| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Lightning Strike Burns Pittsfield Church Steeple| 11:08PM / Sunday, June 25, 2023 | |
The lightning strike started a fire in the Linden Street church's steeple. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A lightning strike started a fire in the steeple at Price Memorial AME Zion Church on Sunday. Firefighters responded to the report of a chimney fire at the church about 7:49 p.m. and saw fire coming from the steeple. The Engine 3 crew searched for interior access to the steeple and checked for fire extension. Engine 5 supplied water and used the "deck gun monitor." Also responding was Engine 1 and Engine 6, as the rapid intervention team. The fire was extinguished within 45 minutes. The church steeple was 0 Comments
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Exorbitant Housing Prices, Limited Options for Pittsfield ResidentsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:55PM / Sunday, June 25, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Local leaders highlighted housing needs at a public input meeting with the Affordable Housing Trust on Wednesday. During the public hearing, trustees also heard of residents' struggles with housing that ranged from homelessness to being locked into long-term renting because they cannot afford a home. This was the body's first event of this kind at Conte Elementary School. The city allocated an initial $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the trust and was allocated $150,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for the fiscal 2024. "I think affordable housing at this point, in the country honestly, too, is an 0 Comments
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BCC Announces New and Returning Staff | 03:52PM / Sunday, June 25, 2023 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) announced the addition of four new staff members and one employee returning to BCC. New hires Prior to joining BCC, she had human resources leadership roles in health care, financial services and higher education. Previously, she was Chief Human Resources Officer for Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina and, more recently, she spent 16 years with Granite State College in New Hampshire. There, she was the Chief Human Resources Officer and also served as Vice President of Student & Administrative Services. Raised in the Berkshires, Dolan earned a bachelor of arts degree from Mount 0 Comments
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Mass Leads Request to Establish Interregional Transmission Collaborative | 11:28AM / Sunday, June 25, 2023 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) a request on behalf of all the New England states, New York, and New Jersey to form a Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission, a new approach to planning for electric transmission infrastructure across multiple regions. Under the proposed structure, DOE would lead the states in planning activities that may include investigating opportunities for mutually beneficial options for increasing the flow of electricity between three different planning regions in the Northeast and assessing offshore wind infrastructure needs and solutions. Greater interconnectivity 0 Comments
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Mass Gaming Commission Begins Search for New Executive Director | 08:33AM / Sunday, June 25, 2023 | |
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) Chair Cathy Judd-Stein today announced that Executive Director Karen Wells will be departing the agency effective July 14, 2023. The Commission will soon announce a process for selecting a new executive director – discussion of this process will take place at future public meetings of the Commission. "On behalf of my fellow commissioners I want to thank Karen for her contributions to the MGC over her ten years of service and for the leadership she has provided as executive director,"said MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein. "Karen is the model of a leader, and her influence can be seen in everything the MGC 0 Comments
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Making the Loop | We had some free time this week to walk the 2-mile loop through the downtown. Here's a few of things that caught our eye. (In between taking photos, we were heel-toeing and arm-pumping as prescribed.)
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Let's Go Paperless | This is from Ward 6 Councilor John Krol's eblast today. His switch to digital immediately caught our attention. With the associated costs - nearly $4,000 a year for paper alone! - zipping councilors "the packet" (as we in the know like to call it) over the ether makes loads of sense.
Digital also means the average citizen gets far better access to these public documents than ever before. The city clerk's office has been diligent about posting meeting agendas and, where possible, relevant documents. So in terms of saving money and time and getting information out efficiently, digital is the way to go.
I would like to thank City Clerk Linda Tyer for agreeing to print out one less city council packet, as I have officially gone paperless for council meetings - which I hope will be a trend that can be extended throughout city government.
 The bulky (and often, very bulky) city council packet that councilors use for a reference costs an average of $170 per meeting for paper alone. Add the additional costs of ink/toner, wear and tear on city hall copiers, and the time and energy of staff who put it all together - and a simple transition away from paper benefits everyone.
With the packet now fully digital in pdf form, all councilors, and everyone with an internet
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Berkshire Music School Kicks Off 2012 Classes With Open House | The open house featured a sample class, access to musical instruments, information for parents, refreshments ...and more than a few delighted squeals.
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January 29, 2011
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Dozens of youths, many of them under the age of 5, attended an open house at the Berkshire Music School Saturday, as the educational nonprofit enters its 70th year at its 30 Wendell Avenue home.
The open house featured a sample class, access to musical instruments, information for parents, refreshments... and more than a few delighted squeals, proving once again the inherent interest in making a joyful noise is not generational, and will never go out of style.
 The open house featured a Music for Preschoolers class, designed to "children’s awareness of rhythm, ability to sing and move creatively to music," which |
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