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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Berkshire Humane Still Caring for Animals Despite Financial StrugglesStaff Reports,
05:22PM / Saturday, April 04, 2020 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Humane Society has been forced to change operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic but its and care and support for animals will not waiver. "We understand that this is a tough time for everyone. We just want people to know that the homeless animals in our care are still getting the same, nurturing level of care that they always do and we are continuing our programs to help pet owners keep pets in their loving homes," Executive Director, John Perreault said. "We appreciate the support the community has given us at this time. We'll work through this together and look forward to better times for both people and the animals 0 Comments
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Walmart Implementing COVID-19 Restrictions| 11:48AM / Saturday, April 04, 2020 | |
 NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Walmart is instituting strict limits on access to its more than 4,700 stores across the nation. As of Saturday, April 4, the number of customers allowed in store will be limited to five per every 1,000 square feet, or about 20 percent of each store's capacity. Associates will direct customers to a marked queue at a single-entry door and they will be admitted one-by-one and counted. Associates and signage will remind customers of the importance of social distancing while they're waiting to enter a store – especially before it opens in the morning. "While many of our customers have been following the advice of the 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Don't Trade This MarketBy Bill Schmick,
10:41AM / Saturday, April 04, 2020 | |
 Markets that go up or down several percentage points a day is the new norm. As COVID-19 begins to infect the U.S. heartland, more and more of the country is shutting down. Deaths and cases have still not peaked, so why should we expect the stock market to have bottomed out? The financial media, I believe, is providing investors a great disservice. Every day, some analyst, money manager, or company executive is either trying to pick a bottom, or telling you the bottom is already in, or arguing that it may be weeks or months away. Ignore them. My column is not about giving you false hope, or doom-and-gloom warnings. It is about the fact that the stock market is simply 0 Comments
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Testing, Contact Tracing Touted as Tool to Stop COVID-19 SpreadBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
11:18PM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 BOSTON — The state is collaborating with Partners in Health to create the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative, the first of its kind in the nation. Gov. Charlie Baker stressed Friday that testing will be an "enormously powerful tool for public health officials" in containing the spread of the novel coronavirus. The new tracing collaborative is one of several assets being used to prepare for an expected surge in cases that could top 170,000 before the end of April. "We've been working this issue on a number of different fronts because slowing the spread of the virus requires us to use every tool that's available to us," Baker 0 Comments
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Williamstown Commons COVID-19 Contagion SpreadsBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
07:11PM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Three residents at Williamstown Commons nursing home have now reportedly died from complications of COVID-19.
Administrator Jodi Ouimette, in her latest update on April 2, reported that two residents died on Wednesday night and that 36 residents have now tested positive for the novel coranavirus. The first death was reported on March 29.
The 180-bed has seen cases rise since the first positive test results on March 24. Within three days the number had jumped to 14. Currently, there are 118 patents at the facility, that number normally is about 135, according to a spokesperson from Berkshire Healthcare Systems.
"Despite continued tireless efforts and 1 Comment
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Letter: Coronavirus Tests Only for Those in the 'Big Club'Letter to the Editor,
07:00PM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 To the Editor:
George Carlin once joked, "It's a big club and you ain't in it." The rich and powerful have access to things that you and I do not. A few years ago, I saw an advertisements on television about the shingles shot. The ad recommended that if you were over a certain age, that you were at risk and that you should get the shot. I went to my health-care provider who said because I had not reached the age of 60, I could not get it. I got shingles within a year.
Now you have to be in that big club that you ain't in to get a coronavirus test. Ordinary folks like you or me cannot get tested. But if we were NBA basketball players, movie stars, royalty, or a
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The Independent Investor: How the CARE Act Changes Tax-Deferred Account RulesBy Bill Schmick,
04:35PM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 Listen up, big changes have just occurred because of the newly passed CARE Act. Aside from the "free money" that 90 percent of Americans are expecting, important changes to your retirement accounts have been passed. These changes can save you a bundle in taxes while providing instant cash relief, if you need it. Normally, if you need money from a retirement account, and you are under 59 1/2 years old, you are required to pay a 10 percent penalty, plus the income tax owed on your withdrawal. There are some exceptions to the rule and the CARE Act just added a big one. The federal government just eliminated that 10 percent penalty for any distributions from IRAs, 0 Comments
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Adams Community Bank Donates $100,000 to BHS COVID-19 Relief Fund| 01:52PM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Adams Community Bank has donated $100,000 to the COVID-19 Relief Fund that was recently established to help Berkshire Health Systems battle the coronavirus pandemic. The major gift be used to help defray the costs of providing personal protective equipment for hospital caregivers and staff on the front lines of the health crisis. In addition to this gift, Adams Community Bank has also committed to funding one month of emergency child care for BHS employees, totaling up to $25,000, through an arrangement with the Berkshire Family YMCA. The coronavirus is placing unprecedented financial pressures on health-care systems nationwide, including Berkshire 3 Comments
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Williams College Cancels Commencement, Reunion WeekendBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
11:39AM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College President Maud Mandel on Friday sent a community-wide email announcing that school's commencement and reunion weekend weekend will not take place as scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Seniors, while I am heartbroken that graduation cannot happen in the conventional way at the conventional time, I am determined that you will have your moment," Mandel wrote. "Rather than deciding for you what that should look like, my colleagues and I want to start by asking you." Mandel announced that members of the Class of 2020 will receive a survey seeking their ideas about alternative ways to celebrate their graduation 0 Comments
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Covid-19 Briefs April 3: BRTA Modifies Bus Routes| 09:06AM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 BRTA Modifying Weekday Routes Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is reducing the normal weekday service to a modified schedule effective Monday, April 6. Saturday service has not been affected and will run as scheduled. Modified schedules of the effected routes below will be posted to the BRTA website The following routes will have 120-minute headways instead of the usual weekday 60-minute service headways: Route 1 Pittsfield to North Adams, Route 2 Pittsfield to Lee, Route 4 Pittsfield to Dalton/Hinsdale, Route 11 Pittsfield to BCC, Route 21 Lee to Great Barrington. The following routes will not run: Route 3S Pittsfield to Williamstown, Route 14 Pittsfield shopping 0 Comments
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Roots Rising Launching Virtual Farmers MarketStaff Reports, iBerkshires Staff
03:47AM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Roots Rising has created a virtual farmers' market to supply Berkshire County residents with fresh local produce. The COVID-19 pandemic has created numerous challenges in terms of access, however, Roots Rising's directors believes this should not be the case for fresh produce. "Like everyone else, we were reeling from the sudden changes to everyday life and the immense community need that arose due to the pandemic," Directors Jamie Samowitz and Jess Vecchia said in a joint email interview. "With our Youth Crews and our Pittsfield Farmers Market both shut down, we wanted to find a way to be of service. So we set about seeing what 2 Comments
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Vermont Veterans Home Hosts Vehicle Parade on SaturdayBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
01:40AM / Friday, April 03, 2020 | |
 BENNINGTON, Vt. — Veterans are a familiar site at small-town parades, usually as marchers. On Saturday at the Vermont Veterans Home, many local vets will be on the sidelines as the facility invites friends, family and members of the public to the home's first Vehicle Parade. Participants are asked to report for a lineup in the back parking lot at 2 p.m. and to remain in their vehicles as they drive around the residential and health care campus, waving to and providing moral support for the residents inside. "We've gotten tremendous feedback on the parade," said Melinda Crowl, the marketing and admissions coordinator for the home. "We've 3 Comments
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