| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Pittsfield Parks Commission OKs Outdoor February EventsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:09PM / Saturday, January 24, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Locals can experience the snow-covered Berkshire landscape during outdoor February events in Pittsfield.
The Parks Commission on Tuesday approved a winter festival, fireworks at The Common, and a fishing festival at Onota Lake for the upcoming month.
The winter festival and fireworks are part of the 15th annual 10x10 Upstreet Winter Arts Festival, which runs from Feb. 12 to Feb. 22. More than a dozen organizations collaborate to offer ten days of events that bring the community downtown during the winter.
The third annual Winter Festival will bring people of all ages to Clapp Park on Presidents' Day, Feb. 10. It will kick off at 10 a.m. and run
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A New Leaf With Deep RootsBy Lani Willmar , Guest Column
03:45PM / Saturday, January 24, 2026 | |
Three years before I arrived in the Berkshires in 2011, I watched my mother's new, small business collapse. A relative had encouraged her to launch a small trucking operation and hire other Vietnamese community members as drivers. From the outside, transportation logistics can look deceptively simple: you're simply moving goods efficiently from point A to point B. Reality is always more complicated. From volatile weather, fluctuating fuel costs, tight delivery windows, there are countless risks between turning a profit versus falling into a financial sinkhole. For a young refugee entrepreneur, the barriers were enormous. In the end, the business required 0 Comments
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Gov. Healey Urges Preparedness Ahead of Winter StormStaff Reports ,
01:53PM / Saturday, January 24, 2026 | |
BOSTON, Mass.—The Healey-Driscoll Administration is asking Massachusetts residents to plan ahead and review winter weather safety tips this weekend and into early next week, ahead of the anticipated winter storm.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued an Extreme Cold Warning for western Massachusetts from Friday at 7 p.m. to Saturday at 1 p.m. with wind chills as low as 25 degrees below zero expected in some spots. A Cold Weather Advisory remains in effect from 10 p.m. Friday evening to 10 a.m. Saturday morning for the rest of the state with low wind chills to 20 below zero.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from Sunday morning through Monday
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National Grid, Foundation Energy Affordability Assistance for Seniors, Families in Need| 11:54AM / Saturday, January 24, 2026 | |
WALTHAM, Mass.— National Grid and the National Grid Foundation today announced a $5 million statewide initiative to provide affordability assistance for Massachusetts customers over the next two years. The funds will be administered by community partners and will help seniors and income-eligible households manage energy costs and improve energy affordability through new resources, enhanced community outreach, and weatherization services. The efforts will: Provide up to $400 in emergency energy bill assistance for Massachusetts households that fall outside state aid eligibility. Drive enrollment in energy affordability programs through increased community outreach to seniors 0 Comments
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Dalton Health Board Pushes Recycling ReportingBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
10:52AM / Saturday, January 24, 2026 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Board of Health is looking to issue an educational pamphlet on recycling to residents and waste haulers after haulers failed to report their tonnage. The company Solid Waste Haulers was not reporting its tonnage quarterly as required. This sparked a conversation with the Green Committee about the need to educate the public about recycling. "I don't think the residents of Dalton know that recycling is mandatory, so I think the Green Committee is going to do some education during Earth Week about the fact that recycling is mandatory," Nancy Hopper said. The solid waste town bylaws adopted in 2020, states that all generators in town must separate
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Mass Wildlife: Why You Shouldn't Feed Wildlife This Winter| 08:08AM / Saturday, January 24, 2026 | |
 Each winter, MassWildlife receives inquiries from the public regarding whether or not to feed wildlife. While people have good intentions, supplemental feeding of wildlife typically does more harm than good. Most wildlife seasonally change their behavior to adapt to cold temperatures and scarce food supplies. Supplemental feeding can alter that behavior and have detrimental, and sometimes fatal, effects. Wildlife in Massachusetts have adapted over thousands of years to cope with harsh winter weather, including deep snow, cold temperatures, and high winds. Supplemental feed sites congregate wildlife into unnaturally high densities, which can: Attract predators and increase risk of 0 Comments
