The Top Left Corner

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The Top Left Corner Podcast

Our general news show is concerned with Massachusetts’ northwestern-most corner, with occasional forays into southern Vermont and New York’s Hudson Valley.

  1. MAR 27

    MASS MoCA Staff Ratify Wage Agreement Ending Three Week Strike

    Editor’s Note: The following article is derived from officially released information, published with few or no editorial changes. The Greylock Glass  occasionally provides our readers with such content if the information is factual in nature, and requires little to no interpretation or analysis, often when original reportage would not provide additional relevant information.(See below for rough transcript, very rough, of our interview with Local 2110 UAW rep Chelsea Farrell.)NORTH ADAMS — March 26, 2024 — Unionized staff of MASS MoCA, members of UAW Local 2110, voted today to ratify an agreement on wages that will end a three week strike.The  Agreement will settle wages for the next two years.  58% of the unit, currently earning just $16.25 per hour will immediately be increased to at least $18 per hour. Full-time staff will receive general wage increases of 3.5% in each of the two years, and some workers will receive additional equity increases based on seniority and level of responsibility. Average pay for the unit will increase by 12.1% by the second year of the Agreement. The Agreement also includes additional holiday pay and establishes overtime pay for any shifts that last over ten hours in a day. The Union Bargaining Committee issued a statement, saying: “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with the MASS MoCA that raises minimum pay rates and improves working conditions. We are looking forward to getting back to the jobs we love.” Hear our 2022 coverage of Local 2110 UAW’s one-day walkout.NORTH ADAMS — March 6, 2024 — Unionized employees of MASS MoCA went on strike starting Wednesday, March 6 after no agreement on wages was reached with the Museum. Employees began picketing the Museum starting 8 am on Wednesday, March 6 and say they will picket daily until an agreement is reached.  The employees’ union, part of Local 2110 UAW, was originally formed in April of 2021. After a one day strike in August of 2022, employees reached an agreement on a first contract which allowed them to re-open the agreement in October 2023 to negotiate further wage increases. Negotiations on the wage reopener have been ongoing for four months but no agreement has been reached.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by MASS MoCA Union—Local 2110 UAW (@massmocaunion) Fifty-eight percent (58%) of the 120 employees are earning just $16.25 per hour, according to the UAW. Average pay for full-time employees is $43,600.  According to The Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator, for a modes living in Berkshire County, a single individual with no children needs to earn approximately $47,000 per year while a family of four needs about $118,000. The Union is seeking to raise the hourly minimum rate to $18.25 by October of 2023 and is also seeking a minimum 4.5% increase this year.  Local MASS MoCA employees on strike,

