| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Pittsfield Schools See 'Very Modest' Chapter 70 IncreaseBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:01AM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
The School Committee is expected to vote on a budget in April. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools will see a "very modest" increase in Chapter 70 funding for fiscal year 2027, and administrators are working to calculate exactly what that will mean.
Gov. Maura Healey filed a nearly $63 billion budget on Wednesday that increases the city's school funding by $404,000. The Pittsfield schools dropped into a lower Chapter 70 funding category because it has fewer students considered low income.
This year's expected Chapter 70 aid is just over $68.8 million. In FY26, the district received $68,450,361. "While the FY27 budget reflects
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Pittsfield CDBG Applications Exceeding FundingBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:48AM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city has 24 applicants for human services funding, and last year's awardees stretched their dollars as far as they could.
The Human Services Advisory Council recently outlined its process for allocating Community Development Block Grants, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last year, 23 city programs received a total of $206,250 from Pittsfield's general fund and the CDBG Program. Nate Joyner, Pittsfield's community development and housing program manager, reported that beneficiaries nearly doubled their impact with the last cycle of awards.
"In last year's program, under the CDBG
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BCC Holds First Workforce Programs Graduation By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:03PM / Thursday, January 29, 2026 | |
Keynote speaker Michael Obasohan, chief diversity officer for Pittsfield, encouraged the graduates to be 'uncomfortable' as a way to grow. PITTSFIELD, Mass.— During Berkshire Community College's inaugural Workforce and Community Education graduation, scholars were asked, "Will you stay comfortable or will you grow?"
In the fall, 55 students completed training for careers such as emergency medical technician, phlebotomist, paraeducator, registered behavior technician, and community health worker. Their work was celebrated on Wednesday night in the college's Boland Theater.
Keynote speaker Michael Obasohan, Pittsfield's chief diversity
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Dalton Finance Looks to Form Contracts SubcommitteeBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
05:48PM / Thursday, January 29, 2026 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Finance Committee wants to create a subcommittee to review contracts presented to the town. Chair William Drosehn brought up the idea to help bring focus to the many town contracts and should the committee be aware of them. "This will be to review all of the contracts that are presented to us by the Select Board and our town manager," he said. He noted how the committee had no input on use of the American Rescue Plan Act funds the last three years. "The Finance Committee was supposed to be involved, and they kept us out of it completely. We had no say or no talk of what was going on with the relationship to ARPA 0 Comments
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Companion Corner: Beans at Berkshire Humane SocietyBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
03:01PM / Thursday, January 29, 2026 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and playful puppy looking for his new family. iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. Beans is a terrier and American pitbull mix and came to the shelter with his littermates early December. Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Beans. "There were four of these puppies in the litter. Each puppy looked very unique, different colors, different face shapes. They were all very, very unique puppies," she said. Beans is a very active puppy and is always playing. He is still learning many things but will also cuddle you
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Downtown Pittsfield Parking Restrictions In Effect For Snow Removal| 01:28PM / Thursday, January 29, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In order to effectively remove snow from the city's downtown, the City of Pittsfield will be implementing a parking restriction from 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, until 6:00 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 30. During this time, on-street parking will be prohibited on North Street between Park Square and Wahconah Street in the southbound lane. This will allow the city to continue snow removal operations that began last evening. Residents in and around downtown Pittsfield are encouraged to use the McKay Street parking garage for parking, which will be open to the public free of charge during this timeframe. All other existing and signed parking 0 Comments
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1Berkshire Selected as Participant in Regional Skills-First Ecosystem Initiative| 10:34AM / Thursday, January 29, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 1Berkshire was selected by Jobs for the Future (JFF) as a funded participant in their Inquiry into Building Regional Skills-First Ecosystems initiative. This initiative will use community-informed insights and ideas to lay the foundation for support for regional, skills-based economies, stated a press release. As one of only 12 regionally based organizations participating nationwide, 1Berkshire will partner with JFF and local stakeholders across the Berkshires to examine the conditions, opportunities, and challenges involved in advancing skills-based talent management practices. 1Berkshire's specific focus in this initiative is 0 Comments
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Create an Ad: Jiminy Peak Mountain ResortBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fifth-grade students at Conte Community School captured the magic of Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort's winter season, bringing the snowy wonderland to life as part of our Junior Marketers Create an Ad series. The mountain resort in Hancock offers everything needed to create unforgettable winter memories — from ski and snowboard lessons to a restaurant, coffee house, ski and snowboard rentals and repairs, and an on-site shop for winter-sport essentials, including coats, gloves, hand warmers, helmets, and so much more. For those who want to immerse themselves, Jiminy Peak has lodging, including Crane Lodge, named after on of its 0 Comments
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Utilities Back Off Plans to Charge Interest on Deferred Payments| 05:34PM / Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | |
BOSTON — Major utilities have agreed to waive interest charges on Gov. Maura Healey's call for a reduction of gas and electric bills. Healey plans to use $180 million to cut electricity bills by 25 percent and gas bills by 10 percent for residential customers in February and March. The governor pledged the reduction in her State of the Commonwealth speech last month as a way to provide relief to consumers during this frigid winter. The funds will cover only 15 percent of the electricity bills, with utilities voluntarily deferring another 10 percent, which they can recover starting in April. But then they planned to charge customers interest on the deferred payments 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Council Again Requests Redacted PHS ReportBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:39PM / Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council has again asked the School Committee for a redacted version of the 2025 Pittsfield High School investigative report.
This time, it is sent to an almost-all-new panel that largely expressed a need for increased transparency around the report during last year's election.
On Tuesday, Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi and Ward 7 Councilor Katherine Moody's petition urging the School Committee release the report with needed redactions was approved. School Committee member Ciara Batory has submitted the same request for Wednesday's meeting.
Five past and present PHS staff members were investigated for alleged
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Part II: Matching Vocational Programs to Workforce NeedsBy John Townes, Special to iBerkshires
02:36PM / Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | |
 In Massachusetts, Career Technical Education Chapter 74 programs are based on a framework of employment preparation. In addition to the core academic curricula required of all high school graduates, Chapter 74 programs include specific skills and career training in a variety of industries and specific jobs, ranging from agriculture to manufacturing to computer graphics to health care, among others. The guidelines for Chapter 74 programs include immersive learning time, co-operative education in partnership with local employers, and opportunities to earn high-value industry credentials, such as professional certifications and adjacent 0 Comments
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Berkshire County High School Bowling Hall of Fame foundedCommunity submission,
12:30PM / Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | |
 The Berkshire County high school bowling community is proud to announce the inaugural class of the Berkshire County High School Bowling Hall of Fame, honoring former student-athletes whose achievements and contributions have had a lasting impact on high school bowling throughout the county. The first Hall of Fame class represents multiple schools and more than a decade of excellence in Berkshire County high school bowling. Inductees, listed in order of their graduating class, are: Mat Bak (Class of 2009) – McCann High School Jason Duryea (Class of 2010) – Monument Mountain High School Brianna Amidon (Class of 2011) – Pittsfield High School Jasmine Kern (Class 0 Comments
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