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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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County Retirement Board Votes 5% Staff COLABy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
04:49AM / Monday, January 09, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Retirement Board voted to set the cost-of-living adjustments at a 5 percent increase during its meeting on Wednesday morning. The Berkshire County Retirement System conducted a salary survey that recommended a COLA of 7.1 percent. The COLA policy that the board previously approved was calculated between 2.5 to 5 percent but the board has the discretion to approve above that calculation in certain circumstances, Executive Director Sheila LaBarbera said. Staff looked into comparable positions for retirement coordinator in Western Mass, including Lowell and Lawrence because they are the two most economically depressed 0 Comments
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Dalton Historical Commission Updated on Town Hall Renovation PlansBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:12PM / Sunday, January 08, 2023 | |
 DALTON, Mass. — The Historical Commission is in support of the the more than $600,000 in renovations planned for the 1890 Town Hall building but also wants its historic features to be preserved. "I think we definitely all of us want it to be brought up to the most efficient it can be brought up, modernized buildings definitely needs it," co-Chairwoman Louisa Horth said. "But what the Historic Commission would be concerned about is the look of the building." The discussion came on Wednesday when commissioners were asked by Green Dalton Committee member Dr. Thomas Irwin their thoughts on the renovations to make the building energy 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Firefighters Extinguish North St. Fire | 11:23AM / Sunday, January 08, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. Firefighters extinguished a Sunday morning structure fire caused by the careless disposal of smoking materials. Sunday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 am the Pittsfield Fire Department responded to 1223 North Street, a two-family apartment building, for a possible structure fire. The 911 call was made by a good samaritan who saw smoke emanating from the building's roof line. The samaritan knocked on the doors and alerted the occupants of the blaze. E3, E5, E2, Tower-1, and Car2 responded. On arrival, fire was showing from the second-floor windows. E3 crew attacked the fire, E5 provided water supply, and E2 conducted a primary search of the 0 Comments
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State Announces Nearly $2M in Fire Education Grants| 10:23AM / Sunday, January 08, 2023 | |
STOW — The Baker-Polito Administration today announced that 266 municipal fire departments will receive $1.9 million in grants to fund fire and life safety education for children and older adults, setting a new record for the Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) and Senior SAFE programs. The previous record of 253 communities was set in FY 2018. "For more than 25 years, the S.A.F.E. grant program has provided hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts students with fire and life safety lessons that last a lifetime," said Governor Charlie Baker. "We are glad that this year's awards will support consistent, statewide, professional safety education in a 0 Comments
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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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