| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Pittsfield Firefighters Gunn, Mazzeo Commended for Meritorious Conduct| 03:02PM / Tuesday, November 25, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two city firefighters were among the 170 from throughout the state recognized on Tuesday for valor and meritorious conduct at the 36th annual Firefighter of the Year Awards. Firefighters Clarence Gunn and Mathew Mazzeo received Citations for Meritorious Conduct for their swift actions in rescuing an ice fisherman who had fallen through the ice on Onota Lake last January. Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Public Safety & Security Secretary Gina K. Kwon, and State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine honored 15 local fire departments and two state agencies at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. "This year's awards reflect selfless acts 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Council to Vote on Crosby/Conte Feasibility ContractBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
02:19PM / Tuesday, November 25, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council will take a vote on the Crosby/Conte feasibility study agreement on Tuesday.
Throughout the 2025 municipal election season and previous votes, there has been resounding support for the proposal to rebuild and consolidate John C. Crosby Elementary and Silvio O. Conte Community School on the Crosby property.
School officials in 2024 toured the 69,500-square-foot Conte that opened in 1974 and the 69,800-square-foot Crosby that opened in 1962. At Conte, they saw an open concept community school that is not conducive to modern-day needs, and at Crosby, they saw a facility that was built as a middle school and in need of significant
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State Fire Marshal: Put Fire Safety on the Menu this Thanksgiving| 07:11AM / Tuesday, November 25, 2025 | |
STOW, Mass. — Thanksgiving is just a week away, and State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine is reminding residents to stay safe in the kitchen on the #1 day for home fires in Massachusetts. "Thanksgiving is a cherished time to spend with family and friends, but it's also the leading day for fires at home," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "About twice as many residential fires are reported in Massachusetts on Thanksgiving as on any other day. Don't let a fire ruin this special day with your family and loved ones. Practice fire safety when cooking and heating your home, and be sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms that can alert you to
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Thanksgiving Angels Makes Thanksgiving Accessible for EveryoneBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:38AM / Tuesday, November 25, 2025 | |
Volunteers from Haddda Auto Group were ready to give walk-ins a ride home with their Thanksgiving feast. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Food insecurity is rising; however, the Thanksgiving Angels are growing alongside it. "It's unbelievable how many people are terrified of losing their SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits and are food insecure to begin with, and trying to pay exorbitant amounts of rent and working two and three jobs just to try and make ends meet," said Gretchen DeBartolo, co-chair of the Thanksgiving Angels. Thanksgiving Angels started signing people up for meal kits during the government shutdown, when it 0 Comments
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Habitat For Humanity Holiday Match Challenge | 02:47PM / Monday, November 24, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity announced that a longtime supporter has once again stepped forward with a 1-to-1 Holiday Match Challenge, offering to match all donations made through Dec. 31, 2025, up to $7,000. Every gift made during this year's Home for the Holidays campaign will go twice as far in helping local families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership. "We are incredibly grateful for this donor and his family, whose continued commitment to Habitat's mission has been essential to our work," said Habitat CEO Carolyn Valli. "This year has been especially challenging for 0 Comments
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Santa Will Be Calling Pittsfield Children This Holiday SeasonBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
12:22PM / Monday, November 24, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Santa and Mrs. Claus will be calling Pittsfield children to ask them what they want for Christmas. The city of Pittsfield is hosting its 44th annual North Pole Calling Program this December. Children from kindergarten to second-graders, or any children who still believes, will be receiving phone calls from the Clauses on Wednesday, Dec. 10, and Thursday, Dec 11, between 5 and 7:30 p.m. if signed up for the program. The elementary schools sent home forms for parents to sign to get a call from the Clauses this holiday season. "It's definitely a meaningful program. I think it gives kids an opportunity, if they don't have 0 Comments
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Holiday Hours: Thanksgiving| 10:59AM / Monday, November 24, 2025 | |
Plymouth's statue of Massasoit, who was instrumental in Plymouth Colony's survival, looks out over the Plymouth Rock monument. Image via SeePlymouth.com. Thanksgiving will be observed on Thursday, Nov. 27. The day is a national holiday inspired by the first Thanksgiving dinner shared between the Pilgrims and Wampanoags in 1621 at Plymouth. The living history museum Plimoth Patuxet continues the tradition each year with a recreation of the event in which visitors can participate. Thanksgiving was first federally recognized by proclamation in 1863 by President Lincoln at the height of the Civil War. It did not become codified as a national holiday until 1941, when President
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Berkshire Communities Awarded Recycling and Waste Reduction Grants | 08:09AM / Monday, November 24, 2025 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced more than $4 million in Sustainable Materials Recovery Program grants to 280 municipalities and regional collaboratives to help communities maximize recycling, composting and waste reduction. "These grants support our communities, expand recycling and composting efforts, and target new materials to remove from the waste stream," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "We are committed to ensuring our cities and towns have the resources they need to become more sustainable and achieve their goals of reducing disposal costs and the amount of waste in our landfills." In 0 Comments
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BRPC Forms Search Committee to Replace Retiring DirectorBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:39AM / Monday, November 24, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will be seeking a new executive director as Thomas Matuszko plans to retire in March. On Thursday, an Executive Director Search Committee was established with a slate of experienced members. Matuszko has worked with organization for nearly 30 years. He was appointed as executive director in 2018, having previously been a principal planner from 1997 to 2000 and then assistant director from 2001. The search committee will conduct the initial hiring process and make recommendations to the Executive Committee, followed by the full commission. Members include: Buck Donovan, Malcolm Fick, Sheila Irvin, Kyle Hanlon, John Duval,
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Stairs Proposed to Increase Access on Pontoosuc Lake Shoreline By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:30AM / Monday, November 24, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city plans to ensure access along the south shoreline of Pontoosuc Lake Park with stairs funded by the Community Preservation Act.
Last Tuesday, the Parks Commission tabled discussion on the Pontoosuc Lake Park shoreline plantings. This comes after community members argued that erosion control plantings impeded access, four easy access points were proposed, and a site visit with the Conservation Commission revealed that some of the bank erosion was worse than they believed.
Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath will return around springtime with formally engineered plans for two sets of wooden steps with railings along the
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Pittsfield Schools Falling Behind on AttendanceBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:21AM / Monday, November 24, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Public Schools' "scary" attendance rates fall below the state average, and the district is trying to determine the root causes so they can be addressed.
"Really, there's only one or two districts, Holyoke is one, that is higher than us, but there aren't a lot of full districts that rank higher than Pittsfield," Jennifer Stokes, assistant superintendent for school transformation and accountability, said after reporting that Pittsfield schools are listed as 14th in the state for chronic absenteeism.
This was presented during Wednesday's School Committee meeting. Interim Superintendent Latifah Philips said
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Market 32, Price Chopper Donate to St. Peter's Hospital ALS Regional Center| 03:58PM / Sunday, November 23, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Market 32 and Price Chopper today presented a check for $303,965 to the St. Peter's Hospital ALS Regional Center Lewis Golub MDA/ALS Clinic in Albany, NY. The funds—which will directly support patients diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)—were raised at the company's annual Lewis Golub Memorial ALS Golf Classic on Sept. 25 at Van Patten Golf Club in Clifton Park, NY. "The ALS Center embodies the values that guided Lewis Golub and our company for generations—service, compassion, and a commitment to improving lives," said Blaine Bringhurst, president of Market 32 and Price Chopper. "Our annual 0 Comments
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