1400s ,and the best selling modern designs by American  guitar makers, Martin, Fender and Gibson. 

Two organizations in Western Massachusetts have joined to create a support group for those suffering from brain injury, hoping to provide a needed service in Northern Berkshire County.

Scott Doane, a case manager with Berkshire Family and Individual Resources, or BFAIR, said that he didn’t see his own need for a support group for those living with acquired or traumatic brain injury, until long after he realized he was affected himself.

A national watchdog group that espouses the importance of the separation of church and state is calling upon the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to stop including prayers during official events. In response, a Chaplain Alliance is asking West Point officials to allow such prayers to continue.

A new poll finds voters overwhelming support for many of the items that Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing, including parts of the newly enacted gun control law.  

Steve Greenberg, with Siena College, says the poll asked voters whether they wanted New York to have the strongest anti gun laws in the nation, including banning assault weapons and outlawing magazine clips that hold more than seven bullets.   Greenberg says the measures have broad support, at 73% to 26%.

The Vermont School Boards, and the Vermont Superintendents, Associations have released a five point agenda that they say will create a world-class education system in the state.

The agenda for a World Class Education system includes universal access to pre-K education, creation of Innovation Zones, personal learning plans, revision of the collective bargaining system and greater family involvement in education.  Vermont Superintendents Association Executive Director Jeff Francis says the state has a good public education system, but in a global economy it must be better.  Francis explains that the associations began crafting the five-point plan last fall.

The Governor of Massachusetts has filed new legislation that would introduce stricter regulations on gun ownership. The bill includes strict background checks and closing licensing loopholes. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

Governor Patrick announced the legislation just over a month after the shooting deaths of children and educators in the massacre in Newtown, Conn, and only one day after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the SAFE Act, putting tighter restrictions on gun ownership in the Empire State.