By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, AUG. 1, 2013) — Welcome to August, the penultimate act of The Vanishing Summer. On this day, 51 years ago, Boston Red Sox right hander Bill Monbouquette threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox. The losing pitcher was Early Wynn. That night he suffered […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, JULY 31, 2013) — The campaign trail, such as it is thus far, bears little resemblance to a byway that leads anywhere interesting. A look at the field, coming in a moment, will bear this out. Meantime, THE PLANET has heard the following: * […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013) — You may have missed it, though it was hard to miss. Check out these words from Pope Francis, from an impromptu press conference as he was flying home from his visit to Rio de Janeiro: “If someone is gay […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JULY 29, 2013) — Toughen up the hyde, and toughen up the hide. Hyde. Hide. That was, is, and shall be THE PLANET‘s free advice to candidates running for public office. We won’t explain the homonymic difference. We trust you are smart enough to […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD 1, FRIDAY, JULY 26, 2013 AND INTO THE WEEKEND — THE PLANET has known Donna Todd Rivers for about three years. She has been an acquaintance though not a friend. We’re bought her lunch at the Red Lion Inn and, when she was breaking into radio, […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013) — Still waters run deep, so the saying goes. Fast-moving rivers produce dangerous currents — unpredictable and untrustworthy — that can easily sweep you away to your doom. Be careful. Don’t be fooled. Enter candidate Donna Todd Rivers, who is […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2013) — The city of Pittsfield wants to expand its arts district. This would amount to a change into acceptable uses. New businesses that would be considered “arts” would include breweries, pubs, winemakers, and — are you sitting down? — cheese […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, DATE, 2013) — Alf Barbalunga‘s decision not to seek re-election to the school committee, of which he was chair, or any other city position, could have dramatic impact on the Pittsfield School Department. It “could,” we say. This being Pittsfield, it also easily “could […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary FIRST ADD, JULY 23, 2013 THE PLANET has learned through sources and confirmed that school committee chairman Alf Barbalunga will not seek re-election this year. Barbalunga also will not be running for any other municipal office. In a brief interview with us, school committeeman Terry Kinnas told […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 19-21, 2013) — What barometer provides the best measure of a mayor? There are many from which to choose, but the one on which THE PLANET relies above all is a mayor’s handling of the municipal budget. Dan Bianchi has submitted two […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013) — “Hot enough for you?” Sure, the question is asked as an innocent and innocuous ice breaker, pun intended, but it begs an entry in Mad Magazine‘s feature that gives smart-aleck answers to stupid questions. THE PLANET‘s answer is, “No, […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2013) — Mayor Dan Bianchi, neither the first nor the last of the political big-time spenders, set an all-time record with his FY14 municipal budget, beating the record he set himself the year before. So much for innovative leadership in the […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI Arts and Entertainment (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, Tuesday, July 16, 2013) — Rape, the Musical! Or perhaps, The 51st Shade of Gray might better describe the first scene of Extremities,” with a first beastly then humbled male forcing himself on a woman. The remaining scenes resemble a cross between Venus in Furs […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JULY 15, 2013) — What makes a good temporal leader? This eternal question, so much a part of today’s vexing world, lies at the heart of Richard II, which opened Friday at the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Co. for a limited […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JAN. 12, 2013) — This fall, students dining in public school cafeterias will pay an extra dime for their lunches — from $1.85 to $1.95. A dime doesn’t sound like much, but to hard-pressed families, it’s another ten cents per meal that will […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI Arts and Entertainment (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013) — You could give director Eric Hill the phone book as a script; a month to block, cast, and adapt; three weeks to rehearse, and you’d end up with enjoyable theater, even with the Zs as the predictable ending. This […]
