| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Working, but Still Struggling: The Hidden Reality in the BerkshiresBy Deborah Leonczyk, Guest Column
02:03PM / Wednesday, October 01, 2025 | |
In Berkshire County, thousands of people go to work every day and still struggle to make ends meet. They care for our elderly, prepare our food, stock our shelves, and clean our schools. Their work is essential to our economy and community, but too often, their efforts are met not with stability, but with constant stress. These are not people sitting idle. They are working, sometimes more than one job, and doing everything they can to provide for themselves and their families. And yet, even with a full-time paycheck, many still face impossible choices, between rent and groceries, between heating their homes and fixing a car, between working extra shifts and caring for their 0 Comments
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Berkshire Restaurants Awarded MassDevelopment Grants| 10:24AM / Wednesday, October 01, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield restaurants Marie's North Street Eatery, BB's Hot Spot and Mazzeos were awarded grants along side North Adams restaurant Bigg Daddy's. MassDevelopment announced $900,000 in grants from the Food Insecurity Grant Program for Independent Restaurants, a program in which independent restaurants in Massachusetts receive funding to prepare and supply meals and other food products for nonprofit meal distributors with the goal of helping address food insecurity in the state. Marie's North Street Eatery was awarded $13,000 BB's Hot Spot was awarded $11,420 Mazzeos was awarded $10,000 Bigg Daddy's was 0 Comments
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Dalton Offers Town Manager Post to Connecticut AdministratorBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
07:48PM / Tuesday, September 30, 2025 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board voted to hire Eric Anderson as its new town manager during its Tuesday meeting. Of the 22 applications received, the Town Manager Screening Committee put forward three finalists: Anderson, Lisa Blackmer, and Jonathan Elwell. The night before, the board interviewed the three candidates during a meeting that lasted nearly 3 1/2 hours. The decision to offer the post to Anderson was unanimous among the four board members present, after a brief discussion. Although the town's lawyers said it was Ok for board member Marc Strout to be part of the decision, he decided to recuse himself because of his 0 Comments
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Co-Op Bank Cash Cube and Spin Wheel Events | 03:36PM / Tuesday, September 30, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Cooperative Bank (Co-Op Bank) launched its newest community engagement initiative. This interactive program will feature a Cash Cube and a Spin to Win Wheel, giving participants the chance to win a variety of rewards while connecting with their community and local bank. The Cash Cube and Spin Wheel will be featured at five upcoming Co-Op events at each of our branches: Oct.1 – 431 Main Street, Dalton MA from 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Oct.15 – 70 South Street, Pittsfield, MA from 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Oct. 22 – 110 Dalton Ave., Pittsfield, MA from 4:30 p.m. - 6 0 Comments
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Mass Loses $7M in Homeland Security Grants| 03:22PM / Tuesday, September 30, 2025 | |
BOSTON — The Trump administration has cut $6.9 million in public safety funding for Massachusetts communities. Gov. Maura Healey said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security notified the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security on Saturday that its previous award allocation of $22.2 million from the federal Homeland Security Grant Program is being reduced to just $15.3 million. This abrupt loss of nearly $7 million jeopardizes Massachusetts' ability to equip local emergency services and safeguard critical infrastructure against terrorist threats and other emergencies, she said. "President Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi 0 Comments
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BRTA Advisory Board Discusses New Administrator ContractBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
05:32AM / Tuesday, September 30, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority Advisory (BRTA) Board met Thursday to discuss the acceptance of the new administrator and their contract. The board recently offered the position to Kathleen Lambert, former American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) project manager for Haverhill. Lambert has accepted pending contract negotiations. The board met to discuss her three-year contract. Lambert is expected to start in December, and work with Malnati until mid-March. The board discussed a salary range of $145,000 with room to negotiate. The table also discussed if Lambert would have her own vehicle, which many thought wasn't needed. They also discussed reimbursing
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Letter: Dalton Public Safety FacilityLetter to the Editor,
07:00PM / Monday, September 29, 2025 | |
 To the Editor:
To the Dalton Select Board, I would like to present a practical suggestion for the new Dalton Police Facility as follows: Purchase the bank building located on the corner of Main Street and South Carson Avenue. Extend the building toward Main Street. Then buildout the interior to accommodate the town offices. The offices would then be accessible to the handicapped. Stage the moving of the town offices to facilitate the renovation of the Town Hall for the new police facility. To minimize disruption and inconvenience. I know that Hill Engineering put together a cost estimate to fix the problems in the basement of the town hall. I recall it was very reasonable. Add an 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Officials Detail New Website By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:25PM / Monday, September 29, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass.— You may have noticed a different look to the city website.
Pittsfield moved its web page from a .org to a .gov in July, aiming to bolster legitimacy and increase access for the people it serves.
On Tuesday, Chief Information Officer Kevin Zawistowski and Director of Administrative Services and Public Information Catherine VanBramer detailed the new site to the City Council.
Zawistowski reported that former cityofpittsfield.org "was a little bit old." It was last refreshed about a decade ago and "needed some help," he explained.
Pittsfield was awarded $50,000 from the Massachusetts Community
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BMC Earns Blue Distinction Center Designation for Quality in Knee and Hip Replacement Surgeries| 01:32PM / Monday, September 29, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has selected Berkshire Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement, part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated healthcare facilities shown to deliver improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies with input from the medical community. Knee and hip replacement procedures are among the fastest growing medical treatments in the U.S., according to studies published in the June 2014 Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and the American Academy of
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Berkshire Buddy Walk Draws Hundreds to DaltonBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
05:36AM / Monday, September 29, 2025 | |
 DALTON, Mass. — There was a penny raffle to support the Berkshire Arc Down Syndrome Family Group in the fields at Craneville Elementary School, but the Buddy Walk of the Berkshires Saturday morning was not about raising money. And it never has been. For the 19th year, the families who lift up their loved ones with Down Syndrome and one another on a daily basis welcomed the support of the wider community. More than 600 participants registered to participate in the walk from the school down to Main Street (Route 8) and back through the neighborhoods many of the participants call home. "I've been involved with this event from the beginning and, in 0 Comments
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Allendale Pines Plans Storage Building for Resident UseBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:59PM / Sunday, September 28, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As part of its expansion, Allendale Pines plans to offer a storage center for residents to curb outdoor clutter.
Last week, the Zoning Board of Appeals continued a request to amend the mobile home community's 2022 site plan to include an over 3,000 square foot storage building. The applicants requested a continuance to October 15 for renotification.
"This is a great project and a great property for the fact that we've, as time has gone by, we've continually been able to provide attainable housing and more uses within the property itself here," Brent White of White Engineering explained on behalf of owner Eagle Allendale
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Berkshire Humane Society Celebrates Helping Thousands of AnimalsBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
03:11PM / Sunday, September 28, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Humane Society supported more than 23,000 pets over the past year through it life-saving and pet retention programs. These programs provide resources including pet food and free foster care to help families keep their pets. "I think the most important thing, and I see this every year that we do, is we're an open-mission, socially-conscious shelter that keeps our doors open," Executive Director John Perrault told the society's annual meeting on Wednesday. "We're not prejudiced. We help anybody that comes, whether it's an animal that's bitten 10 people, whether it's an animal 0 Comments
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