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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Black Lives Matter Protest in Williamstown Draws HundredsBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
06:53PM / Friday, June 05, 2020 | |
A young student participates in the Black Lives Matter rally Friday. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Margot Besnard attended her first Black Lives Matter march in 2016. Four years later, the issue is as pronounced as ever, and instead of being a marcher, she was an organizer. Besnard and Erin Ostheimer, along with the grassroots organization Greylock Together, put out the call, and hundreds of area residents flocked to the Field Park rotary on Friday afternoon to express their anger at the death of George Floyd and their hunger for racial justice in America. For some, it was their first such rally. For others, like Besnard, Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis Police was 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Jobs JubileeBy Bill Schmick,
06:17PM / Friday, June 05, 2020 | |
 A funny thing happened before the market opened Friday morning. Jobless claims, which were supposed to come in at a loss of 8 million, actually did the reverse. Investors were stunned when the Department of Labor announced a gain of 2.5 million jobs. That was cause to celebrate. Total nonfarm payrolls for the month of May revealed an overall unemployment rate of 13.3 percent, but that was a far cry from the 18.5 percent rate economists had expected. Indications from the most recent data argue that the re-opening of the economy is going far better than expected. That, combined with another $1 trillion in stimulus out of Congress that investors expect to be passed next month, sent 0 Comments
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Tyer: City Preparing for Phase 2 OpeningsBy Jack Guerino, iBerkshires Staff
04:45PM / Friday, June 05, 2020 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Linda Tyer said Friday that with the beginning of Phase 2 likely to start Monday, the city is focused on reopening. "The public health data continues to trend in the right direction and that is the result of everybody doing their part to keep themselves and others safe," the mayor said during her weekly COVID-19 update on Pittsfield Community Television. The city has seen 160 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five deaths; the number of active cases is now 31. Berkshire Medical Center currently has five patients. Tyer said the city is doing its part to prepare businesses that will be allowed to open in this next phase with 0 Comments
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Leadership, Networking Program Maintains, Expands Ties During PandemicBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
10:25AM / Friday, June 05, 2020 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For more than a decade, Linda Dulye has been on a mission to provide leadership development and networking opportunities for young professionals. That mission did not end when a global pandemic turned those professionals' working lives upside down. If anything, it intensified. "COVID-19 had a silver lining," the founder of the Dulye Leadership Experience said recently. "I know that's an unusual thing to say. "I was in paralysis when work from home and isolation happened because we were doing in-person programming. Then we had to move and improvise. A lot of amazing alumni and volunteers were there to help us. 0 Comments
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Williamstown Finance Committee Finalizes Letter to Mount Greylock CommitteeBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
04:03AM / Friday, June 05, 2020 | |
Dan Caplinger argued that the letter as drafted might not be taken the way the Finance Committee hoped it would be taken. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As expected, the town's Finance Committee on Wednesday approved a letter advising the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee but only after one Fin Comm member suggested the letter could be seen as "condescending" and "patronizing" by the recipients. On a vote of 7-1, the panel decided to send the letter to the School Committee asking that the latter continue "retaining at least $1.5 million [of the Williams College capital gift] as a capital improvement reserve." The two-page 1 Comment
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Pittsfield Council Wastes No Time Approving 10 Budget SectionsBy Jack Guerino, iBerkshires Staff
01:15AM / Friday, June 05, 2020 | |
Meeting remotely, the City Council gave preliminary approval to 10 budget sections on Thursday night. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council met for day two of budget hearings Thursday night on the proposed $170 million spending plan for fiscal 2021 and preliminarily approved 10 departmental budgets unchanged in just under an hour and a half. The council met remotely to review the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Information Technology, Community Development, Building Maintenance, School Maintenance, Airport, Building Inspections, Health Department, the Berkshire Athenaeum and Personnel. There was little discussion of the budgets, most of which were level-funded or had 1 Comment
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The Retired Investor: Will Jobs Come Back Postpandemic?By Bill Schmick,
09:14PM / Thursday, June 04, 2020 | |
 As this week's job report looms ever closer, investors have become inured over data showing job losses in the multimillions. The present thinking among economists, strategists and politicians is that all these jobs will come back. The question is when. Readers need to realize that prior to the onset of the pandemic, the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent was a historically low level. The spread of COVID-19 forced the country's economy to shut down. The first Americans to lose their jobs were those low-paid workers in the service industries, those that could not work from home. Fortunately, the government's response was to provide fiscal stimulus (in the form of extended and 0 Comments
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Miss Hall's School Graduates 60 Students| 12:45PM / Thursday, June 04, 2020 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Sixty students, including sixteen from Berkshire County and nearby communities, graduated on Sunday, May 31, during Miss Hall’s School's 2020 graduation. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program this year was held online, with students and their families from around the globe joining via Zoom. The event, which was also live-streamed, included remarks from Board of Trustees President Nancy Gustafson Ault, MHS Class of 1973; Head of School Julia Heaton; Senior Class President Ria Kedia of Pittsfield; and School President Ayla Wallace of York, Pa. Actress Jayne Atkinson, selected by the class as its speaker, sent special words of wisdom to the
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Berkshires Beat: Humane Society Launches Annual 'Choose Your Subaru' Raffle| 12:18PM / Thursday, June 04, 2020 | |
 Humane Society raffle Berkshire Humane Society and Haddad Subaru have launched their eighth annual "Choose Your Subaru" car raffle. One lucky winner will have their choice of a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Limited, Forester Premium or Outback Premium with a value up to $33,000. Tickets are $40 each or three for $100 and can be purchased by credit card by calling the shelter at 413-447-7878, ext. 131. Berkshire Humane Society will send ticket stubs to purchasers. The raffle is limited to 2,400 tickets. If a minimum of 1,000 tickets are not sold, the raffle will convert to a 50/50 drawing of net proceeds. The winner will be drawn on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m. at the shelter at 214
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UPDATED: Preschool, Kindergarten Registrations Scheduled Around County| 12:03PM / Thursday, June 04, 2020 | |
 Berkshire County schools are scheduling and re-scheduling preschool and kindergarten registration dates and procedures for the 2020-21 school year. Schools can send their information to info@iberkshires.com to be included on this list.
All students, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or homelessness, have equal access to the general education program and the full range of any occupational, vocational programs offered by public school districts. Clarksburg Clarksburg parents can now begin to register their youngsters for kindergarten. Children must be 5 years old as of Aug. 31. Call the school office
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Pittsfield Co-op Taps Vice President-Mortgage Advisor| 11:44AM / Thursday, June 04, 2020 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Spring Burke has been appointed to the position of vice president-mortgage advisor for the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank's Lending Division. Burke, a seasoned veteran, joins the bank with many years of experience in the banking industry, working for Canaan National and Salisbury Bank for more than 20 years. A highly accomplished originator, she is skilled in every aspect of the loan process and has a wide range of mortgage product knowledge as well as bank policies and procedures. Burke also possesses an extensive background in leadership and has been recognized as a top producer and has received the 5 Star Award from Connecticut Magazine and was
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