When it comes to the arts and entertainment, do we really realize how good we have it here in the Pioneer Valley?  I believe we tend to take for granted the opportunities we have here to enjoy art and to witness live talent and performance based entertainment.  Travel around this country and you’ll be hard pressed to find many small to medium sized cities with the quantity and quality of venues for art, science, live music, live theater and even sporting events.

Take the Springfield Symphony for example. Long has it been considered a high standard, elite orchestra, rivaling those of some of the much larger cities in the country. We forget that most cities of the size of Springfield do not have professional orchestras, nevermind ones of the quality the SSO consistently displays.

The Springfield Symphony has world renown Cellist Julian Schwarz coming in this Saturday night to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 and Tchaikovsky’s popular cello concerto. It starts at 7:30 PM at Symphony Hall.

For you folk music lovers like me, the Symphony has a special treat. The Legendary Kingston Trio (Tom Dooley, Charlie on the MTA, etc.) will be at Symphony Hall on Saturday, February 11 at 7:30 PM. For either the Schwarz or Kingston Trio performances, contact the SSO box office at 413.733.2291.

Other major assets we have in Springfield are the museums. Much like the orchestra, museums of the stature of the ones in the Quadrangle in Springfield are virtually unmatched in similar sized cities. There are the George Walter Vincent Smith museum of art, the museum of local history and museum of science as well as the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden.  Right now there is a Monet  exhibit at the art museum as well as an exhibit on colorful frogs which is currently happening through May at the science museum.  How often do you get to see Monet paintings in a small city like Springfield? Most cities twice the size do not have museums to rival those of the City of Homes.

A lot of people do not realize that Springfield has its own performing arts corporation, a non profit organization with a mission statement that reads “To consistently deliver high quality professional entertainment for all the citizens of Western Massachusetts thereby enhancing the quality of each life, increasing awareness and patronage of the performing arts, and actively contributing to the long-term economic growth and prosperity of our community.”

The Springfield Arts Development Corporation runs the theaters at CityStage & Symphony Hall.  Symphony Hall hosts the Springfield Orchestra as a tenant, however it also hosts a variety of musical productions from world renown artists and Broadway productions. Citystage, with its more intimate theater features comedy shows as well as off broadway plays and musical performances. CityStage has hit comedian Chris Tabb coming on Saturday night, January 28 at 8 PM and the comedy one man, one woman show  ”Parents Night Out” coming up February 2 through February 4.  At Symphony Hall, the percussion extravaganza of “Blast”, which has won Tony and Grammy awards comes on February 12 at 7 PM, followed by Riverdance former lead singer Michael Landra’s “Beyond Celtic” concert on February 17 at 8 PM. For tickets or information contact the Box Office at 413.788.7033.

If that doesn’t provide enough theater for you, there is the Majestic Theater on Elm Street in West Springfield. The Majestic has been named the best place to see live theater in the Pioneer Valley in the Valley Advocate Readers’ Poll. It hosts five productions per season. It is currently running a show entitled “The Island Lily”, a romantic comedy about fishing, which will be followed up by Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, starting on February 23. For tickets to these shows, contact the box office at 413.747.7797.

Another emerging local gem is the Bing. A non profit group in the X section of Springfield has resurrected the old Bing movie theater into a community activity center focusing on the arts and education that includes a performance hall and art galleries. The Bing Arts Center continues to raise funds to transform the facility into a top notch entertainment venue. To find out more information, call the Bing at 413.731.9730.

We all know about the MassMutual Center and the UMASS Mullins Center, where a lot of the top performing artists come to play to large audiences and we are very lucky to have these two top tier facilities. We are in the enviable position to have professional sports teams locally as well. The Falcons of the AHL in hockey and the Armor of the NBA’s Development League both play at the MassMutual Center. The Western Mass Pioneers soccer team plays at Lucitano Stadium in Ludlow and the collegiate league baseball Holyoke Blue Sox play at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke. Many of the players from these teams end up competing in the top professional leagues in their sports.

We will also likely be getting a casino here locally, which will undoubtedly attract additional high profile acts to their stage.

But there are smaller local venues for entertainment that also need to be treasured. The Academy of Music in Northampton, owned by the city, focuses on entertainment and educational productions, including film, theater, lecture series and musical acts. They have a number of upcoming events, including a tribute to the music of Motown’s The Drifters and The Platters on February 4. For more information or tickets, call the box office at 413.584.9032, ext. 105.

