By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015) — Before we get to the main entree, let THE PLANET bring you this appetizer/update on the flooding of city hall that, according to the mayor, never happened. It rained Sunday night. Hard. So who was parked behind city hall on Monday morning?  The men from Servicemaster Restore. Every time it rains, it’s going to cost taxpayers money. You’re already at $600,000 for the foolish move to 100 North St. That’s before you add the bill for restoration.

One of THE PLANET‘s many photo-operatives delivered a lovely JPEG as evidence. It shows a yellow Servicemaster Restore van parked in a citizen space. Unfortunately, the photo exceeds our maximum upload size. If we have time, we may give it to the techies.

Remember, You’re not supposed to know about this.

Now to the main course.

Many Trails, None of them Happy

The July 4 Massacre (7-4M) left behind many trails — trails of blood, trails of spent shell casings, trails of human loss and mourning. The five shooting victims, including the dead man, were young people, 25 years old or less. That led to another trail: the one posted on social media.

Shortly, almost immediately after the 7-4M, social media lit up with comments from those who had information about the mayhem. That’s how the 25-and-under keep their “privacy” — online in full public view. No one said a Facebook account required membership in Mensa.

Social Media Leaves a Trail

Shortly after the bullets flew, there were public comments for all to see, with information that never made the press reports. In the heat of both the moment and the emotions, some people said some things they probably regretted. By the end of that first day, 7-4M+1, people started hiding their FB walls and removing incriminating comments.

Turns out that THE PLANET had a valued member of The Secret Squadron who had the presence of mind to examine the Facebook content before the redaction (talk about thinking ahead). This included postings on the FB page of Ronald Pinel, the 25-year-old who lost his life that night. This person, one of our Z-Agents, is an dogged, indefatigable researcher. Our Z-Man followed the FB postings prior to their redaction and was able to piece together what he calls is a likely scenario of what happened:

Does Gang ‘Love Triangle’ Explain Shootings?

One of the 7-4M victims was a young woman. She apparently was dating someone in Gang A while at the same time messing around with the guy’s brother, who was a member of Gang B. Going outside the gang is one of the “cardinal sins.” You’re only supposed to date within the gang. It seems that members of Gang A were going to teach everyone a lesson in etiquette. They set up a hit for Brother B, a member of the rival group. They were supposed to shoot Brother B but in the dark and confusion of the crossfire, Brother A got plugged instead. The coroner ruled death came from a gunshot to the chest.

What makes it interesting, Z-7 reports, is something that seems to confirm what THE PLANET posted yesterday: They’re still not done.

Is Another Shooting in the Works?

Redacted comments alluded to payback, our source says. For example, our man mentioned comments posted online after The Boring Broadhsheet ran Pinel’s obit. He says the comments to the effect of “a score is never forgotten until it is avenged.”

If you go to Pinel’s obit, you won’t find any comments like that. The file has been cleaned up and comments removed.

The online trail also reveals a little more about Pinel: He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Many of the comments were in Spanish. He appears to have been a product of the Special Education division of the PPS. It appears that he was in Special Ed not because he was “slow” but because of behavioral issues. As one source put it, “He had a lot of taxpayers’ money poured into him” at PHS. A lot of good it did.

Officials Don’t Want to Touch It … Why?

Five people are shot. Each Pittsfield night has anecdotal reports of gunfire and violence, much of it taking place with earshot of Hotel On North. There’s talk of another hit on the way. And yet … neither the mayor, the police chief, or the district attorney has called a press conference to take questions.

The downward spiral has not only begun. It’s out of control. Public safety in the city of Pittsfield is something with which officials would rather not bother. Your safety, o my overtaxed brothers and sisters, is of no concern to them.

Five people are shot. From the deer-in-the-headlights response, the authorities don’t have a clue what to do about it.

Welcome to Pittsfield, 7-4M+17 and counting.

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“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough.” — Meister Eckhart (Eckhart von Hochhelm), German philosopher, (1315).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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