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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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2022 One Book, One Community Read Tackles Intimate AbuseBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:53PM / Saturday, October 15, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The third annual One Book, One Community read features Tanya Selvaratnam's recount of intimate abuse from former New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. In October, about two dozen virtual groups began reading "Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence" by Tanya Selvaratnam, and in April, the event will conclude with a webinar with the author.
The read is organized by the Berkshire Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force and kicked off during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Selvaratnam's story shows that abuse can happen to any person regardless of their job, income, or societal standing.
"It's a memoir and it's
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Pittsfield School Committee OKs Higher Custodial WagesBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:20PM / Saturday, October 15, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee on Wednesday approved a memorandum of agreement with the district custodial union through 2025, bumping up senior custodians' hourly wages by over a dollar. The approval was unanimous with no public conversation after about an hour in executive session.
The custodial union is represented by the Pittsfield Federation of School Employees, a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. On Tuesday, the contracts was ratified by the federation.
A retroactive MOA for the 2021-2022 school/work year and for the 2022-2025 school/work years were approved. The 2021-2022 MOA is effective through July 1, 2021, and June
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Department of Public Utilities Approves Grid Modernization Investments| 01:19PM / Saturday, October 15, 2022 | |
BOSTON — The Baker-Polito Administration announced additional efforts to modernize the electric distribution system to improve reliability and enable clean energy development through a Department of Public Utilities (DPU) Order. The DPU order grants final approval for Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil to collectively invest over $450 million in various grid modernization technologies over a four-year term. Based on this approval, the electric distribution companies will expand the deployment of grid monitoring technologies, advanced communication technologies, and automation technologies that will modernize the state's electric power system and allow for more 0 Comments
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RSVP Recognizes Volunteers with Annual Luncheon By Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
11:51AM / Saturday, October 15, 2022 | |
The 248 volunteers donated nearly 30,000 hours of service to the community last year. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Retired Senior Volunteer Program held its annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon on Friday afternoon at Country Club of Pittsfield to honor volunteers and staff who helped make an impact to the community. RSVP provides individuals 55 and older who live in Berkshire County the opportunity to use their time and skills to make a difference in the community while meeting new people. RSVP Director Lisa Torrey took the podium for the first time since being appointed as director in March. She thanked the volunteers and everyone who helped 0 Comments
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MassDOT Launches BIL Expenditures Website| 09:00AM / Saturday, October 15, 2022 | |
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced it has launched a new website, "Project Viewer," displaying information on expenditures made using federal funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) of 2021 as well as information on state matching funds. The website will be updated weekly and allows users to view a breakdown of all federal and state matching dollars used on BIL-funded projects. Users can also filter this information by project type and view information on the current balances of funds that have not yet been obligated. The website was developed as required by An Act Relative to 0 Comments
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Ready Set Play Opens in PittsfieldBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
06:14AM / Saturday, October 15, 2022 | |
Read Set Play is recommended for ages 1 to 12. The Fawcetts say it's an opportunity for youngsters to release some energy in a safe environment. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Preschool operators Melissa and Kenneth Fawcett are embarking on a new adventure in opening an indoor playground on Merrill Road. The Fawcetts opened the Ready Set Learn preschool eight years ago in Dalton and, last week, opened Ready Set Play for young children. "I feel like for both businesses Ready Set Learn, Ready Set Play, we're just really trying to bring something better to the Berkshires," Melissa Fawcett said. "Our preschool was voted Best 1 Comment
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Two PHS, One Taconic Student Honored With Superintendent's AwardBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:06PM / Friday, October 14, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two Pittsfield High School and one Taconic High School student were honored with the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendent's Award. Seniors Jamie Duquette and Randi Duquette of PHS and Jane Wong of Taconic were congratulated by the School Committee on Wednesday for their scholastic achievements.
The Superintendent's Award for Academic Excellence is given out annually to high school students who have distinguished themselves in the pursuit of academic excellence and have achieved the highest grade average at their school.
This is the second time in Pittsfield's history that it was given to a set of twins.
Wong ranked second in her class
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@theMarket: Markets Not Out of the Woods Quite YetBy Bill Schmick,
03:48PM / Friday, October 14, 2022 | |
 Oversold, stretched to the downside, too bearish, call it what you will, stocks bounced from another bottom this week. How long can this rally last? It was the first time the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell at least 500 points and then rose 800 points in one trading day. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ gained 2.6 percent and 2.2 percent respectively. The huge turnaround was even more impressive when you consider that this week's inflation numbers, the Producer Price Index (PPI), and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) both came in hotter than expected. The Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that in September the CPI rose 8.2 percent over the prior year and 0.4 percent over the 0 Comments
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Dalton Takes First Steps to Meet ADA RequirementsBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
03:00PM / Friday, October 14, 2022 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission presented an Americans with Disabilities Act self-evaluation and transition plan to the board on Tuesday night to determine the town's priorities and paths to improvement. The state mandated this self-evaluation to enhance the town's opportunities for grant approval. The town has already completed three steps to meet this standard. The town completed the first step by designating Executive Assistant Alyssa Maschino as the ADA coordinator. The town is also required to post notice that it abides by Title II of the federal act in "perpetuity located in at least one prominent public 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Deadline Extended for Halloween Parade| 08:45AM / Friday, October 14, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city of Pittsfield’s Department of Community Development Recreation Program has announced that the application deadline for the Halloween Parade has been extended to Thursday, Oct. 20. This year's parade will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28 on Tyler St. The entry form and additional parade information is available through the "Halloween 2022" link under Hot Topics on the home page of the city's website. For more information, please call Becky Manship, Recreation and Special Events Coordinator, at 499-9371 or email parks@cityofpittsfield.org. 0 Comments
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Dalton Boards Split on Wahconah Track ProjectBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:15AM / Friday, October 14, 2022 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Finance Committee advocated against including a new track in the Wahconah Regional High School project just days after the Select Board voted to recommend it. A special town meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 19, to decide whether to expand the scope of the high school project to include a new track at an added cost of up to $45,000 a year to the town. The other six communities in the regional school district have or are going to weigh in on the issue. There are so far three acknowledged approvals with Becket and Cummington (which voted Thursday night) and Peru (which declined to vote); Washington and Windsor voting on Monday and 0 Comments
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Homeless Pittsfield Residents Ask City Council for Respect, SolutionsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:25AM / Friday, October 14, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With a requested update on the city's efforts to address homelessness in Tuesday's City Council agenda, unsheltered residents took the open mic stand. Randy Ruusukallio, who resides in the St. Joseph's homeless shelter, called for more resources that serve people in a similar situation to his own.
"I feel like we should be treated with way more compassion, sympathy, respect," he said. "Less hypocrisy and contradictory. It's like a steady basis. We deal with that every day."
He described the perils of living in the shelter and said that something needs to be done "as soon as possible."
Ruusukallio said people
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