The Calvin Theater, Iron Horse Music Hall and Mountain Park Stage are all owned by the Iron Horse Entertainment Group in Northampton.  The Calvin is a medium sized stadium style seating theater and it attracts performers from comedians like Lily Tomlin to musicians like Joan Baez  and a lot in between. The Iron Horse is a much smaller venue with limited seating and offers a much more intimate experience. Many singer songwriters and small bands are featured on stage at the Iron Horse. These two jewels on the Western Mass crown are my particular favorites. Among the acts coming to The Calvin in the coming months are They Might Be Giants on March 8, The Saw Doctors on March 11, Lily Tomlin on April 12 and Don McClean on April 14. This Saturday night, January 28, The Carolina Chocolate Drops play the Calvin, starting at 8 PM. The Iron Horse has some great performers on their upcoming schedule as well.  Singer Songwriter Susan Werner plays there Friday night, January 27 (I’ll be there). For tickets to any Iron Horse Entertainment Group performances, contact the Northampton Box Office at 413.586.8686.

Over the last couple years, the owner of IHEG, Eric Suher has turned the old stage area of Mountain Park in Holyoke into a fantastic outdoor music venue that has hosted some top notch musical acts, including, The Decemberists, The Flaming Lips, Counting Crows, Willie Nelson, MGMT and The Disco Biscuits. This is another wonderful addition to the Western Massachusetts entertainment portfolio.

I am sure I have missed some venues and arts opportunities in the region, but I believe my point has been made. We have an awful lot to be proud of here and a lot of amazing chances to enhance our lives with culture, art, music and entertainment. In this time of tight budgets and reduced discretionary spending, it is only natural to cut back on some of these activities. But we must not ever take for granted our access to them and remember that there are regions in this country that would do anything to have the kind of diverse and quality cultural options that we have here in Western Massachusetts. Let us truly enjoy and be thankful for what we have.

Jason Burkins

The Internet is a giant archive of useful and not so useful information, all there at the ready, a click away. I am taking a sociology course at American International College in Springfield. It is an online course, which I enjoy because it gives me the freedom to do the work late at night in my pajamas rather than have to show up at a scheduled class session. 20 years ago this type of learning would have seemed unimaginable. Today, it is used at just about any college or university you can find. There are limitations of course. There are still hands on and technical training courses that require physical presence in a lab or classroom and it is difficult to facilitate lectures (although the ease of video these days is making this less of an issue), class participation (Skype anyone?) and administer exams via online instruction, etc. However some subjects lend themselves to the approach well.

According to the education research firm Ambient Insight, in 2009, 15 million college students took all of their courses in a traditional classroom setting, while about 11 million took some online courses and only a little more than 1 million took all their coursework online. They project that by 2014, only about 5 million will be taking in classroom courses exclusively. They predict that over 18 million will be taking a blend of classroom and online courses and that about 4 million will take only online courses. So clearly the trend toward online learning is growing at a very fast rate.

I have taken about four online courses so far and really appreciate the flexibility it allows me. You still have to be disciplined and do the work and there is that tendency to wait until the last minute, just like with traditional classroom courses, but all in all, I would recommend online courses. Particularly for those of us who work during the day or can’t commit to 2 nights a week for 5 months at a time.

This example points up a wider discussion about the Internet, as it continues to change our daily lives in so many ways, sometimes dramatically, but most often subtly. There is certainly some wheat and a whole lot of chaff, but it is our responsibility to recognize the importance of keeping it free and unfettered.

Jason Burkins

I have decided to broaden the scope of this blog beyond green real estate content. I will still be highlighting green home ideas and covering green real estate stories and topics, however I will also be talking about Western Massachusetts in a broader sense with stories ranging from spotlighting local homes of interest to tips on how to sell a house in this market and some of the fun activities and events that are going on in the region. So please come back often and let me know how I am doing by leaving your feedback and/or suggestions in the comments section!

Best Wishes!

Jason

Rendering of the future New York City Skyline featuring the new World Trade Center. 

