COLUMNIST SLAMS ‘BUFFOONERY’ OF HERR DOKTOR — INTO THE GUTTER WHERE IT BELONGS … AT ISSUE, $51 MILLION IN UNNECESSARY TAXPAYER SPENDING on SCHOOL
By DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary
TONIGHT ON PLANET VALENTI TELEVISION: Tune-in as we hand the keys to guest-host Terry Kinnas. That’s PV-TV live beginning at 7 p.m., Channel 16, from the PC-TV studios.
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(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, OCT. 30, 2014) — With the $130 million school project in Pittsfield all but a Done Deal despite decreasing enrollment and performance, there’s another faux school project being foisted on bedraggled taxpayers. This one is in South County, where water runs pure, the geese are flyin’, and “golden worlds revolve and shine.” That last bit is from Shelley. The rest is pure PLANET.
The effort to push a needless $51 million renovation of Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington has as one of its flacks Herr Doktor himself, the author of the polluted trash and drivel spewed each Saturday in The Boring Broadsheet via a dreadful column titled, I, Pretentious.
To press his non-existent case in favor of tens of millions of dollars of needless taxpayer spending, Herr Doktor — sensing he is again on the losing side — has been slinging mud. That is a desperation tactic much in fashion when one has to argue for that which has no case; emotions, red herrings, and smear replace facts, reason, and logic. For the truth of this case, THE PLANET refers you to the latest issue of The Berkshire Record and a fact-filled column by Mickey Friedman.
Since When Is It ‘Un-American’ to Have an Opinion?
In The BB, Herr Doktor actually called those who oppose the renovation project “un-American.”
“Un-American.”
Thank you, Herr Doktor. Your idiotic remark has turned what had been a nail-biter into a win for fiscal sanity. On Tuesday, South County voters will again shoot down this latest attempt at blackmail by the apologists for our failing public schools.
With that preamble, we turn you now to this blog/column by our journalistic colleague, Terry Cowgill:
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Pot, Meet Kettle: The Delectable Buffoonery of Alan Chartock
@alanchartock
There are few things in life more delicious than receiving a lecture on tolerance from the intolerant. Such occurrences make life worth living. Indeed, I’d put them on a par with a glass of fine single-malt scotch or a grass-fed beef burger at The Well.
This weekend, Alan Chartock suggested in his artless column in the Berkshire Eagle that those who oppose the proposed $51 million renovation project for Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington are “intolerant.” This is a man who, in two previous columns, branded any vote on the project that goes against his wishes as “un-American” and “selfish.” No, I’m not making this up. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
And in his second column on the topic, Chartock denied having called a no vote un-American in the first column. I’ve been a journalist for almost 20 years and a keen observer of the craft since high school. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a columnist write a column blatantly misrepresenting what he said the week before. I attempted to point this out politely in the comment thread, but the gods of the Eagle’s web team would not approve it.
Chartock didn’t mention me by name in his most recent effort, but it’s clear that he was referring to yours truly as “a poor journalist who should be ashamed of himself” and who is “aiding and abetting” a curious alliance between the “anti-taxers” and the “uber-rich.” I’ll leave it to others to judge if that’s true, but if I’m lacking talent, what do you call a man with a Ph.D. in political science who thinks it’s un-American to vote in a manner in which he disapproves? What do you call a professor emeritus of communication who falsely denies writing precisely what he “communicated” the previous week?
Curiously, the Eagle did not publish this weekend’s column online, but if you want to see it, scroll down and click on the screen grab below. [ED. NOTE: The screen grab is not included. We have also edited out a paragraph related to WAMC public radio. THE PLANET chooses to keep the discussion riveted on the Monument Mountain issue.] …
… [W]hat continues to amaze me is that his admirers still look to him as a source of wisdom on public policy. To wit, his columns for the Eagle are always short on facts and long on feelings. In addition to my position at the Record, I write for a highly respected publication that covers politics and public policy in Connecticut and I can tell you with certainty that if I wrote columns as thin and lazy as Chartock’s, I would be taken out of the op-ed rotation in very short order.
Chartock is no doubt stung by the Oct. 16 article I wrote for the Record that held him accountable for his words. And he certainly is entitled to his opinion on The Record’s coverage of the Monument renovation campaign. He can even call me names (he labeled me a “twerp” from his Olympian perch at WAMC).
