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Riverfest Promotes Use of Housatonic; Cleans Up Pittsfield ParkBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
02:07AM / Monday, April 25, 2016 | |
Various organizations brought out display tables to educate people about the ecosystem. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — To celebrate Earth Day the Housatonic Valley Association did what you'd expect: they cleaned up a city park and promoted use of the river. The group held a river festival on Saturday, when dozens of volunteers and numerous environmental groups cleaned up Fred Garner park, provided information and education about the Housatonic River, and welcomed paddlers canoed all the way to the Long Island Sound to promote the river. "We started out with about 21 boats yesterday. ... We expect to have 126 boats in total joining us. We'll get to Long Island 0 Comments
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Disc Golf Course Installed at Pittsfield's Kirvin ParkBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:46AM / Friday, April 22, 2016 | |
Parks and Open Space Manager Jim McGrath updated the Parks Commission on Tuesday about the installation. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The disc golf course at Kirvin Park has been installed. The nine-hole course is now established and the metal and chain baskets have been set up. In the next week or so a sign with a course map will be installed. "With the sign, there will be a small trifold brochure box with a pull-out brochure which explains the rules of disc golf. It has a map on it," Parks and Open Space Manager James McGrath told the Parks Commission on Tuesday. The course will be the first free one in the city and only the second course 4 Comments
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State Looking To Plant 2,400 Trees in PittsfieldStaff Reports,
01:13AM / Friday, April 22, 2016 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state is looking to plant some 800 trees per year in the city of Pittsfield over the next three years. Pittsfield was chosen as part of the Greening the Gateway Cities program through which the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation plants trees in urban environments. The program targets the 26 so-called Gateway Cities and will plant the trees in areas where there are currently low canopy levels. "The Greening the Gateway Cities Program serves as an excellent example of a strong partnership between state government, local municipalities, and dedicated organizations working together to ultimately benefit generations of 1 Comment
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Kinder Morgan Suspends Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline ProjectStaff Reports,
05:35PM / Wednesday, April 20, 2016 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Kinder Morgan has suspended the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline project, which was planned to cut through the Berkshires. The company released a statement Wednesday evening announcing the suspension of work on the $3.3 billion project. "As a result of inadequate capacity commitments from prospective customers, Kinder Morgan Inc. and its subsidiary, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, have suspended further work and expenditures on the Northeast Energy Direct Project," reads the statement from the company. The project was announced in 2015 and the company said it had received a number of commitments from local gas distribution 0 Comments
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Senate Candidate Del Gallo Takes Strong Anti-Pipeline StanceBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
02:32AM / Tuesday, April 19, 2016 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Rinaldo Del Gallo spent a long time getting the city to pass a ban on Styrofoam. And he's continued to press for a ban on plastic bags. Those type of environmental concerns have always been a priority. Now he is running for the open state Senate seat, though he hasn't made the official announcement yet, and he didn't expect any difference in opinions among the other Democratic candidates when it comes the proposed natural gas pipeline project. But, he was wrong. Both Adam Hinds and Andrea Harrington did not take a stance when asked during interviews with WAMC earlier this year, a move Del Gallo feels is 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Board Denies Permit for Solar FieldBy Joe Durwin, Pittsfield Correspondent
07:11AM / Sunday, April 17, 2016 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's Zoning Board of Appeals struck down a proposed solar array site in west Pittsfield, following opposition from residential neighbors abutting the land. By a 3-2 vote, the board ruled against the request from Aegis Renewable Energy to construct a 2.6-megawatt solar facility on undeveloped Churchill Street land. The project had faced substantial neighbor opposition at a prior public hearing on Feb. 24, prompting developers to look at ways that its visual impact could be reduced with vegetative screening. James Scalise of SK Design said that while the initial plan called for "a fairly dense screen" (berm) of plantings to obscure the solar
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Activist Protest Pipeline As Court Case Over Easements BeginBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
05:49PM / Friday, April 15, 2016 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A court case with the potential for massive long-term repercussions regarding natural gas pipelines began to play out Friday. Outside of Berkshire Superior Court, around a hundred activists gathered to protest Kinder Morgan's plans. The Texas-based pipeline company has two proposed routes cutting through Berkshire County. The Connecticut expansion is eyed to cut through Sandisfield and has become the subject of a lawsuit in which the corporation is seeking the ability to cut trees to begin construction on land the state constitution protects. The company is seeking a two-mile easement through the Otis State Forest and believes under the 3 Comments
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Pittsfield Board Seeks Greener Power From Aggregation PlanBy Joe Durwin, iBerkshires Correspondent
12:43AM / Monday, April 11, 2016 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Green Commission wants an increase in more "local" renewable energy sources to be part of the the city's emerging power aggregation plan, though the primary focus of the new energy-buying compact will be to try to reduce costs for residential and commercial customers. Under the new aggregation plan, Pittsfield ratepayers will be able to opt into a system by which their buying power is pooled in an attempt to secure lower supplier rates for end users. In most respects, the draft Municipal Aggregation Plan is comparable to those of other communities in the commonwealth, but has been slightly modified to incorporate a number of comments received
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Lanesborough Selectmen Ask Board of Health to Limit Backyard FowlBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
02:01AM / Wednesday, March 30, 2016 | |
 LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — After town meeting tabled a vote to implement new regulations on backyard fowl, the Board of Selectmen are asking the Board of Health to adopt such a measure. The Selectmen approved on Monday sending two new regulations to the Board of Health, which will not need town meeting approval. The first would limit the number of animals on a property less than one acre and the other would call for owners of fowl to register with Town Hall. "The main focus of it is, people who are on lots of less than one acre," Town Manager Paul Sieloff said. The Board of Health only needs a public hearing and a vote to approve the new policies. If 2 Comments
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USDA Conservation Stewardship Program Accepting Applications| 02:10PM / Tuesday, February 09, 2016 | |
 AMHERST, Mass. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has $150 million in funding available for agricultural producers across the country through the Conservation Stewardship Program, a federal conservation program that helps farmers voluntarily improve the health and productivity of private and Tribal working lands.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service plans to add an estimated 10 million acres to the rolls of CSP during fiscal 2016.
"The Conservation Stewardship Program helps farmers boost soil and air quality, conserve clean water and enhance wildlife habitat," said Christine Clarke, NRCS state conservationist. "With this investment, we'll enable
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