Artist Joel Haynes delivers a message with downtown mural
The mural creates a great photo op, but the artist s motives go much deeper.
GREAT BARRINGTON The recent deluge of rain has hardly dampened the spirits of artist Joel Haynes. Perhaps you’ve spied him, atop scaffolding in the alley between Tom’s Toys and Calyx Berkshire Dispensary, intent upon bringing a panoply of flowers and birds to life for a single purpose: a downtown art installation for all to enjoy.
When the elements ruined construction early on (the boards Haynes primed and affixed to the building’s brick facade buckled under the intense moisture), Haynes found himself back at square one with a smile. “The beautiful thing is, while it might be confusing for a few days, I’ve already done it once,” Haynes told The Edge on a recent rainy afternoon.
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With marijuana legal in New York, and other states close behind, will Mass. dispensaries along state borders survive?
Operators insist impact wonât be immediate â but foresee disruption
By Dan Adams Globe Staff,Updated April 20, 2021, 1 hour ago
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It was a good run while it lasted.
When Massachusetts voters passed Question 4 in 2016, the state became an oasis of legal marijuana on the East Coast, surrounded by neighbors that prohibited the drug entirely or only allowed its medical use. Today, total pot sales are approaching $1.5 billion.
But with New York legalizing cannabis late last month, the first recreational shops now ringing up customers in Maine, Vermont recently authorizing commercial sales, and Rhode Island and Connecticut lawmakers poised to establish regulated marijuana markets in their states, our early-mover advantage is rapidly evaporating.
Photos by Bill Wright Railroad Street is a neat thoroughfare off Main Street that houses a number of restaurants and retail businesses like Baba Louie’s Sourdough Pizza and Karen Allen Fiber Arts. This year here, there, and everywhere was really, really bad, but in Great Barrington a surprising sentiment endures: optimism. We want the Berkshires to remain the Berkshires, says Betsy Andrus, executive director of the Southern Berkshires Chamber of Commerce. The key thing now is getting people to understand that shopping local isn t just a phrase. It s hugely important. You need to invest, eat, shop, and donate if you want to keep the character of your community intact.