But it is he himself who has “aided and abetted” the no voters. Trust me on this, Alan: Nothing will galvanize the no voters more resolutely against your cause than by echoing Joseph McCarthy’s words. And no amount of denying will ever erase those words.
[Terry Cowgill is a blogger, a columnist for CTNewsJunkie.com, a former contributor to BigJournalism.com, and was an award-winning editor, columnist, and senior writer for The Lakeville Journal Company. In 2013, he was named news editor of the Berkshire Record.]
PLANET prognosticator Sir Tiberius Fruitjuice predicts the a “NO” vote on Tuesday. That would be a win for taxpayers. Of course, in elections, anything can happen. THE PLANET can merrily live with either outcome. At least it’s a heck of a lot more than poor Pittsfield voters can do. They have no choice in the $130 million THS project. The Suits railroaded them completely out of the picture.
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“The night did shed on thy dear head / Its frozen dew, / and thou didst lie / Where the bitter breath of the naked sky / Might visit thee at will.” — Percy Shelley, closing stanza, “Lines,” (1824).
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
The Berkshire Record reminds me of what the Berkshire Eagle used to be, a respectable and valuable source of news and information.
Chartock is his own best friend and seems to work in collusion with the special interest folk. Actually, he comes across as a team leader for special interests.
I had a dream where the Berkshire Record bought the Berkshire Eagle and returned it to its former glory. Along the way they exposed Pittsfield city government for the sham it is and things began to improve for the people of that city.
Then I woke up and a sense of hopelessness returned.
The progressives have the liberal media, the entertainment industry, educational elite and the lawyers and 53% of the voters . The good thing about Dr. Chartock is that you can miss a week and thumb your recycle bin and read the same article without missing anything. Embrace him he will not change, smile and agree they can do no wrong.
Conservatives call all media, except Fox news ,liberal media because their views are becoming so out of the main stream that if news is not reported in line with their ideology then its bias… I watch Fox News occasionally and I could not tell u how many times a day they are spewing half truths and outright lies….MSNBC a distant second followed by CNN and the main network news.
Spoken just like a liberal kool aid drinker. How sad.
Your claim that the “main stream” is the standard of truth is ridiculous, but then again you claim to have direct knowledge of the facts through your magical powers of omniscience, so I guess we’ll take your word for it.
If they spout so much misinformation a smart person like you should be able to give severely good examples
Look folks, wake up and smell the coffee. Unless we build this new school the good quality teachers will seek employment elsewhere. That means we will only he left with mediocre and poor quality teachers. Thus the children’s education suffers.
Are you willing to look a child in the eyes and tell them you are going to deny them a new school?
This is for the children.
Dusty:
I agree with you about the Berkshire Record it is a wonderful newspaper on its way to being a GREAT newspaper!
Taconic High School Weapon Seizure
October 30, 2014
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Julia Sabourin, 499-9322
Date: 10/30/14
Pittsfield Public School families were recently notified of an incident that occurred at Taconic High School this morning. A student was arrested for creating a disturbance at the school due to insubordination. Upon being brought into custody by the police, a search of his property at the police station revealed a weapon. At no point was the weapon made visible to any student or staff member at Taconic
Hardly a surprise there. With the massive media attention to school shootings, who can blame students for wanting to protect themselves since the teachers won’t.
Are we talking about a Leatherman multitool or a 9mm?
My current favorite is the 25 year old “non-traditional” MCLA student who had to be Macedonia, subdued and arrested after being drunk, disruptive and weapon brandishing in a class. MY! That IS non-traditional! He must have a different learning style.
Yes good question.
They use the word “weapon” and do not say what it was.
A weapon could be anything.
Guess they hope you won’t ask what it was.
That information is on lockdown.
News source: the mayor’s office
Fair and balanced place to get your news.
“a search of his property at the police station revealed a weapon”.
Since when do they take someone into custody and Then search them at the police station?
“Revealed a weapon”. ???? WTF?
What does that mean?
Saborin needs to go back to her day job of ass-kissing the mayor.
This was released by the mayor’s office and not the Police Dept.? Interesting! And why is that?
If they are going to tell us this much….tell us what the weapon was. Or just leave it up to our imagination…knife? machine gun? Axe?
