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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Pittsfield Experiencing Mini COVID SurgeBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:00PM / Wednesday, October 12, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is experiencing a "mini" COVID-19 surge, Director of Public Health Andy Cambi confirmed on Tuesday.
"Pretty big news today," he said to the City Council. "For the COVID update for this month, [I'm] here to report that we are experiencing a mini-surge for our fall season with COVID cases."
On Monday, the positivity rate was 9.8 percent and there were 41.6 daily cases per 100,000 people, compared to an 8 percent positivity rate and an average daily case rate of 28.6 one month ago.
There are 103 estimated actively contagious cases in the city.
Pittsfield remains in the red incident rate, meaning that there are 10 or more
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Pittsfield Council Continues Starbucks Proposal Over Curb Cut ConcernsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
01:43PM / Wednesday, October 12, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council wants a better solution for the proposed Starbucks curb cut on Route 7. On Tuesday, the panel continued a request to build the coffee shop and drive-through at 1030 South St.
Councilors were concerned about the entrance and exit being close to the curb cut for Guido's Fresh Marketplace and the Hilton Garden Inn. After hearing concerns from abutters, they urged the applicant to "be a good neighbor" and reconfigure it.
The popular suggestion was to move the access point south toward Jiffy Lube.
"I'm thankful to all my loyal customers that make the store so popular, especially in the summer but as busy as we are in the
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Fire Prevention Week: 'Fire Wont Wait. Plan Your Escape' | 08:22AM / Wednesday, October 12, 2022 | |
STOW, Mass. — Fire Prevention Week marks its 100th anniversary with a theme that reflects a challenge in modern fire safety: "Fire won't wait. Plan your escape." "Modern residential fires burn much faster than they did in past decades," said State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey. "Changes in building construction, manufacturing, and furnishing mean you could have less than three minutes to escape a fire at home today, compared to 15 minutes or more in the 1970s. That's why it's so important to have working smoke alarms and a practiced escape plan that includes two ways out." Smoke Alarms "Over 60 percent of Massachusetts fire 0 Comments
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Chipotle in Pittsfield Evacuated for Hazmat Leak| 06:54PM / Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A carbon dioxide leak forced the evacuation of Chipotle on Hubbard Avenue on Tuesday afternoon. Around 2:14 p.m., firefighters responded to the eatery for a possible refrigerant leak and found a liquid CO2 tank inside with frozen lines and off-gassing because of over-pressurization, according to the report by Deputy Chief Neil Myers.
All employees had evacuated the building and it was requested that the company responsible for the CO2 system and the Pittsfield-based state hazardous materials team respond. The company had reportedly filled the system a few hours prior and found a small leak in the pressure relief hose outside of the restaurant when they came
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First Annual Transformer Comedy Fest Comes to Pittsfield| 02:23PM / Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Transformer Comedy Fest will feature three days of comedians from across the nation at Flat Burger Society and Dottie's Coffee Lounge. The event runs from Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. with headliners Caitlin Cook, Anthony DeVito, and Josh Gondelman. The festival is independent and homegrown festival with local and regional comics in supporting roles at each show. It is being produced by the Comedy Grotto at Flat Burger Society, a monthly professional comedy production, in cooperation with Dottie's. Flat Burger Society is located on McKay Street and Dottie's is located at the corner of North Street and Maplewood Avenue. Thursday, Oct. 13 Caitlin
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Big Y Program Will Raise Money For Breast Cancer Support Groups| 01:02PM / Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | |
 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — In order to continue to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, all Big Y Supermarkets will be raising funds for 31 local breast cancer support groups throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. In Berkshire County, Berkshire Medical Center's Women's Imaging Center will receive funds. Since 2007, the chain has raised more than $2.7 million dollars for the program, Partners of Hope. Customers can donate directly to Partners of Hope here, or they can purchase a $1 ribbon at each register. "Thousands of women and many men are impacted each year by breast cancer," said Big Y CEO, Charles D'Amour. 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Police Nab Robbery Suspect on North StreetStaff Reports,
12:50PM / Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police arrested an unarmed robbery suspect in under an hour over the weekend after a woman had her purse snatched.
On Sunday, a 77-year-old Pittsfield resident entered the police station and reported that she had just been forcefully robbed of her purse while walking on the 200 Block of North Street. She was uninjured from the incident.
Patrol officers initiated an investigation that focused on a Hamlin Street residence and within one hour, they located the victim’s belongings and arrested 30-year-old Felix Rios.
Police did not say what time of the day the event occurred. Rios is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in Central Berkshire District Court on
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Pittsfield Affordable Housing Trust Meets for the First TimeBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:06AM / Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's Affordable Housing Trust had its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, starting its journey to create and preserve accessible housing in the community. "There's just not housing for the people that need to be in Berkshire County," Chair Betsy Sherman said.
"We need to attract young families. We need to attract working people. We need to expand our horizons in terms of the ability to create new industries, new business, whatever it is to bring more people to Berkshire County and to make lives better for the people that are here."
The seven-member board aims to help the city address housing needs that disproportionately
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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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