The morning for me, began like most mornings of 2001.  I was groggy. I’ve never been an early to bed type, so 11 PM was my general drop dead moment each evening. With the long commute to my job as a trade correction analyst for a mutual fund transfer agency in Westborough, some 60 miles to the east of our apartment in Holyoke, my days generally began with a 5:30AM alarm clock screech and a groan.  

I remember that morning was very chilly. I thought briefly about going back up for my light weight jacket, but decided against it as I walked from the stoop of the old three story brick apartment building to my beloved red Dodge Intrepid.

As I made the trek east, I listened to music from my ipod, as I always did. I was likely singing along with Sinatra, or Green Day or the Goo Goo Dolls as the roadside scenery of Western Massachusetts slipped past and gave way to the state’s central region.

The drive in was like most, filled with lots of time to think as I maintained about 70 (ok, 75!) miles an hour on the MassPike. Despite the added length to the work day that this drive imposed upon my life, it actually was a welcome time to reflect, consider and plan.  Most likely that morning, I was contemplating my job. I had been experiencing challenges at work and had a high level of anxiety and stress as a result. This anxiety would come to a boiling point in the coming months, as the events of this day sent ripples across the financial services landscape. I would be laid off only a couple months later.

As the newest employee in my group, I was assigned some of the less active clients. My contacts were all smaller firms that didn’t require high maintenance or present large volumes of transactions. The big names like Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter were assigned to the more senior staff members.

The work day got off to a slow start. We began at 8 AM and the phone lines were very quiet. I remember I answered a call from MS/DW right about 8:15. Their offices were in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. I transferred the call, as I always did, to their representative. A routine I had engaged in over and over in the past. Little did I know, this day was about to get anything but routine. Roughly a half hour later, everything changed.

The first we heard of it came from someone in another division coming by our section of cubicles and saying, “Something happened at the World Trade Center in New York.”.  I jumped on my computer to the CNN website and found a photo of one of the towers on fire, with the headline “Plane Crashes into NYC’s World Trade Center”.  

The next couple hours were surreal. Work stopped. People milled about, talking quietly, looking stunned. Small groups huddled around single cubicles, eyes glued to computer screens. The internet, with millions of users around the world all flocking to the news sites, ground to a snail’s pace. Refreshing the page to see updates took excruciating minutes. Others followed the news second hand over the phone with loved ones relaying what they were seeing and hearing on the televisions in front of them.

No one in my group wanted to talk about what was on our minds. The current nightmare that was befalling the folks we talked to each day from inside those buildings.  In the days ahead we would find out that most of the people we communicated with did thankfully make it out of the building.

As the realization that the United States was under attack began to materialize, I felt the overwhelming urge to account for and communicate with my family. I called my dad back home in Wilbraham, who had been watching the whole thing all morning.  It was while I was on the phone with him that the first tower collapsed. As my father described what was happening, his voice cracked and I could tell he was crying. I had never heard my father cry before in my life. It was at that moment I truly wondered if this was going to be the end. What more could be planned for this day? Were we under a full strike attack? Was this just a first wave of something even more insidious?

The next couple hours are a bit of a blur to me. I remember a strong and unrelenting need to get home to my partner and to immerse myself in the safety of being with my loved ones in a time of crisis. I wanted to embrace everyone I cared about as tight as I could, to keep them safe.  

By noontime, the administration of our firm had shut the business down and sent us home. As I began my drive home, I turned on the news on the radio, but within minutes, I had shut it off and drove the rest of the way in silence.

It was a beautiful day outside. There was still a mild chill left over from the morning, more typical of an early October day, than an early September one. The sky was clear with a crisp breeze. I remember thinking it cruelly ironic for such a hellish day to be so peacefully picture perfect.  Shouldn’t somehow a day full of such evil acts be accompanied by swirling winds, angry lightning and floods of rain?

 I was viewing the world around me as I drove west with that feeling of odd detachment that often occurs after something shocking or terrible occurs in life. For a brief moment in the car, with only the noise of the road around me to bear witness, I cried. I would cry again once more in church that Sunday, but then not again for another seven years, when my relationship officially ended.