Off topic, but man I wish that Pittsfield had a mayor that cared for us half as much as Tom Menino cared for Boston. 🙁
My guess is that even though he’s dead he is a democrat and mumbles will still vote Tuesday
You my friend are correct. The late Mayor filled out a absentee ballot.
and he will do so for many years:))
GAETANI IS THE WATER WIzArd! LO, let me ask you a question? is the Mayor, current or future A C E O…NO The Mayor neither delivers stock price, dividend, profit or loss. that is what compensates a C E O. THe Mayor is only in charge of tax increase after tax increase. Let’s leave it at that. As far as the S C M…No stipend, why not leave well enough alone?
Its not what Sabourin says but what she doesn’t say.
Omit information to lead you to the wrong conclusion.
Violation of open meeting laws
I live at 190 Orchard Circle
A weapon was revealed
Anyone else see a pattern of deceipt here?
According to i-berkshire the Taconic student had a loaded hand gun. Thank you i- Berkshire, for letting us know what is going on in our school’s. Outfox couldn’t agree more, god bless you Tom Menino.
This for immediate release:
A thorough and exhaustive search was done on Sabourin’s brain and revealed nothing. At no time before, during or after the search was there any discernable brain cell activing by any scientific equipment known to mankind.
No doubt she was the one who wrote Bianchi’s answers to Barry’s questions (you know the ones he didn’t bother to read) particularly the one about getting permits to film a movie.
A sterling example of an indoctrinated moron.
So much for the city plan for guns in schools?
Chartock is a snake who keeps donated gift certificates for his personal use. You can’t get any lower.
Chartock is an abrasive little snot. Who also described a straw purchase of a firearm in one of his anti gun rants. I’m not surprised all his columns are probably full of contradictions. He does goo interviews though he always asks good questions.
LOw is an abrasive snot also. There seems to be snots everywhere, especially in media and particularly on Palookaville politics. In the next election the voters must send a strong and final message to pols like LOw that although progressive government is good, for some but not for Fixed income taxpayers. LOw is a progressive liberal who given the chance would not only give himself a raise, but anyone holding a public sector job, of course it must have some beneficial effect for himself.
I’d like to give one final comparison when it comes to the Mayor receiving less than the Police Vhief, for instance. The President of the United States makes less than the lowest paid N B A, NFL, NHL MLB player!
He is over paid and so are all professional athletes.
if you ever saw 0bama throw a baseball you’d know why
The suits in Pittsfield railroad every decision that I can think of. They are simply bad people and there is no nice way to say it. Seems they have nothing but contempt for the people they were elected to represent and supposedly serve. As for Chartock, he fits right in here in the Berkshires. He is pretentious, pompous, and cunning in the way he twists everything to the advantage of his rich progressive followers. If you ever suffered through listening to even a few minutes of his radio program, you would be sickened at how rude he is toward anyone who disagrees with his progressive views. I quickly turn the station.
Alan Chartock once called WTBR ” kids who are messing around with my airwaves ” …like he owns the airwaves. He’s not just a snot….he’s a LUGIE too !
Mr Valenti your blog is getting as bad as Topix. Your faithful bloggers are turning The Planet into a joke. Please don’t allow this to happen.
NEWS ARTICLE:
“Emails point to concerns over ‘inappropriate behavior’ by former BerkshireWorks executive director William Monterosso
Exchanges point to concerns over ‘inappropriate behavior’ by former BerkshireWorks Executive Director Monterosso”
By Phil Demers, The Berkshire Eagle, November 1, 2014
PITTSFIELD – When William Monterosso departed earlier this year as executive director of the BerkshireWorks Career Center, city officials wouldn’t discuss why he had left just three months into the job.
But emails obtained by The Eagle reveal that a number of officials associated with BerkshireWorks at the local and state levels were concerned by the staff’s allegations of “inappropriate behavior” and “sexual harassment” against the man in charge of the agency that provides employment training, planning and assistance to Berkshire County residents.
“He is an embarrassment to all of us,” BerkshireWorks’ finance/human resources manager, Daniel L. Collins, wrote in an April 7 email to the city of Pittsfield’s personnel director, John DeAngelo.
Collins’ email followed his investigation of the allegations against Monterosso made by the staff he supervised at BerkshireWorks.
