| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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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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Crane Drops Challenge to Dalton Land SaleBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:43AM / Thursday, January 22, 2026 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The sale of the land known as the Bardin property is no longer being challenged. Dicken Crane of Holiday Farm, the highest bidder on the property, withdrew his lawsuit and a citizen petition requesting the board award him the sale, recognizing that a reversal was unlikely after the deed had already been signed. The Select Board's decision in December to sell the last 9.15 acres of land to Thomas and Esther Balardini, the third highest bidder, sparked outrage from several residents resulting in a heated meeting to sign the quitclaim deed. Crane was the highest bidder by $20,000. The board swiftly had the deed signed on Dec. 22, following 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Commission Sees Plans for $15M Rebuild of Wahconah ParkBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:02AM / Thursday, January 22, 2026 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Tuesday, the Parks Commission saw plans for a $15 million rebuild of the historic-but-condemned grandstand. The project team hopes to begin construction in July, after the original 1919 structure is demolished. The new, half-cost design for Wahconah Park places the bathrooms and concessions in elevated, standalone buildings beside the grandstand.
"We think this is a fair redesign for a very complicated site and a reduced budget in an environment of escalating building costs," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said.
The new design decouples the bathrooms and concessions into smaller buildings
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Lanesborough ZBA Denies Local Country Store's Appeal By Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:32PM / Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The fate of the Lanesborough Local Country Store's signature vintage pickup truck remains uncertain following the Zoning Board of Appeals' recent decision. Tensions flared at last week's meeting as the board debated whether a truck with a sign mounted on its bed complies with the town's sign bylaws. The board voted to uphold the building inspector's violation, though board member Ronald Tinkham expressed reluctance about the decision. For the last five years, the truck has been a familiar sight on the grass near the store, at local events and parades, and serving ice cream at summer gatherings. That was until 0 Comments
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Dalton Board OKs Personnel Policies, Handbook UpdatesBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
02:44PM / Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board started approving updates to the town's Personnel Policies and Administrative Procedures Handbook last week. Town Manager Eric Anderson, who started his new role on Nov. 1, presented to the board proposed amendments to the policies. The town's solicitor, KP Law, reviewed the document and made suggested changes to verbiage that didn't change the document's intent and did not require the board to sign off. However, there are six items that require board-level approval including amendments to the Commercial Driver's License training reimbursement, implementing a bi-weekly pay period and 0 Comments
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Dalton Capital Planning Committee Members SelectedBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
12:57PM / Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The members of the town's Capital Planning Committee have been selected. In December, the Attorney General's Office approved the Capital Planning Committee bylaw that was approved by voters at the annual town meeting last May, Town Manager Eric Anderson said last week. The bylaw creates the committee, outlines membership, appointment and term, and highlights the committee's duties, which is to prepare a Capital Improvement Plan financing plan with a five-year forecast of revenues and expenses. The members of the committee are Karen Schmidt and Tom Irwin, representatives of the Finance Committee, and Dennis Croughwell, a 0 Comments
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Pittsfield School Board See Update on Middle School RestructuringBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:24AM / Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wheels are moving on the Pittsfield Public Schools plan to realign the middle schools in the fall.
Last week, the School Committee received updates on the transition to an upper elementary and junior high school model in September, with Grades 5 and 6 attending Herberg Middle School and Grades 7 and 8 attending Reid Middle School.
"This is an equity strategy that was started maybe a year ago, a year and a half ago, that we’ve been working towards to ensure that every intermediate and middle school student has access to equitable educational opportunities," Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said.
"I know that there
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