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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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BRTA Celebrates 50 Years, Electric BusesBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:29AM / Tuesday, April 30, 2024 | |
State Sen. Paul Mark tries out the seating in a new hybrid bus. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is celebrating its 50th anniversary with new hybrid buses that tell a story about its history.
The BRTA was awarded five eco-friendly buses in the past two years as part of President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law under the Federal Transit Administration's Low or No Grant Program. Each is valued at about $800,000 and is decorated to represent different BRTA eras.
"It's not for us, it's for our customers," Administrator Robert Malnati said. "It's the reason we're here. We're here to make
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Dalton Select Board Recommends Voting Against Article 1By Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
07:34PM / Monday, April 29, 2024 | |
DALTON, Mass. — After a heated discussion concerning sidewalk repair options during last week's Select Board meeting, the board voted to not support Article 1 on the annual town meeting warrant. The article proposes amending the town's bylaws to mandate the use of concrete for all future sidewalks. The decision narrowly passed 3-2, with board members Dan Esko, Robert Bishop and John Boyle voting not to recommend the article and Joseph Diver and Marc Strout for a recommendation. Board members in favor of not recommending the article cited reasons such as not wanting to limit the town's options when addressing sidewalks in disrepair, which has been 0 Comments
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MassDOT Advisory: South County Road Work | 10:31AM / Monday, April 29, 2024 | |
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced crews will be conducting daytime and overnight hour guardrail repair, drainage work, bridge repair, tree trimming, and bridge paving operations at various locations and times on I-90 eastbound and westbound during the week of Monday, April 29. Lane closures will be in place during the construction operations and traffic will be able to travel through the work zones. The schedule for the work and lane closures will be as follows: Otis Guardrail repair operations will be conducted nightly on I-90 westbound between mile marker 21.0 and mile marker 26.0 from Monday, April 0 Comments
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BRPC Committee Mulls Input on State Housing PlanBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:52AM / Monday, April 29, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Regional Issues Committee brainstormed representation for the county in upcoming housing listening sessions.
"The administration is coming up with what they like to tout is their first housing plan that's been done for Massachusetts, and this is one of a number of various initiatives that they've done over the last several months," Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said.
"But it seems like they are intent upon doing something and taking comments from the different regions across the state and then turning that into policy so here is our chance to really speak up on that."
The
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State Destination Development Capital Grant to Support Tourism | 03:52PM / Sunday, April 28, 2024 | |
BOSTON, Mass. — The Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) have announced the Destination Development Capital (DDC) Grant program for fiscal year 2025. Destination Development Grants are included in the economic development plan, "The Mass Leads Act: An Act Relative to Strengthening Massachusetts' Economic Leadership," as a strategy to support critical capital improvements at tourism assets across Massachusetts. The FY25 DDC grant program is anticipated to be funded at up to $5 million through the Capital Budget. The competitive grant program will award funds to 0 Comments
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Pittsfield School Committee OKs $82M Budget, $1.5M CutsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:44PM / Sunday, April 28, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The school budget is less grim than the original proposal but still requires more than $1.5 million in cuts.
On Thursday, the School Committee approved an $82.8 million spending plan for fiscal year 2025, including a city appropriation of $80.4 million and $2.4 million in Chapter 70 funds.
The cuts made to balance the budget include about 50 staff reductions — some due to the sunsetting of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
"The final version does not answer all needs. It will be unacceptable to some or to many but I must say that tonight's final proposal is very different than where we started when we believed
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MassDEP Investing in Air Quality Sensors in Environmental Justice Communities | 08:00AM / Sunday, April 28, 2024 | |
BOSTON — To celebrate Earth Week, the Healey-Driscoll Administration will dedicate $775,000 to install new air quality sensors across the state and put advanced monitoring technology into environmental justice communities to track local air quality and protect public health. The funding was announced by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Commissioner Bonnie Heiple during a tour of a MassDEP air monitoring station in Kenmore Square in Boston – one of 24 air monitoring stations currently located across the state.? "The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to addressing toxic air emissions impacting residents across 0 Comments
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BCC Student Discovers Rare Osprey NestBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:21PM / Saturday, April 27, 2024 | |
Danielle Lemieux was able to snap a photo of the birds to confirm it was an osprey nest. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Danielle Lemieux was on her routine commute to class at Berkshire Community College when she spied a rare sight. The ornithology student discovered the third osprey nest on record in the county. While it isn't rare for the birds of prey to be seen in the area, they typically settle in coastal regions and finding a nest is "extremely unusual," said Lemieux, whose discovery last week took her environmental science education to a new level.
"It's really exciting that we have this amazing bird nesting right in our back yards," she
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Governor Forms Search Committee for Dept. of Correction Commissioner| 04:00PM / Saturday, April 27, 2024 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced an update on the search process to identify the nextCommissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Correction, following the retirement of Commissioner Carol Mici last month. The Administration has formeda six-member search committee, composed of diverse professionals and community leaders with wide-ranging expertise and lived experience, to guide a robust process to identify the new executive and administrative leader of the Department of Correction. With administrative support from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), the Committee will guide the search process and provide multiple opportunities for
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March 2024 Unemployment and Job Estimates in Mass| 10:57AM / Saturday, April 27, 2024 | |
BOSTON — Local unemployment rates decreased in twenty-three labor market areas and remained unchanged in one labor market area in the state during the month of March 2024 compared to February 2024, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported. Compared to March 2023, the rates were down in seventeen of twenty-four labor market areas. Of the fifteen areas for which employment estimates are published, fourteen NECTA areas gained jobs compared to the previous month. The largest percentage increases occurred in the Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead (+0.9 percent), Barnstable Town (+0.8 percent), and Worcester MA-CT (+0.7 percent) areas. From March 2023 to 0 Comments
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DPI Supports Continued Parallel Parking for North StreetBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:32AM / Saturday, April 27, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Downtown Pittsfield Inc. proposed angled parking on North Street and was pleasantly surprised that the city responded with an in-depth study and new plans — even if they don't include angled parking.
The City Council mulled a study and resulting design on Tuesday that maintains parallel parking while expanding pedestrian zones and adding protected bike lanes. DPI last year requested that angled parking be considered in the corridor after polling showed 60 percent support for a reconfiguration. The study can be found here.
"When we brought the request to the City Council to reconfigure the parking patterns in downtown, we
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Pittsfield Resident Victim of Alleged Murder in GreenfieldBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
09:14PM / Friday, April 26, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A man found dismembered in a barrel in Greenfield on Monday has been identified as Pittsfield resident. The Northwestern District Attorney's Office identified victim as Christopher Hairston, 35, and subsequently arrested a suspect, Taaniel Herberger-Brown, 42, at Albany (N.Y.) International Airport on Tuesday. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported that Herberger-Brown told investigators he planned on visiting his mother outside the country. Herberger-Brown was detained overnight, and the State Police obtained an arrest warrant on a single count of murder on Tuesday morning, the Greenfield Police Department said in a press 0 Comments
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