In that email to DeAngelo, Collins’ investigation revealed a picture of Monterosso that disturbed him to the point he threatened to contact “the State and Feds to file formal sexual harassment charges” if “immediate action is not taken.”
As a result, Monterosso was placed on paid leave April 9 and he resigned on May 19. An agreement between the city of Pittsfield and Monterosso let him receive financial payment and remain on the position’s health insurance plan through July 31. The agreement totaled at least $20,000 — Monterosso’s salary was $88,600 — but sources within the agency tell The Eagle it topped $50,000.
Though city officials have repeatedly refused to discuss the Monterosso situation, citing a confidentiality agreement, The Eagle obtained a cache of email exchanges between officials from the state agency that oversees BerkshireWorks, those within BerkshireWorks, and from Pittsfield’s Personnel Department that shed light on what happened.
The Eagle received the emails after it filed a public records request with the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination last week confirmed “two active cases against William Monterosso and the BerkshireWorks Career Center” filed in September by BerkshireWorks employees. The Pittsfield law firm Cohen, Kinne, Valicenti & Cook LLP told The Eagle it has been engaged to represent BerkshireWorks in the ongoing litigation.
Monterosso’s attorney at the time, Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr., calls the allegations “baseless.”
Concerns surface
In early April, the emails reveal, BerkshireWorks employees told Collins that Monterosso had slapped their bottoms, gave unwanted back rubs, used copious profanity “in front of persons [Monterosso] did not know,” and publicly made sexist comments in a period spanning “the past few weeks.”
Monterosso, 49 at the time, had occupied the position for less than three months before allegations surfaced, causing the city to place him on paid leave starting April 9.
A Pittsfield native, 1982 Taconic High School graduate and ex-Marine with prior workforce development experience as executive director with the Office of Employment and Training in Kentucky and earlier in West Virginia, Monterosso ended his brief stint at the head of BerkshireWorks when he resigned on May 19.
In the meantime, rumors flew and Pittsfield officials kept mum.
Throughout the ordeal, Pittsfield Mayor Daniel L. Bianchi, who appointed Monterosso to the job in late January, declined comment on the situation, deeming it “a personnel matter.”
Bianchi recently reiterated that stance.
“It was agreed that he would leave and he did,” Bianchi said.
Although the executive director’s position is funded by state and federal dollars, Pittsfield’s mayor is in charge of hiring for the position.
Monterosso succeeded John Barrett III, the former North Adams mayor, who was appointed to the job in 2011 by then-mayor James M. Ruberto.
‘Hostile environment’
The emails reveal that multiple investigations took place in April, mostly comprised of interviews with staff of BerkshireWorks’ office on 160 North St. in Pittsfield and others who had interacted with Monterosso in the course of his work. Eight state employees work locally for the agency.
Monterosso’s behavior “made for a hostile work environment, especially for female employees,” Collins wrote DeAngelo on April 7.
“The inappropriate actions need to be dealt with as I fear they will continue to get worse. I think he should resign or be terminated.”
He added, “I’m trying to avoid a major investigation which could give the agency and the city a black eye.”
Collins said Monterosso had “called a female employee ‘honey’ on the phone, so she hung up. He then called her back and called her ‘baby’ and asked if she would like to go for a ride on his Harley.”
In a later meeting between the two, Monterosso allegedly “touched the hand of the same employee and pulled his chair close to hers, which was observed by several employees.”
An ex-employee of the former North Adams Regional Hospital — the alleged incident occurred shortly after the hospital closed in late March — told Collins that Monterosso said to her that “he would never hold up her unemployment but might have to slap her bottom five times.”
“This was in front of a staff member,” Collins wrote.
At a public meeting at the North Adams American Legion concerning the hospital’s closing — one primarily attended by women, Monterosso allegedly commented publicly that “the place smelled like tuna” and he “might have a hot flash” because “there was a lot of estrogen in the room.”
“He then came up behind several female employees and proceeded to give them unwanted back rubs, making them very uncomfortable,” Collins wrote.
State investigates
Further investigations by Timothy Dooling, general counsel of the state’s Department of Career Services, and David Nash, the head of the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program at BerkshireWorks, appear to corroborate Collins’ findings.
Dooling agreed to escalate actions against Monterosso in an April 11 email to Suzanne Quersher, director of labor relations for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, and Alice Sweeney, director of state Department of Career Services. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, or EOLWD, oversees BerkshireWorks at the state level.
