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| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Dalton Special Town Meeting Set WednesdayBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:36AM / Tuesday, October 08, 2024 | |
DALTON, Mass. — A special town meeting will be held at Nessacus Regional Middle School this Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. to vote on four articles. The first article requests that voters approve decreasing the fiscal year debt exclusion line item by $48,668. Article 2 requests the transfer of $350,000 from capital stabilization to cover the cost of the final engineering and construction of the heating, air conditioning, and ventilation system for the Town Hall's main floor and the police station in its basement. "We don't have an actual preliminary cost for this [yet.] We're still waiting for some assessments and some information from the 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Holiday Inn Express Seeks Further TIF ExtensionBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:13AM / Tuesday, October 08, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The COVID-19 pandemic's effect on construction costs continues to delay an upcoming Holiday Inn Express.
On Tuesday's City Council agenda is a request to amend a tax increment financing agreement between the city and Somnath LLC, initially approved in 2021. The company is seeking a second two-year extension because of higher construction costs, supply chain disruptions, and the need to secure additional financing.
"Remember, all these businesses that get a TIF pay taxes and in the case of this hotel, once they're open there will be hotel, motel taxes that the city will be receiving as well," Mayor Peter Marchetti said on his biweekly
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Pittsfield Schools See Fewer Cell Phone ViolationsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:11PM / Monday, October 07, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The updated cell phone regulations continue to show progress at Pittsfield schools. There were 416 log entries for violations towards the end of September while in September 2023, there were almost 1,000. This is attributed to a recently updated policy that imposes clear consequences for unauthorized cell phone use.
"Unless something really bad happens in the next four days with cell phone Armageddon, we're probably going to be well under, in terms of log entries, where we were last year at this time," Matthew Bishop, interim assistant superintendent of instruction, assessment, education, and engagement, said.
"Which is just
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Public Health Advisory for Pontoosuc Lake| 10:40AM / Monday, October 07, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent observations on Oct. 4 results have confirmed the presence of a blue-green algae bloom at Pontoosuc Lake that may present harmful health effects for users of the lake. Accordingly, and as recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a public health advisory is being issued. Waterbody poses risk for people and pets. • Do not swim. • Do not swallow water. • Keep animals away. • Rinse off after contact with water. Warning signs are being posted around the lake. Blue-green algae, also known as Cyanobacteria, occur naturally in lakes and ponds throughout Massachusetts. These microscopic organisms 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Bulky Waste Collection Updates| 07:53AM / Monday, October 07, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City of Pittsfield participates in a bulky waste collection program for items that are not collected in regular trash pickup. With the new toter system in place, the bulky waste collection program continues with a change in when items are picked up. Starting this month, pick up of bulky waste items, that have a paid sticker, will occur during the first full week of the month for January, February, March, April, September, October and November. For the months of May, June, July and December, bulky waste pick up will occur during the first full week and third full week of the month. Pickup occurs during the designated weeks on your 0 Comments
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Dalton Water Board Eyes EMS Regionalization StudyBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:25AM / Monday, October 07, 2024 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Board of Water Commissioners will consider participating in a Central Berkshire and the Hill Towns Emergency Medical Services regionalization study during a future meeting. During last week's meeting, resident Thomas Irwin presented the board with an opportunity to participate in an EMS regionalization study, which would be fully funded by the state and would not commit the district to any future changes, he said. The study would provide information and be a "very helpful guide" to the future of EMS services. "There's a push statewide to support regionalization of EMS services because it's not financially 0 Comments
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Governor Announces Firefighter Safety Grant Opportunity| 11:50AM / Sunday, October 06, 2024 | |
STOW, Mass.—The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that up to $5 million in grant funding is available to support the purchase of firefighter turnout gear, fire suppression equipment, and related items through the FY25 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant program. The competitive grant program, which is administered by the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security and the Department of Fire Services, reimburses local fire departments for the purchase of qualifying safety equipment. Departments of every city, town, fire district, and eligible state authority may apply for a grant. Maximum funding amounts are based on the size of the population the department 0 Comments
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MassDOT Launches Latest Statewide Travel Study| 08:02AM / Sunday, October 06, 2024 | |
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently launched the latest Massachusetts Travel Study, the first comprehensive statewide data collection project in over 10 years. If invited to participate, residents across the Commonwealth will have the opportunity to share information about their travel behavior and help inform the future of transportation planning and service delivery. Households across the state will be randomly selected to participate in the study. If chosen, household members will be able to complete a short travel diary and questionnaire that asks about various trip purposes, and travel modes taken. Once complete, every
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Berkshire Family YMCA Recognized By Mass Save | 04:23PM / Saturday, October 05, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— In recognition of Energy Efficiency Day, the Sponsors of Mass Save announced Berkshire Family YMCA has been recognized as a 2024 Mass Save Climate Leader for their outstanding energy-efficient upgrades. This recognition was granted to 19 Massachusetts organizations that have demonstrated long-term commitments to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions with the support and incentives the Mass Save program offers. Berkshire Family YMCA completed the following projects: Fully replaced their steam boiler load with an extensive VRF heat pump system. Completed several other large-scale projects, as well as other 0 Comments
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Pontoosuc Under Public Health Advisory| 04:47PM / Friday, October 04, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A blue-green algae bloom was confirmed on Friday at Pontoosuc Lake that may present harmful health effects for users of the lake. The city has issued a health advisory as recommended by the state Department of Public Health for both people and pets. • Do not swim. • Do not swallow water. • Keep animals away. • Rinse off after contact with water. Warning signs are being posted around the lake. Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, occur naturally in lakes and ponds throughout Massachusetts. These microscopic organisms are components of the aquatic food chain. In ordinary circumstances, cyanobacteria 0 Comments
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@theMarket: A Week to RememberBy Bill Schmick,
03:02PM / Friday, October 04, 2024 | |
It was a week to remember in financial markets. Hurricane Helene, the longshoreman strike, Iran's ballistic missile attack against Israel, American drones shot down by Houthi rebels, and a massive gain in U.S. jobs — welcome to October. All the above happened in just the first week of the month. The stock market has hung in there through all of it. However, the events of the week have given heartburn to investors and traders alike. The massive flooding and rising death toll in Florida and North Carolina were tragic but also negative for overall future growth and employment. The price tag is estimated to be above $34 billion. Insurance stocks did not suffer simply 0 Comments
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General Election Information and Deadlines| 11:18AM / Friday, October 04, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts General Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, for the office of President and Vice President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor's Councillor, State Senator, State Representative, Register of Deeds and Clerk of Courts. In addition, there are five questions that will appear on the ballot. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Early/absentee ballots are not expected to be available until the week of Oct. 7, 2024. The Registrar of Voters Office will mail out any requested ballots once they are received. Saturday, Oct. 26, is the deadline to register to vote or to make changes to voter registration. To be eligible to
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