    58 min

  2. JAN 26

    TLC/186 — Katja Esson on Razing Liberty Square

    The broadcast premier of Razing Liberty Square can be viewed on PBS. on January 29, 2024. A streaming release for this powerful award winning documentary feature film directed by Academy-Award nominated filmmaker, Katja Esson will also be available. RAZING LIBERTY SQUARE had its world premiere at the 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival, then went on to the Human Rights Watch Film Festival and won the Changemaker Film Award at the Woodstock Film Festival. RAZING LIBERTY SQUARE highlights the current and compelling problem when community displacement and local neighborhood gentrification meets climate change.  Miami is ground-zero for sea-level-rise. When residents of the historic Liberty Square public housing project learn about a $300 million revitalization plan for their neighborhood, which has long suffered from disinvestment, they know that this sudden interest comes from the fact that their neighborhood is located on the highest-and-driest ground in the city. Now they must prepare to fight a new form of racial injustice – Climate Gentrification. NTRVW: Katja EssonEditor’s Note: Below is something very close to a verbatim transcript of the recent conversation with our guest. If you follow along with the text as you listen, you will discover that you are NOT reading a word for word record of the discussion. We know this. We think you’ll approve of the reason why..stk-hjw17m4{border-style:solid !important;border-color:#dfdad1 !important;border-top-width:0px !important;border-right-width:0px !important;border-bottom-width:1px !important;border-left-width:0px !important;padding-bottom:24px !important}TL;DR Our Editorial Policy on Transcripts .stk-svdxosq-container{padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:0px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:0px !important}We use Artificial Intelligence first to process the audio from the recording to create a transcript that’s about 85 – 95 percent accurate. The problem with that level of accuracy is that it also captures most of the “uhs” and “ums.” It also doesn’t remove all the false starts or other kinds of word salad we humans pass off as communication every day. Then we run it through Chat GPT4 to remove all those vocalized pauses and verbal detritus. I have refined the AI prompt to the point where the result is what people hope they sound like, without too noticeably changing the actual language used, other than to get rid of what nobody would be able to understand were it written out anyway. Next, I go through the transcript line by line anyway and decide what bits really need an edit, so the process does spare my arthritic hands a bit, but is still quite time-consuming. Back in the dark ages, digital recorders were big bulky things most of us lowly reporters couldn’t afford. Speech-to-text transcription was something even the intelligence community coveted. We used reporters notebooks (I still always carry one) and a ball point pen (I don’t always remember to steal enough from the bank to keep my car stocked), and what we typed up in the articles that got published were quotes as accurate as our penmanship (or shorthand) allowed. Politicians and business leaders told us, “Make sure you make me sound good,” and if you didn’t at least try not to make them look like idiots you could count on interviews with them mont...

    60 min

  3. JAN 23

    TLC-186 — Democracy in Dispute: David Stuckenberg

    I walked south on Water Street, searching for the strangely elusive location where David Stuckenberg was to announce his candidacy for President of the United States shortly. I’d had to get up and out the door by 6:30 a.m. to make the 11 o’clock beginning of ceremonies in Plymouth, Mass. I got there just in time, but was told by a crusty old blue-blood that I couldn’t come in because she’d never heard of me. I went ‘round back of the mansion overlooking the Atlantic and found a group of other journalists she’d never heard of denied entrance. Eventually the six or seven of us made enough commotion laughing and carrying on that some guy came out and told us to keep it down, but also that the woman was just with the venue and had no right to prohibit our entry, and sorry about all that. Oh, and by the way, the opening speech is over and the first set of reporters are almost done asking one-on-one questions. Do we still want to go in? We’d have to wait until a break to enter the main event room, of course. You’re probably wondering why a reporter from the town farthest north and west in Massachusetts travelled diagonally across the Commonwealth as far as one can go without getting his socks wet. To cover a presidential campaign launch. Of a Republican.Easy.It’s good to know what all sides are thinking. And from the press release I’d received the week before, I sensed that this primary challenger from Florida was more than capable of some high-level thought. The research I did on Mr. Stuckenberg (Dr. Stuckenberg, to be accurate) left me with mixed emotions. Where his positions diverged with my leftist outlook, such as the answer to America’s immigration challenges for example, or U.S. involvement in the Israel/Palestine conflict, the gap was wide enough to drive a truck through.The ideological overlap, however, surprised me. His views on natural resources, agriculture, and fresh water protection were based in science. The America First rhetoric was not a cynical jingoistic play — long-range calculations have clearly been brought to bear on the question of who the beneficiaries of the nation’s productivity and prosperity should be.And let’s be clear, this candidate making a bid for Trump’s long-cooled seat cushion has bona fides that any candidate would envy, and that should aggressively capture the attention of the media:Military Background: Stuckenberg is a Major in the US Air Force-Air National Guard and a decorated veteran pilot who has flown over 150 combat missions.Education and Thought Leadership: He holds a Ph.D. in international affairs from King’s College London and is recognized as a “Young Disruptor” by NATO and lauded by senior military leaders and intelligence officials for his strategic acumen.Entrepreneurial and Business Experience: As the founder of Genesis Systems, he has developed technologies for generating drinking water, addressing global water scarcity.Policy and Security Expertise: Stuckenberg has experience in nuclear weapons treaties, national critical infrastructure, and has founded national programs for security and strategy.Now for the (ahem) elephant in the room: Why in the actual hell is mainstream media lavishing so much attention on candidates who lack the credentials, résumé, or even natural charisma to warrant serious consideration by the voters? Why are they so focused on the horse race and the personalities and the drama? Wait. Don’t answer that. That was a rhetorical question. Here’s the answer, though, if you are still scratching your head: Mainstream media requires insipid popularity contests between increasingly unqualified candidates whose wooden heads make them natural conversions into the puppets that allow the oligarchs to keep control of the levers of power, because if they had to start covering contenders with actual ideas and...

