| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Taconic High Speaker Booted for Passing Out 'Political Material'Staff Reports ,
04:20PM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A guest speaker at Taconic High School was escorted out of the building after school officials said they passed around unapproved political material. Principal Matthew Bishop sent out an email and voice message to the school community explaining some of what happened. The event was an approved community outreach activity to write letters to veterans. The principal said the guest speaker had provided officials with the materials to be used for the activity, which were reviewed and approved. "However, the guest speaker began distributing politically motivated materials that were not previously approved," Bishop said. 0 Comments
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Dalton Board to Review Proposed Historical Building Demo BylawBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
03:03PM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Planning Board will be reviewing a proposed bylaw surrounding the demolition of historical buildings at a future meeting. At the end of its nearly three-hour meeting last week, during which it voted to continue the Berkshire Concrete public hearing, the board briefly looked over the proposed bylaws. However, in-depth discussions were postponed to future meetings. "The purpose of going through these is really just to get them into the discussion. We don't have to vote on them tonight. It's just to get them so that they're on our radar and in discussion," said Dennis Croughwell, Planning Board clerk. The 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Announces Warming Center Availability| 03:01PM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. Due to the frigid temperatures expected into this weekend, the City of Pittsfield announces the following locations will be available for residents looking for some relief from the cold. The Berkshire Athenaeum, located at 1 Wendell Avenue, will be open for regular business hours on Friday, Jan. 30, until 5:00p.m. and on Saturday, Jan. 31 from 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. The Ralph J. Froio Senior Center, located at 330 North Street, will be open on Sunday, February 1 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For those that are seeking shelter overnight, please visit the warming center at the Pearl located at 21 Pearl Street, which will be open from 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. 0 Comments
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@theMarket: New Fed Head, Iran Threats Trigger Some Profit-takingBy Bill Schmick,
01:55PM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
Kevin Warsh, formerly of the Federal Reserve, was chosen to lead the U.S. central bank in May. At around the same time, U.S. forces gathered in the Middle East, as the president again threatened Iran. Together, these developments triggered traders to adopt a risk-off stance. At first glance, it appears that market participants believe Warsh is less willing to ease monetary policy if it would raise inflation. Consequently, currency traders bought the dollar and sold precious metals. Meanwhile, increased tensions in the Middle East also pushed the dollar higher and boosted oil prices. Amid these market shifts, the Fed met this week, but the event was largely a nothing burger. 0 Comments
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BRTA Joins, Launches Link413 Collaboration| 01:04PM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regionial Transit Authority (BRTA) have joined the Link413 collaboration that offers customers three new longer-distance, weekday bus routes providing direct service across four counties and enabling out-of-state connections. The pilot initiative is a partnership of the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA), Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA), and Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). It was created in response to feedback from customers surveyed in recent years who noted connectivity as a key area for improvement. "Link413 will fulfill those regional service needs, so now you finally can get there from here," 0 Comments
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UNICO of Pittsfield 2026 Souper Bowl Community Food Drive| 07:41AM / Friday, January 30, 2026 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — UNICO of Pittsfield will be holding a Souper Bowl Community Food Drive, beginning January 31, culminating on Saturday Feb. 7. UNICO will accept donation of non perishable food items that can be eaten from a bowl. All donations will go to local food pantries in the Berkshires. Soup, pasta, stews, cereal, tuna, noodles, will be collected at the following locations during their business hours: Balderdash Cellars, Berkshire Fitness & Wellness, Berkshire Mazda, Carr Hardware - Pittsfield, Haddad Toyota, Subaru and Hyundai, Johns Building Supply, L.P. Adams, L'io Beauty & Wellness, Locker Room Pub, Olde Heritage Tavern, 0 Comments
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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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The Retired Investor: Administration Devises Workaround to Circumvent the FedBy Bill Schmick,
04:08PM / Thursday, January 29, 2026 | |
Jawboning, bluster, threats, and court actions have yet to force the Federal Reserve Bank to do the president's bidding. Undeterred, Donald Trump thinks he has found a way to lower consumer borrowing costs without further Fed action. Given his background in real estate, where borrowing is a way of life, it is no wonder he believes lowering borrowing costs for consumers is the key to affordability. As of November 2025, the U.S. consumer debt was roughly $18.10 trillion, a new record. Mortgage debt represents $13.39 trillion, while bank cards account for $1.09 trillion. Overall, consumer debt rose 2.9 percent from the prior year. There is no question that, with that amount 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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