Jason VelázquezPodcast (top-left-corner): Play in new window | Download
Get in touch by e-mail at [email protected]
You can listen to the show LIVE (and interact), every Wednesday, 9 – 11 a.m., Eastern.
Hey, Greylock Nation —
Welcome to this week’s episode of the Top Left Corner! Arctic breezes returned to Williamstown, but are we chilled into silence? Never.
We continue to ponder all the candidates for the contested races that will be decided at the ballot box on May 11.
Today we’ve got interviews with Kevin Yang, Editor-in-Chief of the Williams Record; Arthur De Bow, Cultural District Coordinator for the City of North Adams, Joseph Smith, a parent from North Adams who really has been a one-man army for truth and transparency in the City’s educational system during the pandemic; and Nico White, former candidate for Williamstown Select Board, current observer of all the political games being played, something he should excel in as the owner of Purple Dragon Games on Spring Street.
We’ve had great audience participation during our candidate interviews. You can make comments or ask questions using the chat box on our show page, via email, [email protected], or our Twitter handle: @RadioFreeBerks.
If you’re here for the first time, the Top Left Corner is a locally focused weekly live internet radio show and podcast based in Williamstown, Mass. We do our best to wade through the spin and biases and cowardice and bring back the important stuff that most of us really care about. Every Wednesday, we’re going to tell you what we think about local current events and the national stories that directly affect the people of Williamston and Berkshire County. We also interview amazing guests.
–Jay and Steve
LIGHT (OR NOT)
No time for chit chat today! Your co-hosts are just going to gab for a bit.
OUR GUEST THIS WEEK
Kevin Yang, Editor-in-Chief of the Williams Record.
Kevin is here to give us something of a year-in-review through purple tinted glasses and let us know what stories he was proudest of coming out of the Williams newsroom.
Arthur De Bow, Cultural District Coordinator for the City of North Adams.
The Cultural District of the City of North Adams seeks artist proposals for the creation of two “Selfie” Murals. The murals are intended for installation in the downtown Cultural District this June.
Joseph Smith
This parent from North Adams was the first to catch North Adams School District in a lack of transparency, and continued to call out its stonewalling over releasing information about which school saw its first case of COVID-19 and when. Now, he’s uncovered the glaring difference between recommended safe school bus protocols and what the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is allowing.
Nico White
This former Williams student and current local business owner dropped out of the race for Select Board. We’ll hear why and find out what he thinks are the challenges facing the town going forward.
LOCAL
It’s all local today, brothers and sisters.
THE COMMONWEALTH
There is nothing happening worth noting anywhere outside the Northern Berkshires this week. So don’t worry about it.
WHO WE’RE READING, WATCHING, AND LISTENING TO THIS WEEK
Jay has had precious little time to do any bonus media absorption, but did get through all four installments from the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. He has thoughts about it all, that we may one day have time to discuss.