Ann C. Dufresne, communications director for the EOLWD, said Monterosso “did not come back” after he was placed on paid leave on April 9.
Earlier, sources say, Monterosso had stormed into BerkshireWorks and confronted employees after he was first notified of his suspension and told to stay away from the office. His suspension apparently did little to alleviate employees’ fears of the unraveling situation.
In an April 11 email to Dooling and two days after Monterosso was placed on paid leave, Nash said staff feared Monterosso might again burst into BerkshireWorks’ weekly meeting on Friday morning.
“A number of staff asked me if I could provide them a second way out of our conference room,” Nash wrote.
“The concern was that [Monterosso] still has a key to the building and access to weapons. I personally did not feel this way, however at least four members of the staff expressed hesitation going to the staff meeting because they would feel trapped. We have a moveable wall which I opened to give them access to a second way out,” Nash said.
In the same email, Nash relayed “another concern” that “either someone impersonating a state worker or an actual state worker [accosted] someone on the way to speak to a city investigator,” placing “a large portion of the staff on edge.”
Whoever that person was, sources within the agency said it was not Monterosso.
Shortly thereafter, locksmiths changed the locks on the building and BerkshireWorks invalidated Monterosso’s security access.
‘Allegations baseless’
Monterosso resigned May 19 after Nuciforo, his attorney, and the city’s Personnel Department hammered out an agreement whereby Monterosso would continue to receive pay and health insurance until July 31, nearly 2 ½ months after his resignation.
Nuciforo declined comment citing a confidentiality agreement between himself, his client and the city.
But Nuciforo did tell The Eagle, “The allegations are baseless.”
On Oct. 14, DeAngelo, the city’s personnel director, rejected an Eagle public records request asking for “copies of all public records resulting in all investigations into the employment of William Monterosso” on grounds that the “records you are requesting are comprised of witness statements … that were taken out of the public view and the witnesses told me that they wanted their statements to be confidential.”
The records request blocked by the city was worded identically as the one which produced documents from the state.
Monterosso had 15 years of previous experience in the workforce development field. He most recently had served as the executive director of the West Virginia Association of Rehabilitation Facilities. Sources say he has left the area.
Last month, Ken Demers was appointed as the new head of BerkshireWorks.
Contact Phil Demers at 413-281-2859. pdemers@berkshireeagle.com @BE_PhilD on Twitter
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_26846458/emails-point-concerns-over-inappropriate-behavior-by-former
NEWS ARTICLE:
“Separation terms paid, insured Monterosso after his resignation”
By Phil Demers, The Berkshire Eagle, November 1, 2014
PITTSFIELD – The former BerkshireWorks Career Center Executive Director William Monterosso received a separation package of at least $20,000 and possibly more than $50,000 in BerkshireWorks discretionary funds on his way out the door, sources say.
Monterosso resigned on May 19 but he, his then-attorney Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr., and the city inked a confidential separation agreement in which he was paid and received health insurance through July 31, according to emails between state and city employees obtained by The Eagle through a public records request. Monterosso’s annual salary was $88,600.
“This letter serves to confirm that William Monterosso will continue to be paid his salary as Executive Director of BerkshireWorks through July 31, 2014,” Pittsfield Personnel Director John DeAngelo wrote in a letter to BerkshireWorks Program Operations Manager Melanie Gelaznik on June 4. “Mr. Monterosso will also continue to receive his health insurance through BerkshireWorks, in the usual course, through July 31, 2014.”
Several BerkshireWorks employees and others had come forward with accusations against Monterosso before he was placed on paid leave on April 9 by Pittsfield Mayor Daniel L. Bianchi, who appoints the position. According to the state, Monterosso did not re-enter the agency’s 160 North St. office after that date.
This means Monterosso received at least $30,672 in taxpayer money while not working in any capacity between April 9 and July 31. Sources from within the agency said the separation agreement topped $50,000, but The Eagle was unable to verify that figure.
Discretionary funds
Under questioning by The Eagle, DeAngelo declined to respond to questions about Monterosso’s salary, the total amount he was paid after April 9 and by whom.
“I really can’t disclose anything regarding his tenure over there,” DeAngelo said.
