| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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GE Buildings 12 & 14 Demolished in PittsfieldBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:07PM / Sunday, November 17, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass.— General Electric's former Buildings 12 and 14 are demolished and the debris will soon be capped.
Last week, the public health and safety subcommittee received an update on the project that was paused over the summer after air sampling detected an exceedance of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs.)
Authorities said the measurements are "conservative" and do not threaten public health.
Work to demolish the two buildings began last year and was completed in September after it was temporarily halted on July 25. Debris will be set off-site for disposal at the end of the year, and the subsurface vaults will be sealed and capped soon after.
Richard
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Governor Thanks Firefighters, Asks Public to Contain Fire Risk | 11:22AM / Sunday, November 17, 2024 | |
MIDDLETON, Mass. — Governor Maura Healey visited the Middleton Fire Department to thank firefighters and first responders who have been working to contain brush fires in the area and across the state over the past few weeks. More than 450 fires have burned over 1,500 acres since Oct. 1 in Massachusetts, including two ongoing fires in Middleton, and air quality continues to be affected in many communities. Multiple fires remain active and have proved difficult to contain due to extremely low rainfall in the region over the last two months. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has declared drought conditions affecting nearly the 0 Comments
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200 Pittsfield Students Walk for Men's Mental HealthBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
08:20AM / Sunday, November 17, 2024 | |
Judy and Paul Coty, left, their daughter Veronica, Matt Capeless and PHS Principal Maggie Esko at the Movember gathering. PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Around 200 Taconic and Pittsfield high school students marched downtown to support men's health on Friday.
The third annual "Move for Movember" walk-a-thon raised money for mental health, as more than three of four suicides that occur in the United States are by men and boys. It also supported the Aaron T. Coty Memorial Scholarship, which honors a beloved student who died in 2015 after silently struggling with mental illness.
Each walker paid a $5 registration fee and was asked to raise an additional $20.
"I can
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Berkshire Trans Group Awarded Trans Justice Funding Project Grant| 04:00PM / Saturday, November 16, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Trans Group has been awarded $6,267.40 by the Trans Justice Funding Project to go toward programming, captioning, guest speakers, and mutual aid for and about transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming members of the community. The Trans Justice Funding Project is a community-led funding initiative founded in 2012 to support grassroots trans justice groups run for and by trans people in the United States (including U.S. territories). Berkshire Trans Group is a peer support group and a project of Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition, Berkshire County's longest standing LGBTQ+ organization. It has helped launch of 0 Comments
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Salvation Army, Market 32 Launch Holiday Kettle Donation Program | 07:59AM / Saturday, November 16, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Market 32/Price Chopper is once again playing host to the Salvation Army's "Red Kettle" holiday campaign at all 130 of its stores in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Salvation Army and Market 32/ Price Chopper have been collaborative partners in the communities they serve for more than 35 years. Last year's "Red Kettle" campaign at Market 32/Price Chopper stores raised nearly $580,000 in donations directly benefitting those in need throughout the communities where the funds were collected. The campaign this year will run Nov. 11 – Dec. 24. 0 Comments
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Letter: Berkshire Community Action Council Rumors Hurt Fundraising EffortsLetter to the Editor,
05:00PM / Friday, November 15, 2024 | |
 To the Editor:
Most of you are familiar with BCAC. We are the federally designated anti-poverty agency for Berkshire County, serving nearly 12,000 families each year. We work hard to maintain the trust and respect of the communities we serve. Overseen by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, we are required to comply each year with a rigorous 78 performance standards which govern all aspects of our organization. Proudly, we can boast that we are consistently 100 percent compliant with these standards which range from our community involvement, our transparency in reporting, our administration of programs, our financial accountability and much more. This positions us as
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@theMarket: Profit-Taking Trims Post-Election GainsBy Bill Schmick,
03:03PM / Friday, November 15, 2024 | |
A 5 percent gain in nine days on the benchmark S&P 500 Index was met by profit-taking. Traders booked gains in Trump trades as some had second thoughts about continued upside. Who can blame them? The conviction by many that happy days are here again (or will be by next year) sent markets through the roof in a frenzy of FOMO-generated trades. Technology took a back seat for a change as small-cap stocks soared on the belief that tariffs would force consumers to buy made-in-America products from American companies. Smaller capitalization companies are distinctly American and are listed on the Russell 2,000 Index. Traders know that a good 40 percent of these companies make no 0 Comments
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Letter: Dalton Board Should Not Stop Special ElectionLetter to the Editor,
02:00PM / Friday, November 15, 2024 | |
 To the Editor:
I would like to comment on the travesty that is taking place in the Town of Dalton. The Selectboard chooses not to set a date for a special election. Even a petition of over 200 voters to have a date scheduled for a special election is not persuading them. This special election is due to the resignation of a Selectboard member on Oct. 1. This past Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Selectboard voted once again to suppress a date for a special election. In doing so they tried to discredit the procedure used by a dedicated elected public servant, our town clerk. The procedures she followed were through the guidance of a state official and Mass General Laws. This date should have been set
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Weekend Outlook: Dancing, Comedy, MusicBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
12:25PM / Friday, November 15, 2024 | |
 There are several events this weekend, including a weeklong dance festival, bazaar, live music, and more. Editor's Pick Wandering Dance Festival Downtown Pittsfield Nov. 17 to 23 This weeklong community dance initiative celebrates movement and culture in an effort to foster community connections. The festival features a variety of dance styles, free workshops, and opportunities for participants to showcase their dancing. It will culminate in a showcase performance at the Colonial Theatre with both professional and local artists. Schedule and information here. Multiple Days St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish Bazaar 70 0 Comments
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Lanesborough Sets Single Tax Rate, Bills to IncreaseBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:56AM / Friday, November 15, 2024 | |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass.— The average homeowner's tax bill for fiscal year 2025 will rise about $360.
On Monday, the Select Board adopted a single tax rate of $16.73 per $1,000 valuation. The rate is a 28-cent decrease from the previous year but the average single-family home valued at $345,786 will see a tax bill increase of $362, totaling $5,785. The average commercial property (estimated at $535,317) will see a $23 increase, paying nearly $9,000 in property taxes annually.
Last year, the same single-family home valued at about $318,800 saw a $107 increase on its bill.
"When people get their tax bills, please remember that you voted for this a town meeting," Select
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Bershire Carousel Offered to City of PittsfieldBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:28AM / Friday, November 15, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Carousel currently sits frozen in time as it waits for riders. Will operations resume under city ownership?
Councilors will soon decide.
On Tuesday, the City Council referred a conveyance and donation of property at 50 Center St. to the finance subcommittee. This is the location of the shuttered Berkshire Carousel, placed there almost a decade ago after years of volunteers handcrafting the horses.
James Shulman and his wife, Jackie, started the effort as a gift back to his hometown. The Shulmans live in Ohio.
While it opened to enthusiastic fans in 2016, it has not operated since 2018 after leadership and funding fell apart. A gift
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Health, Environmental Officials: Pittsfield GE Landfills Don't Pose RiskStaff Reports, iBerkshires
05:29PM / Thursday, November 14, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Residents continue to express concerns about PCB exposure from the former General Electric campus but health and environmental experts say there is no risk.
Last week, the council subcommittee on public health and safety received an annual update from the Environmental Protection Agency, state Department of Environmental Protection, and the state Department of Public Health on the capped landfills on Hill 78 and Building 71 that abut Allendale School.
"In summary, for the OPCAs, GE is conducting the long-term monitoring and maintenance program as required by the consent decree in GE's final report program overseen by federal EPA and Mass DEP with
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