Everyone has their own story to tell about 9/11/01 and mine is no more compelling than most. No one is immune to its legacy. Many people lost friends and loved ones that day and many more have lost their lives in the military conflicts that arose since. Today is a day to reflect, to remember and to continue to heal. We all will do so in our own way. Some will attend the ceremonies, some will watch television coverage, some will take part in religious services, others choose to mourn and remember in more private ways. Its been ten years. In some ways it feels like yesterday and in other ways a lifetime. Can a wound so deep in our collective consciousness ever really be healed? Can a decade bring the closure so many of us yearn for? Can the destruction of al Qaeda and the death of Bin Laden ever bring about the kind of justice such an evil event requires? As much as we’d like them to be these are not questions that can be answered today. Everyone lost pieces of our souls that day and whether we have had people ripped from our lives or not, every one of us has been impacted by September 11, 2001. We were all irreparably changed that day. The day the world stopped.

Nj.com image

I am visiting friends in the Philadelphia area this weekend and took an Amtrak train for the first time in my life. The train ride was nice. It was fascinating to see the world go by in a blink of an eye and to see parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that I wouldn’t normally see while driving down the interstate.

One of the most interesting discoveries I made while cities and towns streaked on by my window was a little surprising to me. For the entire stretch of track between the New York and Pennsylvania borders, almost every telephone pole I saw on the streets had a photovoltaic solar panel mounted about 15 feet up.

Image by Juan Arredondo for The New York Times

At first I thought, wow, this is a really cool initiative by some New Jersey town. I made a mental note to see if I could Google the town later to get the details on their solar project. But then I began to see the panels on poles everywhere along the route. Apparently it is a statewide initiative. So I did some research and found out that it was an idea brought about by New Jersey’s largest utility company, Public Service Electric and Gas to install panels on 200,000-500,000 utility poles in New Jersey over the course of five years. The project, which is estimated to cost the company close to $800 million began in 2009.

When finished, it was believed the solar panels would generate 120 megawatts of electricity, which experts said would amounts to just 1 percent of the power consumed in the state, but close to 7 percent of the state’s goal of power generated from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Advocates of the initiative believe that by 2020, 22.5 percent of the state’s electricity is supposed to come from renewable sources.

Unlike the solar panels we see a lot of on traffic lights and parking meters, which simple are used to power that sole function,  these panels would feed directly into the electrical grid. By selling the electricity into the wholesale market, the utility expects to offset some of the cost of installing the panels.

There are opponents of the project as well who say the cost is too high, especially since the utility has added anywhere from 10-35 cents more per month to each customer’s bill to finance the project. Others say the panels, which are about 5 feet by 3 feet and angled to face the south, are an eyesore and detract from the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

There have been news articles and editorials for and against the project since it was proposed. But, near as I can gather, so far, it seems, most New Jerseyans feel the positives outweigh the negatives as more and more people are committing toward renewable energy sources.

I love this outside the box  kind of thinking toward energy production and commend Public Service Electric and Gas and the state of New Jersey for making it a reality.

Springfield’s ReStore on Albany Street has changed its name. Its the same fantastic store, just with a more appropriate name. As their website states, “We’ve always sold eco-friendly used and surplus building materials at bargain prices—so we changed our name to EcoBuilding Bargains.”

Makes total sense to me!

Learn more at the EcoBuilding Bargains Website!

]]> http://jburkins.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/restore-changes-name-to-ecobuilding-bargains/feed/ 0 jburkins http://jburkins.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/562/ http://jburkins.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/562/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:49:33 +0000 Jason Burkins http://jburkins.wordpress.com/?p=562 Continue reading →]]>

Holyoke Gas & Electric announces partnership with Baltimore-based Constellation Energy on major solar project

HOLYOKE – Construction is set to begin within four weeks on a 4.5 megawatt solar power project in Holyoke.

Landfill photo by Diane Lederman, Republican staff.

Former Amherst Landfill Solar Project Raises Concerns
Republican Newspaper/Masslive.com
By Diane Lederman

Commentary

As most people know, Amherst, Massachusetts is a fairly unique town in many ways. Known as a very progressive town, with no lack of engaged, opinionated residents, Amherst is one of those rare towns that actually votes its own, non-binding, opinions on state and national issues, such as war and health care. It is also a community that takes to heart green and sustainable sensibilities.

The idea to use otherwise unusable land for an array of photovoltaics is not new, but it is enlightened. I have often looked at old landfills, such as the large one that can be seen driving south on Interstate 91 toward Hartford, and thought to myself, solar panels could be installed there and produce a lot of power for the city.