He did indicate, however, that the city lost no money in the deal. Federal and state dollars fund the BerkshireWorks executive director position and the “monies pass through the city but that’s as far as it goes,” DeAngelo said.
Ann C. Dufresne, communications director for the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, differed in her account.
Dufresne told The Eagle that the state made sure that no state or federal funds went to pay Monterosso’s separation package.
The executive director’s salary normally is comprised of state and federal funds, so according to Dufresne and other sources, the compensation had to come from an extraordinary source: BerkshireWorks discretionary funds. These funds typically pay for agency expenses not covered by state or federal funds.
Monterosso “was paid by the city,” Dufresne said. “He was neither appointed nor employed by the state. We had to verify that no federal or state funds were used in that settlement. The city paid it out of discretionary funds.”
Emails sent during the controversy support her position.
Alice Sweeney, director of state Department of Career Services, emailed Edward Bartkiewicz, manager of field management and oversight for the state Department of Career Services, on May 20 seeking to verify the payment source.
“You need to ensure [BerkshireWorks] is paying out of discretionary money,” Sweeney said.
Signed agreement
The emails confirm knowledge among state officials of the existence of a document, a signed agreement, that was agreed to by Pittsfield and Monterosso regarding his separation terms.
Two more emails addressed to Bartkiewicz, from one state and one local employee, expressed frustration at the city’s lack of transparency during the ordeal.
Timothy Dooling, general counsel of the state’s Department of Career Services, wrote Bartkiewicz on June 3, saying, “Can you let me know exactly what you need from Pittsfield regarding the [executive director] separation? The parties signed confidentiality agreements and there is a reluctance to turn over the actual document.”
Collins, the BerkshireWorks finance/human resources director who reports to the state, complained about the agreement in a May 20 email to Bartkiewicz.
“We were told the signed agreement would not be provided to us,” Collins wrote. “Also, we must continue to provide [Monterosso’s] health insurance for the same period. Since we have no documentation, how do we proceed? Could this be a potential disallowed cost? Should we be paying for the city’s mistakes!”
He added, “The lack of communication and disrespect from the city has been appalling.”
The same sources who initially told The Eagle of the agreement say Pittsfield law firm of Cohen, Kinne, Valicenti & Cook LLP, which is representing BerkshireWorks in two pending complaints filed by BerkshireWorks employees against both Monterosso and the agency, has sought access to the terms.
The complaints were filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination in September. The findings will become public once the cases are adjudicated.
pdemers@berkshireeagle.com @BE_PhilD on Twitter
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/News/ci_26846474/Separation-terms-paid-insured-Monterosso-after-his-resignation
That’s what makes the Planet, number 1!
Silence Dogood, you forgot to mention the other freebies the self-appointed radio boss gets from his “not-for-profit” WAMC cash machine.
You think Alan Chartock has ever bothered to declare any of it to IRS or on WAMC’s IRS Form 990-‘Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax’?
For instance, what’s the fair market value of front row seats the Chartocks always seem every summer to get at sold-out James Taylor Tanglewood appearances?
You think Alan and the missus pay out of their own pockets for the multitude of expensive perquisites they obtain as a direct result of Alan’s position at WAMC?
That position, to which Alan has never once stood for election before WAMC’s membership, officially pays Alan more than $177,000 annually — not including the valuable unreported perks.
Yet, WAMC’s members have no say in any of it: not the salary, not the perks, not in anything involving station management.
More importantly, members have zero say regarding on-air editorial policy, which for more than thirty years remains the sole province of WAMC ‘political analyst’ Chartock.
Why would Alan Chartock care a whit if your real estate and sales taxes go up?
Gold-plated public works like $51 million and $130 million school construction projects keep local Liberal Democrat politicians happy.
Even happier are the union bosses in Democrat-controlled teacher and construction unions whose support keeps those sleazy politicos in office.
WAMC’s platinum-lined ‘not-for-profit’ coffers enable Alan Chartock to be the local poster-boy and real-life example for what Progressive Liberalism is really all about — forcibly taking your money (via the taxman) and redistributing it to causes and pursuits Alan and other Progressives believe most worthy.
And just like at WAMC, you have no say.
Well put GM. To a lot of these people AC is god. He can say whatever he wants to or about anyone but don’t criticize the messiah.
that’s why the taxpayers shouldn’t fund so called public radio or television. Diogenies didn’t end his search with Chartock
The Taconic student was carrying a loaded handgun, obviously a very serious situation.
