LISTEN: 'It's Not That Simple' Mar. 13 (AUDIO)

It's the the Mar. 13 edition of 'It's Not That Simple' with co-hosts Ed Abrahams (Great Barrington Select Board member) and Pedro Pachano (Great Barrington Planning Board member).

Ed and Pedro examine issues facing Great Barrington and explore the question, “why don’t they just fix it?” They discuss the complexities, the competing interests, the less obvious costs or consequences, and the missing information that explains why It’s Not That Simple. They do their best to steer clear of opinion and to just point out the issues that make the problems more complex than they might appear.

Although both men serve on elected town boards, they are not speaking for those boards or for the town in any capacity. They are only representing themselves on the radio. The program airs every other Friday morning at 9:05 on WSBS. The talk show covers town issues that one may think may be corrected by a common sense solution but isn't always the case for a variety of reasons.

Ed Abrahams is seeking reelection to the Selectboard. Due to the Federal Communication Commission’s Equal Time rule, Ed will be off the air until after the Great Barrington Town Elections on May 12th.

For over two decades, the EPA has been negotiating with GE toward a goal of cleaning up the Housatonic River. The Rest of River settlement is the latest attempt at fulfilling that goal. In this three part series the program explores the history of the clean up attempts, and the legal and scientific constraints on the clean up process.

On the Mar. 13 edition of the program, Pedro's guests were Bryan Olson, Region 1 Director of the Superfund and Emergency Management Division of the EPA, and Chris Rembold, Great Barrington Assistant Town Manager and Director of Community Development. Both of them were participants in the mediation process that led to the settlement. The men spoke about the what’s in store for the present and future of the Housatonic River and its clean up.

You can listen to the program below (the audio has been divided into two segments).