Adam Frenier

With work underway on a controversial natural gas pipeline in southern Berkshire County, activists are planning to protest at the site Friday.

A spokesperson for the company Kinder Morgan said crews are setting up erosion protection devices along the pipeline route in Otis State Forest, and tree cutting won't begin until that's complete.

A Massachusetts legislative committee charged with recommending changes to the state's marijuana law holds its final public hearing in Boston Monday. And one of the state's U.S. senators is urging lawmakers to respect the will of the people.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said she was in favor of the ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana. She said she understands there are a few things that do need to be addressed by the legislature.

As she looks to her 2018 re-election campaign, Massachusetts U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is touting her efforts on behalf of the western part of the state.

Warren is a regular these days on national TV and radio shows with most of her public appearances in Massachusetts in the eastern part of the state. Asked if she feels she's been in western Mass. enough, she did not directly answer the question.

Both Massachusetts U.S. senators are calling on federal regulators to halt a natural gas pipeline project in southern Berkshire County.

Massachusetts uses private collection agencies to go after delinquent taxpayers. And the secretary of state said more needs to be done to make residents aware of the practice.

Weather forecasters are warning the current windy, dry conditions can contribute to a heightened risk of outdoor fires. And officials in Massachusetts have been dealing with blazes popping up all over the state.

Over the weekend, 35 to 40 brush fires took place across Massachusetts.

Dave Celino, the chief fire warden for the state's department of conservation and recreation, said it's been a typical fire season so far. He said fire crews are seeing one lingering impact from the recent drought.

New legislation filed Tuesday by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker would allow those fined by a court a chance to work off the debt through community service, instead being thrown in jail.

In a statement, Baker said the hope is to keep more people from going behind bars just because of their inability to pay.

Richard Dohoney, president of the Berkshire County Bar Association, said the bill would have some positive impacts beyond that.

Massachusetts taxpayers have until Tuesday, April 18, to file their returns. And some -- although not many -- will choose to pay the state a little more than they have to.

Recent wet weather has put a dent in the drought that's been plaguing most of New England for much of the past year. 

In western Massachusetts, most of the area is tagged by forecasters as just "abnormally dry." Only a swath along along the Connecticut River in Hampden and Hampshire counties, extending into western Franklin County is still under a moderate drought.

Anthony Artusa with the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said the chances are good for above average rainfall over the next few months, which will help wipe out the drought completely.

Former Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran will be stripped of his pension after a ruling Wednesday by the state's highest court.

Finneran, a Boston Democrat, pleaded guilty in 2007 to obstruction of justice. He gave false testimony in a law suit over a legislative redistricting plan.

If forecasters are correct, March won't exactly be going out like a lamb. The winter storm expected to hit New England Friday will further strain the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's budget.

The Massachusetts fiscal year 2017 budget includes $62 million for snow and ice removal. By law, state transportation officials are allowed to go $50 million over

MassDOT said it was already up against that cap two weeks ago and will work with lawmakers to cover all winter clean-up costs.

The Baker Administration is rolling out a new grant program designed to speed up broadband expansion in rural parts of Massachusetts. $20 million will be available to towns looking to build their own networks.

Before, communities were forced to work with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute on the design phase, with MBI holding back state money for that purpose.

Many town officials, like Brian Hawthorne, who chairs the broadband committee in the Hampshire County community of Plainfield, complained the whole thing was taking too long.

The former head of the Pittsfield police union pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $200,000 from the organization.

The Berkshire County District Attorney's office said the thefts took place between 2008 and 2015 when Jeffrey Coco was the treasurer and later president of the police union in Pittsfield.

A police investigation concluded Coco wrote checks from a union account to either himself or his wife for personal use. He was fired from his job as a police officer in 2015. 

The operator of a state-owned broadband network in Western Massachusetts is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And it is just the latest in a legal battle between the company and the state. The bankruptcy filing by KCTS-USA goes along with a 2014 suit it brought against the state. The company said construction delays and a dispute over how many subscribers it would have caused it financial harm. That case has yet to be resolved. KCTS operates the so-called "middle mile" network, which provides broadband to libraries, schools and town governments.

Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg said one possible change to the state's marijuana law could involve who oversees the regulation of pot sales.

Voters last year passed a legalization ballot question, which gave control of the Cannabis Control Board to the state treasurer.

Rosenberg told Boston Herald Radio, that ultimately, any changes are up to a legislative committee reviewing the law.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding confirmation hearings this week for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

On Tuesday, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy pressed the Trump nominee on the president's attempts to ban residents of certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

"A Republican congressman recently said [that] the best thing the president can do for his Muslim ban is to make sure he has Gorsuch on the Supreme Court before appeals get to that point," Leahy said.

As college basketball's so-called "big dance" takes a few days off, Amherst College is celebrating a national championship. The women's hoops team won the Division III title over the weekend.  Amherst knocked off conference and in-state rival Tufts 52-29 to win the championship, capping a perfect 33-0 season.  Head Coach GP Gromacki said a lot went through his mind when the final buzzer sounded in that game. "It was an unbelievable run," Gromacki said.

The Springfield Sting, the local entry in the minor league American Basketball Association, is in the midst of a playoff run.

The Sting won their first-ever playoff game last weekend and will play again Saturday against the New Jersey Express, whom the Sting have defeated three times this season.

A win there would give them the league’s Northeast Division title, and just two more wins would send them to Baltimore and the ABA’s Final Eight.

A pair of Western Massachusetts colleges are playing in basketball Final Fours on Friday Night. The Amherst College women and Williams men are both trying to bring home national championships.

Amherst College enters the Division III national semifinal with a perfect 31-0 record. So far in NCAA play, they have defeated their opponents by an average of 25 points per game. On Friday night, they’ll face Christopher Newport University.

With one to two feet of fresh snow on the ground after this week’s winter storm, Berkshire County ski areas say they’ll be able to do something they couldn’t do this time last winter: stay open. While there has been more snow this ski season, business on the slopes has still been something of a mixed bag.

At Bousquet Mountain in Pittsfield, Sherry Roberts said they haven’t set any records, but business has been steady this season. And boy did they need it.