By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, FRIDAY, FEB. 28, 2014) — For eons, England’s Stonehenge has fascinated people with its mystery. What do the large stones mean? Beginning today, Pittsfield’s Stonehenge will emerge as its own mystery — not one as enduring at the English riddle, granted, but […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014) — Time for another round of Qwik Hitz and Hot Lix, our variety show of disparate items related in odd ways that together offer determined though feeble responses to the age-old question, “What’s the Use?” The assortment of potpourri comes […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26, 2014) — Last week, The Boring Broadsheet ran a page one story notifying poor taxpaying citizens that $510,000 of their hard-earned dollars — “appropriated” from them by state revenuers — were being given to Nuclea Biotechnologies in the form of tax breaks. The […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary Second of Two Parts (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 25, 2014) — The background radiation to the fascinating issue of agenda item #9, slated to be taken up at tonight’s city council meeting, is the power play involved. It was interesting that until THE PLANET ran Part […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary NOTE: A SMALL TECHNICAL GLITCH MAY DELAY THE ABILITY TO POST COMMENTS ON THIS STORY. THE PLANET HAS NOT DISABLED THE COMMENTS FUNCTION! THANK YOU — WEBMASTER First of Two Parts (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, FEB. 24, 2014) — Tomorrow night at its regular meeting, THE PLANET‘s Right […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, FRIDAY, FEB. 21, 2014) — THE PLANET had an inquiry recently about the recall procedures under the “new” Pittsfield city charter. The move by Hinsdale voters to approve a recall petition inspired the question. THE PLANET went to city’s official website. We […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 20, 2014) — THE PLANET doesn’t delve much in poetry at this address, except when we get lucky with words and what our fingers pluck out on the keyboard form phrases and more than more-or-less rise equivalent to our fully formed thoughts. […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 18, 2014) — It was one word on a 44-page document, yet it contained enough meaning to dwarf in significance the remainder of those flaccid, flabby pages. The word contains within it an answer, perhaps the answer, as to why the PEDA […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, FEB. 17, 2014) — From the mailbag, we share this letter. It deals with a subject that, coincidentally or not, THE PLANET had planned to take up today. Coincidence is convenience delivered by room service! Our letter writer sends this: ——- 000 ——- […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, FEB. 14, 2014) — Happy Valentine’s Day from THE PLANET. Remember, you can’t spell “Valentine” without “Valenti.” We at THE PLANET have spent snow time cleaning out files and spider webs at the FORTRESS. This healthy activity left us with another does of a […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 12, 2014) — While THE PLANET sorts out the feverish “intelligence” from last night’s city council meeting, let’s let the cipher machines cool off. We’ll try to get to 30,000 feet to present a coherent view of the strange doings involving our Right Honorable […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 11, 2014) — Sifting though the information provided by Office of Community Development director Douglas Clark, THE PLANET reveals a fact that many discussing the MBTA contract for railcars seem to have overlooked. This is for assembly work, not manufacturing. If the company […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, FEB. 10, 2014) — Could Adam Lee Hall have been innocent? A jury of his peers, so called, pronounced Hall guilty of 15 counts, including murder, and acquitted him of four counts. That’s point #1: The jury found him not guilt on more […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, FEB. 7-9 WEEKEND EDITION, 2014) — As we said in the Muir case so we say in the Adam Lee Hall case. The first found the defendant not guilty of sexual assault charges. The second found the defendant guilt of murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014) — Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, “They” are looking to take $2 million of your tax dollars, but “They’re” afraid of scrutiny. Can you smell a “fast one” cooking? The economic and community development subcommittee of the Pittsfield City Council […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 6, 2014) — One of THE PLANET‘s loyal readers offered this interesting tidbit on “Wrestling Mania,” wherein the Pittsfield School Department saw fit to suspend wrestling coach Matt Chamberlain from his post without giving the taxpaying public a proper reason for the […]
