| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Shots Cafe in Lenox Celebrating 15 Years By Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
12:04PM / Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | |
The Diego Rivera panini, with roasted chicken and avocado, is a customer favorite. LENOX, Mass. — Shots Cafe on Housatonic Street is celebrating 15 years of business by giving back to its customers. On Thursday, May 15, customers will get 15 percent off their orders all day. Owner Liliana Arteaga-Tucker, opened the eatery in 2010. She said she wanted to create a European-style cafe in the Berkshires as she loved them during her time living in Europe. "After living for a few years in Europe, I moved to the Berkshires, where I was looking for those little cute European cafes around here. Unfortunately, I didn't see a lot of them around here. So I 0 Comments
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Author David Guenette to Discuss Climate Change in Berkshire County| 11:28AM / Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. Mass. — Author David Guenette, writer of "The Steep Climes Quartet," a literary climate fiction series, will discuss the impact of climate change on daily life in Berkshire County at three upcoming events. The presentations will explore the costs of climate change at the household level and the challenges of transitioning to clean energy. Guenette will use excerpts from his novels, "Kill Well" (2026 setting) and "Dear Josephine" (2029 setting), to illustrate key points. He will also reference his forthcoming Book Three, "Over Brooklyn Hills" (2035 setting, expected December 2025 publication), and the final book in 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Receives Over $1.2 Million for Water Resources Management Plan| 10:32AM / Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. As part of its May 7, 2025 meeting, the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Board of Trustees approved funding for water infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth, including a low-interest loan of $1,299,759 for the city of Pittsfield. This loan, identified as CW-25-06, will support Pittsfield's Integrated Water Resources Management Plan. The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), facilitates the development of resilient communities by assisting municipalities in upgrading their water infrastructure. This is achieved through low-interest loans and grants, such as the one awarded
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Pittsfield Accepting Applications for Senior Tax Work-Off Program| 07:52AM / Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The City of Pittsfield is now accepting applications for its Senior Tax Work-Off Program for Fiscal Year 2026. To be eligible, applicants must be owners of residential property in Pittsfield and 60 years of age or older at the time of application. Completed program applications must be postmarked or received by the Assessors' Office by May 30, 2025. Current municipal employees are not eligible to participate. The program allows for a maximum of two participants per eligible property, with a total tax abatement limit of $2,000 per property. The tax work-off abatement, whether used alone or in combination with other exemptions, cannot exceed the annual taxes owed
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Pittsfield Interviews Prospective Interim SuperintendentsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:10PM / Tuesday, May 13, 2025 | |
The School Committee is expected to make a decision on Wednesday. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee is set to appoint an interim superintendent at Wednesday's regular meeting.
They have a choice between three candidates: Roland Joyal Jr., Latifah Phillips, and Robert Putnam. Outgoing Superintendent Joseph Curtis will step down from his position on July 1 after 30 years with the district. Mary Jane Rickson, superintendent of the Granby Public Schools, withdrew from consideration shortly after her name was announced. During 70-minute interviews on Wednesday and Thursday at Reid Middle School, the three finalists were asked to detail how they would approach the
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Berkshire County Historical Opens Arrowhead on May 17| 04:29PM / Tuesday, May 13, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society (BCHS)will open Herman Melville's historic home, Arrowhead, for guided tours beginning May 17. Melville lived at Arrowhead from 1850-1863 and there wrote his masterpiece "Moby-Dick" inspired by the view of Mount Greylock outside his study window. Tours are offered Thursday through Monday on the hour with the first tour beginning at 10 am and the last at 3 pm. Rates for guided tours are: adults $20, students $10, children 12 and under free. Reservations are not required but can be made by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org. Group tours are available by appointment for 0 Comments
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Community Shred Day Nets 8,000 Pounds of Shredded, Recycled Paper| 10:45AM / Tuesday, May 13, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Eight thousand pounds of paper were shredded and recycled at this year's Community Shred Day held on Saturday, May 3. The annual event was hosted by Greylock Federal Credit Union, in collaboration with Berkshire United Way, to benefit the United Way's local initiatives. The event, which was open to the public, allowed community members to securely dispose of personal printed documents on-site courtesy of VitalShred at the United Way headquarters in Pittsfield. "We love organizing this event for our community. It's a great way to securely dispose of personal documents while also supporting our friends at Berkshire 0 Comments
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Berkshire County Writers Recognized On The 2025 Mass Book Awards Longlists| 07:30AM / Tuesday, May 13, 2025 | |
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — The longlisted titles for the 25th Annual Massachusetts Book Awards, announced by the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB), include recognition for authors from Berkshire County. The MCB, a nonprofit established in 2000, is dedicated to fostering a love of reading, celebrating the Commonwealth's literary heritage, ensuring open access to books and libraries, and promoting literacy and learning across Massachusetts. Among the recognized authors are: Eden Robins of North Adams, longlisted in Fiction for "Remember You Will Die." Elizabeth Kolbert of Williamstown, longlisted in Nonfiction for "H is 0 Comments
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Pagliarulo, Strout Win Seats on Dalton Select BoardBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
08:56PM / Monday, May 12, 2025 | |
The election saw about a 20 percent turnout of registered voters. DALTON, Mass. — Voters returned one of two incumbents to the Select Board and one newcomer on Tuesday. Antonio "Tony" Pagliarulo won one of the two seats in the four-way race with 577 votes for the board, outpolling the other three candidates by 107 votes. Coming up second was incumbent Marc Strout with 486. William Drosehn, chair of the Finance Committee, was 13 votes behind at 473. Robert Collins, who won a seat by 13 votes in February's special election found himself out of the running this time with 459 votes. Pagliarulo expressed his
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Nearly 5% Budget Increase Proposed For PittsfieldBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:56PM / Monday, May 12, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's operating budget and water/sewer rates are on Tuesday's City Council meeting agenda.
Mayor Peter Marchetti has submitted an order to raise and appropriate $226,246,942 for the fiscal year 2026 budget, a nearly 4.8 percent increase from the previous year. It includes $86,450,361 for the school department, $11,202,345 for the department of public services, and $15,468,750 for the Pittsfield police.
Marchetti has also asked that $2 million in free cash be applied to offset the FY26 tax rate.
While these items are on the agenda for Tuesday, they are typically referred to the Committee of the Whole, and departments are deliberated on a
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BeatNest Celebrates Grand Opening in New SpaceBy Breanna Steele, iBerkshires Staff
12:36PM / Monday, May 12, 2025 | |
The space has private recording areas and room for group classes. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — BeatNest, an electronic music program, celebrated its grand opening at 163 North St. on Saturday. This new space is about 10 times bigger than its former space, owner Geoffrey Carter said, and being on North Street provides more visibility. "The street visibility has been great because people just walk by and they can see my sign," he said. "I've always been looking for an upgrade to teach bigger groups of classes where I can do group events and expand my offerings." Carter says the number of classes and the number of students have grown, prompting 0 Comments
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