BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION DEC. 6-8, 2019) — They did it again. They did it to anyone who owns property in Pittsfield — a home, apartment building, business, or set of 1964 Topps Beatles trading cards. If you own it and you’re not one of […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY DEC. 4, 2019) — Just a reminder. Sir Tiberius Fruitjuice, our beloved chairman, has opened the nomination period for THE PLANET‘s coveted Orbit Award, the announcement of which takes place before year’s end. If you have one, let us know. Question: How does a […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY DEC. 2, 2019) — While THE PLANET waits for reader reports of snowplow screwups, let’s look at the Democrats vying for the chance to take on President Trump in 2020, then a word on the House impeachment proceedings. We’ve kept our tongue on […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, NOV. 29-DEC. 1, 2019) — THE PLANET officially opens Black Friday with heavily discounted gifts for city “leaders” (a word that now requires quotation marks thanks to idiot pols like the emotional Pee Pee Pete Marchetti, who with some of his […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY NOV. 27, 2019) — Thanksgiving dawns tomorrow, and THE PLANET gives thanks for a Havana boatload of blessings — for loved ones, family, friends, and foes who don’t know they are friends and perhaps never will. Our thanks include gratitude for our readers, […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY NOV. 25, 2019) — With the mayoral recount going into the books, THE PLANET has picked up interesting developments. These wrinkles in the re-tally may escape other local media, but because of our presence in the offices of Berkshire County, through our Secret Squadron THE […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION NOV. 22-4, 2019) — Two days ago, a Pittsfield Police officer delivered a letter to Melissa Mazzeo. The letter said the mayoral recount will begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday in City Council chambers. As you know because THE PLANET scooped all […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1, THURSDAY NOV. 21 — Not even the dead are safe in Pittsfield. Last night, a thief or thieves broke into Devaney-Condron Funeral Home on 40 Maplewood Ave., stealing jewelry from the upstairs rooms. Police were called, and they began immediately interviewing the cadavers. The dead […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY NOV. 18, 2019) — There’s a vortex swirling in and around Pittsfield, especially city hall. Its gravitational spirals attract the most dubious kinds of “economic development.” THE PLANET is talking fly-by-nighters (damagatis patricatis muracas), the incompetent (beaconat et cinematicum), and projects that couldn’t […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1, NOV. 14, 2019, mid-afternoon: THE PLANET has learned that after virtually non-stop consultations with multiple lawyers and the legal department of the Secretary of State’s office in Boston, Melissa Mazzeo and her Team have been advised that if she eventually wishes to file charges of […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY 1st of a Two-Part Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY NOV. 13, 2019) — Try getting on an airplane without identification. Try obtaining a driver’s license without a set of I.D. documents fit for 007’s attache case. Cashing a check? Better have your ID handy. Buying a six-pack […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS COMMENTARY ADD 1 — Tomorrow, THE PLANET will post the first in a two-part series dealing with the mayoral race results. As you know, mayor Linda Tyer won re-election by 529 votes. Nearly 12,000 votes were cast. A 265-vote swing would have reversed the outcome, triggering a certain recount. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, NOV. 8, 2019) — Prepare yourself for this one. Be forewarned. Read it with the dispassion of intellect, not the spur of overreaction. THE PLANET calls your attention to a bizarre happening at a public school in Utah. It provides an important […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY NOV. 7, 2019) — Today THE PLANET shares some random observations that entered our domain as fleeting thoughts. Here goes: Rip It — Some 41 people have died in ocean rip currents this year. Elizabeth Warren says if she become President, she will […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY NOV. 6, 2019) — The day after the election, we all become smarter. That includes THE PLANET. We endorsed Melissa Mazzeo, but Linda Tyer prevailed. An endorsement is not a prediction, a distinction with an enormous difference most people do not make or […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, ELECTION DAY, 2019) — As you go to the polls today, THE PLANET wants to share a story about crime in Pittsfield. As an issue, it rivals the budget. It’s an issue that mayor Linda Tyer avoided during the campaign. By almost all measures, […]
