| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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New England Regional, La Festa Exchange to Delight Area Baseball FansiBerkshires.com Sports,
06:31AM / Friday, July 25, 2025 | |
 A busy weekend of youth baseball is on tap for two historic county venues. The action gets underway at 10 a.m. on Friday morning when Westfield takes on Vermont State Champion Essex Junction in the first game of the 13-year-old Babe Ruth New England Championship at Wahconah Park. It will be the first of 17 games over five days to determine who will represent New England in the World Series that gets underway in Jamestown, N.Y., on Aug. 14. Host Pittsfield will play in the final game on Friday, a planned 7 p.m. first pitch against Connecticut State Champion Stamford. Pittsfield will then play its next two pool play games at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 0 Comments
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Federal Grants Withheld from Pittsfield SchoolsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:09AM / Friday, July 25, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Several hundred thousand dollars in federal grant allocations are being withheld from the Pittsfield Public School District.
On Wednesday, interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips told the School Committee that the district will know if they are receiving the funds in August or September. For now, school officials are "in a holding pattern" and hoping the Title grants come through.
"When you all adopted the district budget, we had an expectation of what the federal allocations would be, and we have recently been notified that there are federal grant allocations being withheld," Phillips said.
Current federal grant
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Repairs Planned for Silver Lake's Underwater CapBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:27AM / Friday, July 25, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Starting next month, a thinning portion of Silver Lake's underwater cap will be repaired.
During a public hearing on Tuesday, members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Region 1 and General Electric detailed the three-week-long project beginning in August. An additional 6 to 9 inches of cap material will infill a three-quarter acre area of the lake, totaling about 810 cubic yards.
In 2023, monitoring required by the 2000 Consent Decree revealed that a southern area of the cap along East Street reduced to a thickness of 9.4 inches, down from 14. Work will be done behind the site of the former Kentucky Fried
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Taconic High School Opens New Track With Ribbon CuttingBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
05:35PM / Thursday, July 24, 2025 | |
Improper drainage had been a serious concern of the old track and the school could not hold track meets there. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Taconic High School track is officially open for the community and Pittsfield High and Taconic athletes. On Thursday morning, track coaches from both high schools got to cut ribbons with their respective school colors to symbolize the opening of the new track. "This is amazing. It's beautiful. It finishes our campus. We were so fortunate that Pittsfield is invested not only in Taconic, but in this whole site. So, this was one of the last things we were looking at to upgrade," said Taconic Principal Matthew Bishop, who's been
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The Retired Investor: A Government-Controlled Fed Will Impact Financial Assets DifferentlyBy Bill Schmick,
03:57PM / Thursday, July 24, 2025 | |
It is 2026. A new Fed chief has been installed after committing to follow the president's demands to cut interest rates and keep them low. The Fed's first act is a one percent cut in interest rates. How will the markets react? If history is any guide, the stock market would roar. Bond yields across the board might plummet. The economy would catch on fire. Home prices in the real estate market could climb as buyers take advantage of falling mortgage rates. It would be a time to break out the champagne because good times are here again. However, history may not be an accurate reference point. In the above scenario, we would be living in a macroeconomic environment 0 Comments
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Briefs: Motorcyclist Dies From Accident; NYC Man Sentenced in Child Rape| 02:57PM / Thursday, July 24, 2025 | |
Motorcyclist Succumbs to Accident Injuries LENOX, Mass. — A Lee man involved in a motorcycle accident on Sunday has died from his injuries. Gustavo Bernal, 49, was found by a state trooper in the northbound lane of Route 7 at the Plunkett Street intersection. Local first-responders were on their way after getting a 911 call reporting of a single-vehicle collision about 9:33 p.m. Bernal was unconscious and in critical medical condition. Lenox Emergency Medical Services transported him to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. He succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. The incident is being investigated by local and State 0 Comments
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Ninth Annual 'Moby-Dick' Read-A-Thon| 10:50AM / Thursday, July 24, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. —The Berkshire County Historical Society's annual "Moby-Dick" Read-a-Thon will begin July 31 at 10 am, continuing daily until the book is finished. Participants will read aloud for 15 minutes with the next participant picking up where the prior reader left off. The event is held at Melville's historic home Arrowhead where the novel was written. Advanced sign up is required by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org. Participation is free, but a $5 donation is suggested. The annual event commemorates Melville's birthday Aug. 1, 1819. On Aug. 3 beginning at 9 a.m., hikers are invited to celebrate the day (Aug. 0 Comments
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Parent Group Meet and Greet| 08:42AM / Thursday, July 24, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church of Pittsfield invites parents and caregivers to a Parent Group Meet and Greet on Wednesday, July 30 at 10:30 a.m. This informal gathering offers a chance for adults to connect and for children to play in a relaxed, welcoming space. Coffee, donuts, and light snacks will be available. The group is open to parents, guardians, and caregivers of children of all ages, and aims to create space for community, conversation, and shared support. This is a non-religious, community-based event hosted within the historic Common Room 0 Comments
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Lanesborough Police Chief Stresses Need for ResourcesBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:19AM / Thursday, July 24, 2025 | |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Police Chief Robert Derksen, citing a week of incidents, emphasized the need for law enforcement resources. In a Tuesday press release, he called attention to an assault, domestic incident, and stabbing that happened within the last week — and the lack of officers to deal with them. "Two of the incidents occurred while only one patrol officer was working, which is most of the time, including the most serious incident, which the officer responded to by himself and handled alone until I was able to call additional officers in from off-duty to assist, because no backup was available," he wrote in the communication posted to the 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Designates Lower, Upper Middle Schools in Grade RestructureBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:52AM / Thursday, July 24, 2025 | |
Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips attends her first School Committee meeting. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee has voted that Herberg will house Grades 5-6 and Reid will be home to Grades 7-8 when the middle schools restructure.
"It's an exciting opportunity, actually," Committee member Sara Hathaway said.
Last month, they made a historic vote to create an upper elementary school for Grades 5-6 and a junior high school for Grades 7-8 by the 2026-2027 academic year. A stipulation was added that if goals in the Middle School Restructuring Committee's timeline are not met by the December meeting, it will be delayed one
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Pittsfield Firefighters Knock Down House Fire| 10:11PM / Wednesday, July 23, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Firefighters were able to knock down a blaze in an unoccupied house at 58 Valentine Road on Wednesday. Firefighters responded at about 4:43 p.m. after multiple people reported seeing fire showing from the structure as they drove by. It was unknown at that time if anyone was still in the building. Deputy Chief Neil Myers said four engine companies and a ladder company responded and found flames coming from the right exterior of the single-story ranch and immediately stretched a hose line for fire attack. An off-duty sheriff's deputy was at the scene and had used a garden hose against the fire on the exterior of the 0 Comments
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Companion Corner: Asta at the Berkshire Humane SocietyBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
05:02PM / Wednesday, July 23, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a shy cat at Berkshire Humane Society looking for patient owners. iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. Asta is a one-year-old domestic short hair who has been at the shelter since March. "She is very spunky, full of energy, loves to play. She's definitely a quirky girl looking for a home that the people know cat body language very well, just because she can be very nervous and very shy at first. So it takes her a little bit of time to warm up to people, but once she comes around, she's full of energy, full of personality, and she's pretty
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