    52 min

  4. JAN 22

    Top Left Corner 184: Alexander Davis onThis Show is Available for Touring

    UPDATE! This show is looking for members of the community to participate on stage— no performance experience required. Contact Alexander Davis to be a part of the magic! From the website of the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance: Boston-based Alex Davis‘ This Show is available for Touring, presents a comedic solo (with twelve backup dancers) that features the collaborative contributions of students and community members. Davis’ performances illuminate the innate theatricality of everyday life, drawing from pop culture, memes, reality television, improvisational techniques, community building, and lists. There is a post-performance Q&A on February 10th..stk-bqit6hw{box-shadow:0 5px 5px 0 rgba(18,63,82,0.035) !important}.stk-bqit6hw-container{background-color:#ffefc1 !important}.stk-bqit6hw-container:before{background-color:#ffefc1 !important}.stk-bqit6hw .stk-block-card__image{height:10px !important}This Show Is Available for Touring Friday, February 9th – Saturday, February 10th8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.Adams Memorial Theatre, ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance$3 – $10 TICKETS The Queering Perspectives Festival interrogates conventional, culturally normative performance. We want to create a platform for the othered, experimental, and subversive, pushing the boundaries of their form in pursuit of new research and artistic production. QPF has the agenda of sparking new conversations about performance on campus. We want performance to be a springboard for conversation into sexualities, genders, bodies, races, ethnicities, abilities, and desires.Alexander DavisEditor’s Note: Below is something very close to a verbatim transcript of the recent conversation with our guest. If you follow along with the text as you listen, you will discover that you are NOT reading a word for word record of the discussion. We know this. We think you’ll approve of the reason why..stk-l9ez3d6{border-style:solid !important;border-color:#dfdad1 !important;border-top-width:0px !important;border-right-width:0px !important;border-bottom-width:1px !important;border-left-width:0px !important;padding-bottom:24px !important}TL;DR Our Editorial Policy on Transcripts .stk-uzylzne-container{padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:0px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:0px !important}We use Artificial Intelligence first to process the audio from the recording to create a transcript that’s about 85 – 95 percent accurate. The problem with that level of accuracy is that it also captures most of the “uhs” and “ums.” It also doesn’t remove all the false starts or other kinds of word salad we humans pass off as communication every day. Then we run it through Chat GPT4 to remove all those vocalized pauses and verbal detritus. I have refined the AI prompt to the point where the result is what people hope they sound like,

    60 min

  5. 11/01/2023

    Top Left Corner #183: Berkshire County residents demand an end to US aid to Israel