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Friday of Front Porch Feature: A Charming Home with Berkshire SceneryBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
06:00PM / Friday, January 23, 2026 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Are you looking for a big home with a lot of land to enjoy the Berkshire scenery in? Then this house is for you. Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 8 Northbrook Lane. This home was built in 2025 and includes four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The house is listed for $999,000. It is 3,100 square feet with 2.79 acres. The house comes with major appliances and has a two car garage. There are plans for landscaping and a driveway this spring. There is a walkout basement with potential for future living space expansion. We spoke with lister Corey J Bishop with Bishop West
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Gov. Maura Healey's State of the Commonwealth 2026| 04:10PM / Friday, January 23, 2026 | |
 Good evening, Massachusetts! Senate President Spilka, Speaker Mariano, who I know is watching from home, Leader Tarr, Leader Jones, and everyone in the Legislature: Thank you for our work together. We also have empty seats in the Chamber tonight, members of this body who we lost this year. Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante: Great public servants who served with passion and dedication and will be deeply missed. Thank you to our Constitutional officers, members of the judiciary, and Governor's Councilors. Thank you to the former governors joining us tonight, Governor Bill Weld and Governor Mike Dukakis. Mayor Wu, and all our 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Headline noise equals opportunityBy Bill Schmick,
03:50PM / Friday, January 23, 2026 | |
A Greenland invasion, the end of NATO, another tariff war, Iranian riots, threats, and counterthreats. This week saw it all. It could have been the end of the world, but it wasn’t. Savvy investors took advantage of the noise. Talk about TACO (Trump always chickens out)! This week exemplified Trumpian scare tactics. It is remarkable how many investors were influenced, not recognizing this as another page from Trump’s novel, “The Art of the Deal.” In any case, the ruffled feathers on both sides of the Atlantic after the president’s threat to take over Greenland or else were resolved in short order. The World Economic Summit in Davos set the stage for Trump's
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Berkshires Opens Warming Centers, Provides Safety Resources Ahead of Frigid WeekendStaff Reports ,
03:07PM / Friday, January 23, 2026 | |
A back-to-back weather threat is developing as an Extreme Cold Warning tonight gives way to a major Winter Storm Warning starting Sunday morning. Dangerously cold wind chills of 25 to 35 below zero will persist through Saturday afternoon, creating a high risk of frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. Conditions will remain life-threatening for those without proper shelter or heating, and pets should be kept indoors. Beginning at 7 AM Sunday and lasting through 7 PM Monday, a long-duration winter storm will then impact all of eastern New York and western New England, bringing 12 to 18 inches of heavy snow. Travel will become very dangerous, particularly Sunday night 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Gen Z prefers stocks rather than houses to build wealthBy Bill Schmick,
03:26PM / Thursday, January 22, 2026 | |
Priced out of the housing markets, younger generations must look further afield to save for retirement. While the barriers to entry in the housing market keep rising, access to financial markets has gotten cheaper. This is a vastly different attitude and behavior from previous generations. It has been a tradition here in America that the way to build wealth and enjoy it was to buy a home. As a result, homeownership is today the most valuable asset for the average American and accounts for nearly half of their accumulated wealth. In just about any study today, rising home equity accounts for the lion's share of net worth. Unfortunately, as I wrote in my last column, most Gen Zers cannot
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Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity offers Free Tax Assistance | 10:38AM / Thursday, January 22, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For more than a dozen years, Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity (CBHFH) has provided free income tax preparation to qualifying households through the IRS-supported Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Services are available to households earning $69,000 or less, as well as individuals with disabilities and older adults. All VITA volunteers complete extensive training and are IRS-certified. According to CBHFH CEO Carolyn Valli, the program's success is rooted in both volunteer commitment and community trust. "Most of our volunteers return year after year to support this essential service for underserved residents of 0 Comments
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