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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Pittsfield Board of Health OKs Updated Tobacco OrdinanceBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
07:30AM / Sunday, January 08, 2023 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Board of Health has concluded its seven-month process of updating the city's tobacco ordinance. "We should be very happy about that," Chair Bobbie Orsi said.
The document was unanimously approved on Wednesday after receiving some finishing touches in November. No public comment was generated in response to the public hearing. The ordinance had last been amended in 2019 before Gov. Charlie Baker signed an Act Modernizing Tobacco Control, which imposed new restrictions on the sale of nicotine vaping, flavored vaping, and tobacco products.
Changes effective on April 1 include a clarified definition for blunt wraps, a raised minimum price
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@theMarket: Markets Are Stuck in Chop CityBy Bill Schmick,
10:36AM / Saturday, January 07, 2023 | |
 Welcome to a new year of financial markets. But while the dates have changed, stocks continue to disappoint. The S&P 500 Index has been caught in a range with the mid-point around the 3,800 level. Next week, we could see a minor break higher to the 3,920 level, but it probably won't last. That is because Wall Street experts are as confused as the rest of us. Forecasts for 2023 are all over the place with some strategists predicting an up year while others believe the declines of last year will continue. The confusion stems from a variety of unknowns including the path of inflation, interest rates, and the economy overall. Currently, the markets are focused on the labor 0 Comments
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Brazilian Cuisine Comes to Berkshire CountyBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
06:30AM / Saturday, January 07, 2023 | |
Espetinho Carioca's alcatra acebolada from its Facebook page. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Homemade Brazilian cuisine is now available to Berkshire County patrons thanks to the opening of Espetinho Carioca, located at 48 B North St. This family run restaurant is working to fill that niche, sharing recipes passed down by generations with the community. The Melo family first shared their food with friends when they moved here from Rio De Janeiro. Berkshire County has a large Brazilian community but not many areas have authentic Brazilian cuisine, Mariana Melo said. "It's also an honor to represent the Brazilians in the area and give them a place to 0 Comments
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Standout in Park Square Says 'Never Again' to Jan. 6 AttackBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:20PM / Friday, January 06, 2023 | |
State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier speaks at the Four Freedoms Coalition standout at Park Square on Friday. Democracy is fragile, she says, and must be preserved. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Activists gathered in Park Square on Friday to say "never again" on the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection. On Jan. 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the House chambers attempting to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College vote and the election of Joseph Biden. Shirley Edgerton, a local community organizer, said she is deeply concerned about the right-wing faction under the leadership of the former president and is 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: U.S. Income InequalityBy Bill Schmick,
02:03PM / Friday, January 06, 2023 | |
 In 2022, 68 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of wage earners while the lowest 50 percent of workers accounted for just 3.2 percent of that wealth. The gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen. I was brought up believing that hard work, determination, and pulling oneself up by your bootstraps could guarantee success in America. In my case, as the son of lower-middle-class parents, I have moved up a rung to solidly middle-class. Unfortunately, most Americans have not been able to even do that. As most readers probably know, income and wealth inequality in the U.S. is wider than in almost every other 0 Comments
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Healey, Driscoll Announce Economic, Technology Services, Security Heads| 10:40AM / Friday, January 06, 2023 | |
 BOSTON — Yvonne Hao of Williamstown has been named as secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development and Jason Snyder as secretary of the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security. The appointments were made by Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll prior their swearing in on Thursday. Hao will be the first woman and person of color to lead the state's chief economic development agency. She has had more than 25 years of executive business experience as a senior executive, including as co-founder, advisor and managing director at investment firm Cove Hill Partners and as an operating partner at Pillar Ventures. Previously, she 0 Comments
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Four Freedoms Coalition Plan Standout on Jan. 6| 09:55AM / Friday, January 06, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Four Freedoms Coalition is standing out at Park Square to mark the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, when a mob instigated by the former president smashed its way in the House chambers to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College vote and election of Joseph Biden. Because of the Capitol Police and others, the attempt was unsuccessful. But many Republican Party extremists still deny and minimize the attempt. The standout will be at noon on Friday to celebrate American democracy, thank the Congressional January 6th Committee for its work, support the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal investigation of those who 1 Comment
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Four Members Elected to BCC Board of Trustees| 08:00AM / Friday, January 06, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Four new members have been elected to the Berkshire Community College (BCC) Board of Trustees. The board is composed of area residents appointed by the governor of Massachusetts. Suzanne Bateman, student trustee, is a non-traditional student at BCC, a mother of four and a grandmother of nine. Since 2015, she has owned and operated Autumn's Bistro, a restaurant and special events operator. Previously, she owned and operated Pepe's Kitchen and was a transportation coordinator for Ace Cab Company. A graduate of August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colorado, she is now a business administration student at BCC, 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Board of Health Revisits Proposal to Make Chicken Keeping More AffordableBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:09AM / Friday, January 06, 2023 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Board of Health members are hesitant to put chicken-keeping permits under the Health Department's purview but have agreed to gather more information about it. The panel revisited a proposal from resident Melissa Corbett on Wednesday that moves the permitting process for six chickens from the Zoning Board of Appeals to the BOH, reducing the fee from more than $500 to around $25. "I think we all understand that the ZBA's process is expensive and cumbersome," Chair Bobbie Orsi said.
"I don't know what they would say about this but it just seems like it could be the tip of the iceberg and I think we'd want to go into making a
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Shuttered Berkshire General Store Bought by Property ManagersBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:30PM / Thursday, January 05, 2023 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire General Store closed its doors for good at the end of 2022 but there may be hope for a similar venture in its space. On Wednesday, the Board of Health voted to transfer a tobacco permit from the store to Cavalier Management, which has purchased the business.
Tony Marcella and Richard Altman of the property management company attended the meeting along with Lindsey Tuller, former co-owner of Berkshire General Store.
The new owners aim to make "some improvements" if possible and reported that they are trying to keep it as a general store. Planning is still in progress and has to be solidified within 60 days per state
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Healey Outlines Bold Climate, Housing and Education Plans in Inaugural AddressStaff Reports,
04:31PM / Thursday, January 05, 2023 | |
 BOSTON — Maura Healey was sworn in on Thursday morning as the 73rd governor of Massachusetts and vowed to address the challenges in competitiveness, free community college, environmental and climate issues, housing and child care. Massachusetts is a state of firsts when it comest to government, equality, education and public good, the Democrat said, noting that "the nation was born here, not with a whimper but with the spark of revolution." "This state achieves its higher purpose when the bedrock of individual freedom meets the bond of the public spirit. This is our common wealth, in the truest sense — equally ours, equally yours, whether your 2 Comments
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Public Comments Sought on Human Service Needs in Pittsfield| 04:11PM / Thursday, January 05, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city of Pittsfield, through its Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC), is asking the public to comment on the human service needs in Pittsfield. The Human Services Advisory Council is an 11-member advisory committee that provides funding recommendations to the mayor on how the city should allocate its human services funding. One of the considerations that the council uses to make those recommendations is to consider the input of Pittsfield residents and others. Public comments will be accepted now through Jan. 31, 2023. Comments may be submitted several ways: email njoyner@cityofpittsfield.org; phone at 413-499-9358; teletype at 413-499-9340; or 0 Comments
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