    Robin Chadwell; photo courtesy of Robin Chadwell.Today’s guest is Robin Chadwell, who is helping spearhead a campaign for peace in the Middle East. A letter she has been circulating is garnering an increasing number of signatories as the situation for Palestinians, both in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank grows more dire by the hour.Robin Chadwell (she/her) is a farmer and caregiver for adults with developmental disabilities in Great Barrington, MA. When she isn’t working, she plays pick-up soccer, writes poetry, and watches reality TV. Show Intro Jay Velázquez: That is correct. In fact, this is episode 183 of the top left corner right here on The Greylock Glass GreylockGlass.com, the Berkshires mightiest independent alternative news thing. Welcome. I’m your host, Jay Velázquez, known in an alternate zip code as the Mongrel. It’s great to have you with us on this November 1st. Rabbit. Rabbit. Rabbit. Good luck. 2023. It’s a Wednesday and if you looked out your window, you might have seen that it was a snowy Wednesday. Tell you what, those trick or treaters dodged the bullet last night, but boy was that a shocker. This morning, I know that. Climate scientists have predicted that because it’s going to be it is an El Nino year, that the winter is going to be milder. But if this is if this is how we’re going to lead into it, I don’t know, you know, could be could be anything and it’s anybody’s game anyway. Right. This is New England. This is what we get. We don’t get upset. Today is going to show us. Really. We’re actually not staying local, at least not in terms of the topic we’re going to be discussing the conflict. In Gaza right now, at least 8000. I think 400 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault, which was a response to the attacks by Hamas on. Well, first military bases and then innocent civilians in the West Bank. And if innocent civilians in towns surrounding the Gaza Strip, some 1400 civilians were killed by Hamas fighters. And the retribution has been swift. It has been certain. And it is being called genocide by many, many level headed people. And this is a conflict that has the potential to spin way, way out of control, as we know. Israel is a nuclear armed state, though not officially. Iran may be a nuclear state. We’re not sure about that. We know that Pakistan is in support of Palestinian right now, and they’re definitely a nuclear armed state. And. Russia and China are. Not in favor of what’s going on. So we have all the makings of some geopolitical flash and. And spark, and we really would like to see that not happen. You know this this is a nice planet. I like this planet. I don’t want to see it exploded, but that is only going to happen, or that’s only going to be prevented if people speak up. And my guest today, Robin Chadwell, who is a farmer and caregiver for adults with developmental disabilities in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Robin has. Um, started a letter and has. Written an open letter in support of a of a piece, and she has managed to get lots of signatories. I know she’s also got some help from from other folks in this endeavor, and she’ll describe that. The idea here is that she feels, as do the signatories of this open letter, that people have got to speak up if they don’t like what they see going on. Don’t like our the United States involvement in it? It is, after all, mostly our weaponry that is being used in this conflict that is killing innocents. We know that at least. Well, just about half of the population of the Gaza Strip are children, and pretty much half of the of the casualties can be expected to be children. We know that there have been around 8500 casualties so far. Civilian casualties. And that number rises. In fact,

    37 min

  6. 09/13/2023

    TLC #183: Mayoral Candidate John Krol

    Jay Velázquez: And this is the Top Left Corner. Episode number 183 here on The Greylock Glass, GreylockGlass.com The Berkshires’ mightiest independent alternative news thing. I’m your host, Jay Velázquez, known in an alternate zip code as the Mongrel. Welcome. Welcome to the show. This is going to be a great show we have for you today. A former Pittsfield Select Selectboard Council, city council member, media personality and mayoral candidate John Krol with us today. It’s going to be a great conversation. Didn’t pull any punches. I asked the tough questions and I’ll let you decide for yourself how he did. Um, before we get to that conversation, though, I do have an announcement from one of our sponsors, the Foundry West Stockbridge. But I’d be telling you about this even if they were not our sponsors. Because this is great stuff. This month there is a residency at the Foundry, and I’ll tell you about it. This fall, the Foundry continues to support organizations that align with their mission of giving platform to often unheard voices. The first couple of weeks of September, the Foundry has offered an in-kind contribution of space to hold a theater residency in development through a collaboration with Second Street Second Chances in Pittsfield. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide a central point of access, where formerly incarcerated people of Berkshire County connect with the tools, programs and support to encourage a successful reentry into a more welcoming community with dignity and sustainable opportunities to thrive.Jay Velázquez: The resulting performance is going to be held at Berkshire Community College at the end of September. I think it’s September 22nd. But let’s see. I think I’m going to have it over here. Yeah, yeah. In fact, I can go on a little bit further because the program Hear Me Out is the process of inspiring trust and creative risk taking, telling stories and sharing dreams and aspirations. The participants will find narrative threads, identify themes, and build the world of the play they have generated. The goals of this, this is this issue. Whatever of release are using the power of live performance to provide an outlet for presently and formerly incarcerated individuals to share their stories and life experiences through devising and shaping an entirely original, entirely original piece of theater, and to educate the public on the issues of incarceration and reentry. In a highly personal way and challenging our stereotype of this population. Performances will take place at the Robert Robert Bowlin Theater at Berkshire Community College on September 20th and 23rd, 2023 at 7 p.m. and September 26th. At 2 p.m. They will be free and open to the public. Each show will be followed by a talkback where audience members can ask the cast direction questions, directly facilitating community dialog. And this is co directed and facilitated by, well, two of my favorite names in the theater world in the Berkshires, Amy Brentano and Sarah Katzoff.Jay Velázquez: So this is going to be a really I have a feeling I’m moving show, bring your hankie because these types of things, they just hit me hard, hit me so hard. So that is a really fascinating way of putting theater to to to great social use. Now let’s get on with our conversation with John Kroll right here on the top left corner.Excerpt from Krol for PittsfieldI’m a proud Dad, husband, small business owner, and an advocate for my community. I live in my hometown of Pittsfield with my wife, Cara, and our five children, Sophia, Ricky, Arden, Everett, and Beckett.As the owner of my own marketing agency, One Eighty Media, I’m the director of accounts and lead communications consultant. I suppose that’s a fancy way of saying I work with my clients to give them exactly what they need to bolster their ma...

