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Pittsfield Inching Closer to Decision on Plastic Bag BanBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
04:02AM / Tuesday, June 05, 2018 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — City officials are slowly getting closer to rendering a decision on the plastic bag ban. Attorney Rinaldo Del Gallo proposed a ban on single-use plastic bag -- specifically the bags used at the checkout of grocery stores -- a little over five years ago. Pittsfield would have been at the forefront of the effort but during the time it has kicked around the legislative process, 79 other communities in the state have passed bans. Del Gallo said he'd even like to build on the petition by adding a surcharge for customers who use paper bags, an incentive to encourage residents to go with reusable bags. But, given the length of time it has been 8 Comments
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Spring Harbinger Butterflies Abound on Mount GreylockBy Tor Hansen, Community Submission
05:44PM / Saturday, April 28, 2018 | |
ADAMS, Mass. — Under azure blue skies our sun is warming the ground story all around the woodlands of Mount Greylock, and the native butterflies are responding. Drawn out of winterlong hibernation, resident species are actively flitting about, searching for mates, and sipping both ground moisture and sap from oak and beech trees. As April warmth pervades the trailside glens, as winter's remnant snows remain and recede, one may find joy in witnessing these showy denizens basking in vernal warmth, and dashing and zooming hither and yon, in pursuit of conjugation or coupling so to procreate their progeny or offspring. Here nature shows us 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Highlights Tree Planting Program To Honor Arbor DayBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
05:00PM / Friday, April 27, 2018 | |
Laurie Reid outlined the state's Greening the Gateway Cities program. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state has planted more than 1,100 trees throughout the city over the last two years. And, in honor of Arbor Day, one more was added to the total. "At the end of 2017, Pittsfield, so far, has been planted with 1,173 trees through the Greening the Gateway Cities program. Statewide, Greening the Gateway Cities program last year has planted 11,637 trees," Laurie Reid, a forester with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said. "The program's goal is to plant 10 trees per acre within our planting area. It will increase the urban tree canopy by 5 to 0 Comments
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State, Federal Officials to Showcase Housatonic River Projects| 05:16PM / Tuesday, April 24, 2018 | |
 LENOX, Mass. — State and federal environmental officials will host an open house on May 1 to showcase restoration projects funded as a part of the first three rounds of the Massachusetts Housatonic River Watershed Restoration Program. The open house will also include a discussion of the anticipated fourth and final round of funding for restoration projects to compensate for natural resources that were injured or lost as a result of the release of hazardous materials from the General Electric facility in Pittsfield into the Massachusetts portion of the Housatonic River watershed. The Massachusetts Subcouncil of the Housatonic River Natural Resource Trustees 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Subcommittee Continues Debate On Plastic Bag BanBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
02:25AM / Monday, March 12, 2018 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The proposed plastic bag ban will remain at the subcommittee level for councilors to wordsmith the ordinance and consider alternative bag options. After two hours of conversation on Monday, the Ordinance and Rules subcommittee voted to table the five-year-old proposal. The councilors heard from GXT Green, a company which manufactures biodegradable bags, about providing an alternative bag option for retailers and the Health Department raised concerns about the enforcement policies. The bulk of the conversation revolved around Michael Vanin, chief operating officer for GXT Green, who made a presentation regarding his bags. He said the bags do not break 3 Comments
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Pittsfield ConCom Approves Plans For Former ItamBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:48AM / Friday, March 09, 2018 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The new owners of the former Italian American Lodge have revised their plans to handle environmental concerns about its redevelopment. Eric Taylor purchased the Sons of Italy property for $1.1 million in January and is intent on transforming the aging building into a wedding destination. He received a building permit to renovate the facility and has been seeking approval to expand parking, build an addition, and install a patio area. That, however, took place in the wetlands buffer zone and needed Conservation Commission approval. Neighbors raised concerns about the impacts from the removal of dozens of trees, an extension of the building, additional 0 Comments
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Mass Delegation Calls on Pruitt to Uphold Rest of the River PlanStaff Reports,
01:16PM / Friday, February 09, 2018 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The region's congressional delegation is pushing Environment Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to uphold the EPA's 2016 order that contaminated material in the Housatonic River be "shipped off-site to existing licensed facilities for disposal." U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal have sent a letter to Pruitt calling on him to ensure General Electric lives up to its commitments in the $613 million "Rest of the River" cleanup. Keeping the contaminated soil and sediment in the county would save GE roughly $250 million. GE, once a powerhouse in Pittsfield, 1 Comment
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Richmond Celebrates Renovation of Town Beach, Boat DockBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
04:02AM / Tuesday, November 07, 2017 | |
The work included a new station to place a boarding dock for easier access to kayaks and other boats. RICHMOND, Mass. — The state completed a $95,000 renovation of the town beach and boat dock. The Department of Fish and Game's Office of Fishing and Boating Access spent this summer improving drainage, adding handicap access, creating fishing stations, and building a new dock for easy access into kayaks and other boats. "It is a heck of an upgrade. It is nice to have the platform that allows folks on and off the water in a safe fashion," Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Ron Amidon said on a rainy Monday when state officials celebrated the 2 Comments
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State Asking For Input On Outdoor Recreation PlanStaff Reports,
04:08PM / Thursday, October 05, 2017 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — What type of outdoor recreation would you want to see created? That's what the state is asking right now. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is updating its Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, which makes it eligible for about $2 million per year from the federal government. The National Park Service's Land and Water Conservation Fund program has been ongoing since 1965 and has paid for a number of outdoor recreation projects in the county. Locally, the money has purchased land along the Appalachian Trail and at Onota Lake. North Adams received a quarter of a million dollars to build a park on River 1 Comment
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Commercial Solar Array Planned For Outer East Street in PittsfieldBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
01:18AM / Thursday, October 05, 2017 | |
A public hearing will be held next Wednesday on the proposed 1.9-megawatt solar array. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Some 11 acres of heavily vegetated land on East Street is eyed to be cleared to make way for a commercial solar array. BVD Solar is seeking a special permit to construct a 1.9-megawatt array on a 73-acre percent near Winesap Road — the parcel just to the west of the Yankee Orchards. Of that 73 acres, 20.6 will be cut off from the parcel for the solar array installed and 11 acres of that will need to be cleared. "This is what you call outer east street," City Planner CJ Hoss said. "There is quite a bit of vegetation on that parcel 2 Comments
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