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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Healey and Driscoll Names Massachusetts' First Climate Chief| 10:22AM / Wednesday, December 28, 2022 | |
BOSTON — Governor-elect Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor-elect Driscoll today announced that they will appoint Melissa Hoffer as Climate Chief. Hoffer is currently the Principal Deputy General Counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency and was previously the Chief of the Energy and Environment Bureau at the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. "Melissa Hoffer is unstoppable. I'm thrilled to welcome her back to Massachusetts as our first ever Climate Chief," said Healey. "The creation of this position sends a clear message that Massachusetts is a global leader in the fight against climate change and that it will be central to all 0 Comments
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Women of Color Giving Circle to host Kwanzaa Celebration| 08:11AM / Wednesday, December 28, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Women of Color Giving Circle and the Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program (R.O.P.E.) present its annual community Kwanzaa Celebration at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29 at the Tyler Street Lab, 741 Tyler St. The celebration can also be viewed on facebook.com/pittsfieldtv. Kwanzaa is a non-religious celebration held Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. The holiday celebrates African and African-American culture, with an emphasis on seven principles geared towards uplift and empowerment. This year's conversation will center on the Kwanzaa principle of Umoja (unity). Speakers will include Aimee D. Griffin, Esq. of The Griffin Firm, PLLC, and Keiana 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Year in Review 2022By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:54AM / Wednesday, December 28, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 2022 was a year of social justice issues, large sums of federal funding, and changes within the city. Homelessness continued to be a strong presence in the community after it was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the community called for police accountability and mental health resources after a man in distress was shot and killed by police following a 911 call. The city also grappled with allocating nearly $41 million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funding for eligible programs, services, and capital investments. Over the summer, Mayor Linda Tyer announced $8.6 million in allocations for housing insecurity and homelessness and $5.9
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Pittsfield Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Office Has Successful First YearBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:34PM / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In its inaugural year, the city's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has opened up the conversation about creating safe and equal spaces for all community members. "I would say that almost a full year has gone very, very well, exceptionally well," Chief Diversity Officer Michael Obasohan said about the work that has been done internally within the city departments and externally with other organizations.
He was appointed in February after the City Council approved a new six-month budget of $99,760 for the department during its fiscal 2022 budget process.
For the fiscal year 2023, that number increased to $169,416.
Obasohan came
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Healey and Driscoll Announce Secretary of Education Appointment| 04:29PM / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 | |
BOSTON — Governor-elect Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor-elect Driscoll announced that they will appoint Patrick Tutwiler, PhD as Secretary of the Executive Office of Education. Tutwiler is the Senior Program Officer for Education at the Barr Foundation, and he has more than twenty years' experience in public education as a high school history teacher, as a high school principal and as the superintendent of the Lynn Public Schools. "Dr. Patrick Tutwiler has the experience, the empathy and the vision to make sure that every Massachusetts resident receives a high quality education at each stage of their life – from early education, to K-12 to 0 Comments
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Pittsfield 2022 Citizens Academy Cohort| 12:00PM / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The 2022 Citizens Academy cohort were recognized and presented with certificates at the Nov. 29 City Council meeting for successfully completing the 12-week program, which is designed to help community members understand the operations of local government. Participants included: Abigail Allard; Emma Barishman; Matthew Belanger; Laura Cabrera; Lorena Dus; Tonya Frazier; William Garrity; Benjamin Gelb; Thomas Gelb; Jose Gonzalez; Michael Kalmbach; Mario Kelsey; Susan Krantz; Maria Menaca; Patricia Molina; Philip Nelson; Jamyal Newton; Travis Norrgard; Jody Skrocki; and Pat Tremblay. “With the completion of the 2022 Citizens Academy, close to 75 31 Comments
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Adams Community Bank Expands Into Pittsfield| 11:23AM / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Adams Community Bank's (ACB) parent company, Community Bancorp of the Berkshires, MHC, announced the Bank's expansion into Pittsfield with its new branch opening at 660 Merrill Road. An evening open house and ribbon cutting took place on Thursday, Dec. 1, with the new branch opening for business on Monday, Dec. 5. Charles P. O'Brien, ACB President, stated that opening a branch in Pittsfield is a culmination of 18 months of effort by the entire ACB team and implementation of the Bank's strategic plan. "Our focus was on finding the right location and team to open a full-service branch in Pittsfield. This location 0 Comments
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BCC Announces Addition of Three Free Healthcare Courses | 08:10AM / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) announces the addition of three grant-funded courses in the healthcare arena: Medical Interpreter Training, Community Health Worker and Phlebotomy Technician. Spaces are limited but still available for all three courses, which are tuition-free. "We are thrilled to offer to the community these grant-funded programs, which will help fill the workforce gap in Berkshire County," said Tiffany Moreno, Instructional Program Manager: Health & Wellness. "The programs, which can be completed in one year or less, will provide the skills required for immediate entry into high-demand 0 Comments
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Elm Street Java House Under New Ownership of 'Billy J'By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:07AM / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Elm Street's coffeehouse is now under new ownership as "Billy J's Elm Street Java House." Owner William Jones, known as "Billy J," is keeping the same spirit of the cafe alive with some new menu items.
"I bought it on Nov. 1 and was going to leave it as it was because everyone loved what was already there, all the sandwiches, the salads, the breakfast sandwiches, the muffins, the pastries," he said.
"So we'll leave it basically the same as it was, we've got some signature sandwiches on there. Nothing crazy."
The java house had a grand opening earlier this month and has been well received, he said. It
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Pittsfield Fire Knocks Down Christmas Day Blaze| 02:37PM / Monday, December 26, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Christmas Day fire on East Mill Street displaced a family of five. Deputy Chief Daniel Garner reported that the Fire Department was alerted to the blaze at 23 East Mill at 4:39 p.m. on Dec. 25. Firefighters found flames venting from windows on the first floor of the 2 1/2 story wood frame structure. One crew conducted a primary search to ensure the three-unit building was evacuated while others worked to extinguish the fire in the first-floor kitchen. The fire was knocked down and under control within 20 minutes but the room sustained fire damage and the first floor smoke damage. Garner put the damage estimate as less than 0 Comments
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Lanesborough Eyes Zoning Changes for Large PropertiesBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
06:15AM / Monday, December 26, 2022 | |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A rural residential large lot reuse zoning bylaw will likely be presented to at the annual town meeting in June. The Planning Board voted last to request District Local Technical Assistance from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to develop the bylaw. The idea would allow for the reuse of larger parcels that are in residential-agricultural zones to be used for hospitality oriented projects. "What inspired me was Lenox and Stockbridge have this great estates bylaw that encouraged a lot of the big 19th-century estate properties in those communities to be reused primarily into these more hospitality industry resort 4 Comments
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Wahconah Boys Lacrosse Made History in 2022By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires.com Sports
05:39AM / Monday, December 26, 2022 | |
 It was a year filled with the usual complement of team and individual glory, but one Berkshire County squad went where none of its peers have gone before: to the top of the heap in high school lacrosse. That was enough of a milestone to give the Wahconah boys lax team the nod as the story of the year in Berkshire County athletics. It was an accomplishment several years in the making as Wahconah worked its way through the post-season — a one-goal loss in the Central/Western Mass quarterfinals in 2019, a Central/Western Mass title in 2021, the next year the tournament was held. But in the 10th year of the program's existence – just a decade after the 15 Comments
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