    51 min

  7. 08/10/2023

    Top Left Corner #182: BAAMS celebrating 3rd Season with potent musical events

    Berkshires Academy for Advanced Musical Studies raising the bar as it raises operating fundsGary Foote, BAAMS faculty member and bassist for the Smokey Robinson Band and Blood, Sweat & Tears, chats with young BAAMS bassist and family during intermission of BAAMS’ Third Anniversary Benefit Concert at Adams Theater, May 26, 2023. Older brother, also a BAAMS student studying piano, looks on; photo courtesy BAAMS.Jay Velázquez: This is the Top Left Corner. You’re listening to episode number 182. I’m your host, Jay Velázquez. And this episode dropped Thursday, August 10th, 2023. Sometimes the content is evergreen, sometimes it’s time sensitive. In this case, it is time sensitive. And that topic is the Berkshires Academy for Advanced Musical Studies, located at Building 6 Furnace Street and Heritage State Park, North Adams, Mass. I’m going to be speaking today with two people who provide a lot of the driving force behind this this initiative, which is now in its third year. I thought it was two years that they’ve been around, but turns out it’s three. Amazing how time flies when you’re. In a pandemic. And it’s hard to even count the days. We’re going to be speaking with Richard Boulger, founder and executive director, and Jane Forrestal, director of development and communications. They’re going to be talking about all sorts of things under the sun having to do with the last few years and the successes that they’ve had. And they did. I think Jane sent me a some follow up information that we just couldn’t cram into the half an hour or so that we talked. I’ll try to tack that on at the end because it doesn’t make any some of it won’t make any sense until you’ve heard the rest of the show.Jay Velázquez: But before we even say anything, I do want to make sure that you know that there there are some great events coming up at. Well, not at but in connection with Bams. And they’re going to be fund raising events that would be great, whether they were fund raisers or not. So the first one is going to be jazz duo Charles Blenzig and Richard Boulger teaming up at Studio nine, which is a just an amazing audio space at porches in North Adams. And then on Wednesday the 16th, there’ll be a faculty performance at Mingo’s Sports Bar and Grill on 41 Roberts Drive, North Adams. You can see it right there off Route two as you drive by. So those two events, I’m going to put links to them in the show notes. Links to everything you need to know in the show notes. But for now, let’s get to that conversation I had with Richard and Jane.IMPORTANT LINKSEventsAugust 14 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 p.m.Jazz Duo Charles Blenzig and Richard BoulgerAugust 16 @ 6:30 pm – 9:00 pmBAAMS’ Faculty PerformanceProgram Registration• BAAMS Summer camp registration — a few spots left!berkshiresacademyams.org/berkshires-summer-jazz-day-camp•  Fall registration to study after school and on Saturdaysberkshiresacademyams.org/class-registrationSupport BAAMS!• Donate to BAAMS (it can be one-time or monthly).berkshiresacademyams.org/givingAlternatively, a check may be made out to:BAAMS and mailed to:529 Main StreetWilliamstown, MA 01267NTRVW: Jane Forrestal and Richard Boulger of BAAMS(rough transcript)Top Left Corner: And with me on the line this morning from the Berkshires Academy for Advanced Musical Studies is Jane Forrestal and Richard Boulger. Good morning to both of you.Jane Forrestal: Good morning, Jason. Jason,