What a disgusting cover up by the Mayor and John DeAngelo regarding William Monterosso. To give him a severance after 3 months, and order Berkshire Works to pay his Health Insurance is unconcienable. The Mayor needs to be held accountable, again for his arrogant attitude regarding this unacceptable move, and refusal to requests for information. Monterosso should have charges against him. Disgusted and Fed up with BIANCHI
There are 2 students involved in the Taconic gun incident and on facebook one of them mentioned going in to “shoot up the school”.
It’s terrible how a student can get a weapon into a school so easily. I’ll bet if anyone wanted to enter a school, they could without a problem.
Three more shootings and a stabbing over the weekend.
When you say “shootings” it’s a little misleading. Ok a weapon was fired. Was anyone hit injured or killed? Don’t get me wrong it’s still a serious matter but it’s what we get as a society for relying on the police to protect us. Which is impossible for them to do 100% of the time. Therefore good hard working people in low income areas are at the mercy of cops and criminals. The best thing to do is not live in those areas. Don’t be involved with gangs or drugs and if you have to live there aecure your own safety and know you may have to duck for cover when the scumbag drug dealing gangs trade gun fire. After all it is all the govt fault for suppressing people and forcing them into a life of crime and violence.
I think that you probably read the shooting/stabbing headline on the Eagle’s website. The event occurred in June, not this past weekend. Who knows why it appeared now.
Ed, I just went back and you are correct. Not sure why it was there.
LOw states.I realiZe a lot of people have not had a pay raise in five years’ but he understands that. Thanx LOw?
Dan
We are going to spend money on a school while our school population dropped another 100 plus students in 2013.In the past few years we have loss enough school population to close two schools. The school committee is not doing its duty in being fiscally responsible and redirecting their focus on not wasting resources or heating schools we don’t need.The school population dropped below 6000 for the first time in its history.
The parents and the children are sending are leaders a clear message. “Stop focusing on yourselves and your pensions and your empty word spinning ,and serve the over taxed and underserved citizens of a city that deserves better than you”
Dan fall down the stairs or something? Been 5 days since his last post and I’m starting to get concerned.
REDACTED
Topix worthy Phil, you f@#@ing hypocrite. But with so much thought put into your name I wouldn’t expect much more.
All is well indeed! Thanks for your concern. Just out taking care of business.
So the mayor brought this Monteresso guy in from out of town. And the guy basically took advantage of his power position to agitate a bunch of people to the point that they were afraid to be near him. And the mayor, after trying to cover the whole thing up, decides to reward his buddy with a big bag of taxpayer money. I mean that is what it is there for right?
Why does it seem that every time some lame ass screws up in Pittsfield they come out of it better off than they were before? Just why is it that elected officials in Pittsfield are more loyal to their friends (even predator friends) than they are to the people who gave them the job in the first place?
and by the way dusty, this predator, abuser and sexual deviant never paid taxes in our city.
This is just plain wrong.
Dusty,
I find it quite odd that someone would display outrageous and harrassing behavior publicly. My guess is that he has quite the racket going. Given the behavior, how more difficult is it to suspect that this gentleman makes a career of landing public contract work and getting himself ousted with benefits and full value of the deal just three months in?
In Indiana, where I happen to live, we have just given $115 million in public school funds in 2014 to vouchers for 29,000 people. These parents can use the vouchers however they wish including at public schools. The school systems are screaming but they are also not proposing any expenditures like Pittsfiled’s $130 million or Monument Mountain’s $51 million. Nobody would dare…
Here’s a classic Eagle headline.
Former Boston Mayor Tim Menino laid to rest
Former mayor, ‘who believed in underdogs,’ heralded for his love of city
By Philip Marcelo
The Associated Press
Herup shouldn’t be so concerned about the Planet. No one, writes,entertains and gives a more transparent view on politics in this area than him. Like said ny many before, we are lucky to have him here!
Dan,
You shouldn’t just redact Phil’s comments but remove them entirely. He is just here to cause trouble and adds nothing to the discussion. He’s just shilling for the GOB and Bianchi.
dnc
Many thanks. Encountering this type of fool has long been an occupational hazard. Their presence proves our effectiveness.