Having said that, the number one priority at all times is the safety of the residents of the community. The residents who have expressed concerns are right to do so. If the landfill cap were to be disturbed or damaged, any benefit to the environment made by the use of solar would be completely dwarfed by the harm done by contamination leaking out from the site.

It is wise to take an optimistic, but thorough and measured approach here and I think the town has got it right. They are investigating the impact and will alter their plan accordingly.

It would be fantastic to see other cities and towns move in this ‘outside the box thinking’ direction. Even in these difficult budgetary times, a slow and steady move toward more green and sustainable practices by our governments would benefit us all in the long run.

- Jason Burkins

A recent United States government report found that the price of solar power for homeowners is coming real close to being on par with power from the electrical grid. After years of slow progress, solar technology is advancing rapidly and the cost of generating power from photovoltaics will likely drop from $.021 per kilowatt hour in 2010 to $.010 per kilowatt hour in 2015. The current average cost of electricity from the grid is $.010 per kilowatt hour. The report also predicts that by the year 2030, solar power will likely drop to under 6 cents per kilowatt hour. By then the gap between grid powered and solar powered homes will have closed considerably.

An Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) is a mortgage that rewards you for building or renovating a home with energy efficient features. EEMs allow borrowers to finance cost-effective, energy-saving measures as part of a single mortgage and stretch debt-to-income qualifying ratios on loans. This allows them to qualify for a larger loan amount and a better, more energy-efficient home. Never heard of it? I am not surprised.

Its been a pretty well kept secret, but its not new. It started off as an FHA limited pilot program. Its success caused Congress to enact the national Energy Efficient Mortgage Program in 1995.

Participation in the program has been growing steadily as word gets out and the emphasis on energy efficiency continues to build.

The backbone of the EEM program is the idea that a reduction in a homeowner’s utility costs — by enacting changes that maximize energy efficiency — allows a homeowner to pay a higher mortgage to cover the costs of the energy improvements as well as the mortgage itself.

The FHA offers insurance for these specialized mortgages for a homeowner to buy or refinance a home and incorporate the cost of energy-efficient improvements. As the homeowner, you don’t have to qualify for the extra funds and no down payment is required.

EEMs offer homeowners who otherwise might not be able to afford it a chance to revamp their homes, save costs by adopting energy-efficient practices and help cut down on pollution. Yet, they’re still relatively foreign to most homeowners.

“Although EEMs have been available in some states since 1980, they have been little understood or marketed,” according to HUD. “With EEMs, borrowers do not need to get a separate, costly loan for energy improvements when buying an existing home.”

Here’s an overview of the requirements homeowners need to be considered eligible for an Energy Efficient Mortgage:

The borrower is eligible for maximum FHA-backed loan, using standard underwriting procedures. The borrower must make a 3-percent cash investment in the property based on the sales price. Closing costs are not included in the 3- percent calculation but may be used to satisfy the requirement. Any upfront mortgage insurance premium can be financed as part of the mortgage.

Eligible properties are one- to four-unit current and new construction.

The cost of the energy-efficient improvements that may be eligible for financing into the mortgage is the greater of 5 percent of the property’s value (not to exceed $8,000), or $4,000.

To be eligible for inclusion in this mortgage, the energy-efficient improvements must be cost effective, meaning that the total cost of the improvements is less than the total present value of the energy saved over the useful life of the energy improvement.

The cost of the energy improvements and estimate of the energy savings must be determined by a home energy rating report conducted by a home energy rating system or energy consultant. The cost of the energy rating may be financed as part of the cost-effective energy package.

The energy improvements are installed after the loan closes.

The maximum mortgage amount for a single-family unit depends on its location and it is adjusted annually.

There are three basic types of EEMs, so determining which one is best suited for your needs may require the help of an expert. Along with the FHA-backed loans for energy efficiency, the Veterans Administration also backs EEMs for qualified military personnel, reservists and veterans.

The  mortgages are becoming more known and more popular as homeowners continue to look for meaningful ways to address rising fuel and energy costs. Take some time to evaluate your budget and whether the long-term cost savings associated with energy efficiency is something that’s right for you and your family.

To take advantage of these great energy efficient mortgage programs, talk to your mortgage broker today!

Information for this post comes from The federal government’s Energy Star Program.