    45 min

  8. 05/09/2023

    Top Left Corner #181: Select Board Candidate Stephanie Boyd

    Editor’s Note: Stephanie Boyd declined to provide either a photo or short bio.Top Left Corner: This is the top left corner right here on The Greylock Glass GreylockGlass.com, the Berkshires mightiest independent alternative news thing. I’m your host, Jay Velázquez. And as always, it’s a pleasure to have you with us. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Top Left Corner. It’s episode 181. Can you believe it? And today is Monday, May 8th, 2023. On this episode, we are continuing our very short series of interviews with the candidates for the Williamstown Select Board. The election is is Tuesday, May 9th tomorrow. So I guess it’s good that we’ve only got two out of the four candidates because that means you have plenty of time to listen. The candidates are Stephanie Boyd, Andy Bryant, Andy Hoagland and Paul Harsh. Paul Harsch neglected to get back to me. So we’re not going to be hearing from him. Andy Bryant did respond to me via Facebook, but at the time she had dropped out of the race due to a death in the family, which of course, everybody understands. But she has since decided to rejoin the race but did not get back to us about this interview. She did about a five minute statement that you can catch on willing net. So by all means, go listen to that. So we basically had Andy Hoagland last episode, and today we have Stephanie Boyd, who declined to provide a photo and bio after repeated requests. So if you don’t know what she looks like, you’re going to have to Google it because I’m not running photos or bios that are not sent to me directly or as part of an EPC electronic press kit. I like to do things professionally when I can, when I’m not, you know, flying by the seat of my pants.Top Left Corner: But I guess this time it just didn’t work out for me. So Google, if you need to know what Stephanie Boyd looks like, Google it. I’ll put a link to her campaign page as well. So that’s about it. All I can say is listen to these episodes and I hope it helps you make some decisions about who you want representing you on the select board. With that, let’s get right to that conversation with Stephanie Boyd here on the top left corner.2023 Annual Town Meeting WarrantDon’t forget — Elections are only half the fun! The Town will meet at Mount Greylock Regional School, 1781 Cold Spring Road, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. to decide on a bunch of issues. Which issues? Why, they’re listed in this PDF of the Warrant we’ve so thoughtfully provided!2023-Annual-Town-Meeting-Warrant-1 BIO: STEPHANIE BOYD (none submitted) ROUGH TRANSCRIPT of the INTERVIEW with Top Left Corner: Thank you so much for coming on the top left corner, Stephanie.Stephanie Boyd: Oh, well, good morning, Jason. Thanks so much for having me. I’m looking forward to our conversation.Top Left Corner: Well, it’s been a while, I think. I think we actually spoke many years ago about pottery, so this is probably about 70 years after that. So it’s good to talk to you again on the show. Thank you. So you I’m going to give you first a chance to just sort of tell us, you know, why you’ve decided to run. You could you could certainly have peace and quiet in your studio and not be bothered by the cares and concerns of Williamstown politics. Why did you decide to jump in?Stephanie Boyd: Well, as you mentioned, I’ve been on the planning board for a while, for about five years, and that term is coming to an end. And I think my experience on the planning board, living in Williamstown for 20 years,

    45 min
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About

Our general news show is concerned with Massachusetts’ northwestern-most corner, with occasional forays into southern Vermont and New York’s Hudson Valley.

Information

  • Creator
    The Greylock Glass
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2024
  • Episodes
    136
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2015
  • Show Website
    The Top Left Corner

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