PV-TV RIDES AGAIN, RIDING HERMAN’S APOLOGETICS OVER CANCELED CITY FOOTBALL GAME INTO THE DUST … plus … THE COMMENT LINE IS OPEN!
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, SEPT. 11-13, 2015) — If you watched PLANET VALENTI TELEVISION last night (Thursday), we performed the autopsy on Howard Herman‘s risible fluff-‘n-puff piece straining at the master’s bit to bury the truth about why Saturday’s THS-PHS football game was switched by The Suits from a night game at Wahconah Park to a noon kickoff at the home of the Braves on Valentine Road. Cause of death: Lousy journalism.
And as an aside and before we forget, kudos to Terry Kinnas for sitting in with THE PLANET on PV-TV. We had fun being back on the telly live and in real time after a summer schedule featuring guest hosts, reruns, and three movies: In-CITY-ous: Pittsfield’s Crisis of Confidence, Where Have You Gone, Col. Sanders, and Sanity Made Simple. As PV-TV staff announcer Daws Butler said in his booming introduction, THE PLANET spent the summer in Greece, holding up the pillars of the Parthenon. It felt good to be home.
Herman Gumming, Not Humming
The Boring Broadsheet ran Herman’s toothless gumming on Sept. 10. THE PLANET broke the story on Aug. 30. From this, we can conclude it took the mayor, school superintendent, and PPS athletic director — not Moe, Larry, and Curley, respectively, but Dan Bianchi, Jason “JIV” McCandless, and Jim Abel — that long to concoct a couple of ridiculous cover stories. THE PLANET got our information directly from the coaching staffs from both teams, who were furious over the change. Herman got his spoon-fed from Mayor Lockdown, JIV, and Abel.
THE PLANET reported last month that someone, and no one has fessed up to it so we don’t know “who,” canceled the Friday night kickoff slated for Wahconah Park after a panic attack, concluding that the city could not secure public safety at the ballpark. Coming off July and August that saw multiple murders and shootings apparently left a lot of overwhelmed, nervous nellies.
The city cannot secure Wahconah Park for a schoolboy football game.
Think about that for a moment. It has come to that.
This suggests the city’s public safety crisis is far worse than anyone has imagined. If that is not true, it leaves an even more troubling question: Why was the venue switched? As Kinnas said last night after the show, it “does not pass the smell test.”
Abel’s Fable: Oh What a Tangled Web They Weave …
Essentially, city officials took the nearly-two weeks from THE PLANET’s expose to Herman’s vomiting up what Abel and JIV fed him to fashion a couple of fairy tales. Herman never once questioned what they said, at least judging by his hapless apologetics. He regurgitated the party line, resembling more a cat coughing up a hairball than a journalist trying to the story. He did not quote or for all we know interview one member of the coaching staff from either side but bought in its entirety the city’s “official” line.
Abel claimed the game was originally scheduled by BCC’s turf soccer field. Really? Neither he nor Herman explained why they would play a football game at a soccer field, particularly one that did not have a grandstand. Abel’s fable said the city had to cancel because of the the field wasn’t ready. JIV’s jive was even more unbelievable. He said they switched the game from nighttime Friday to Saturday afternoon because of “field conditions.” What field? What conditions? He did not say, nor did Herman press.
Deciphering the Coded Quotes
If you put on the hair shirt and barbed waist chain by reading Herman’s dreadful piece, there is a revealing quote where JIV lets the truth sneak out. Herman writes: “McCandless said he’s aware of a slate of rumors circulating that the game was not rescheduled for Friday at Wahconah Park because of the threat of a possible incident. For the superintendent, it’s a case of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure.”
THE PLANET shall ignore Herman’s embarrassing resort to cliche. We find it more interesting that he JIV does not refute the “rumor.” Then McCandless says, “We just decided that 999 times out of a 1,000, this is going to be perfectly OK. … None of us really wanted to risk that one time.”
In other words, THE PLANET had the true story on Aug. 30, that the city was scared it couldn’t secure Wahconah Park for schoolboy football. For that, ladies and gentlemen, your taxes pay Mayor Lockdown, JIV, and Abel a combined $425,000 a year in compensation.
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You wouldn’t have know about any of this had THE PLANET not been there for you to present the truth. That’s what we do, and that’s how we roll.
With that, it’s time for you to roll into The Comment Line. Any and all topics are fair game. Just give us your A game, keep it intelligent, and have at it. Speaking of “have,” have a great weekend, everybody.
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“If we are to have vision, we must learn to participate in the object of the vision. The apprenticeship is hard.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
The views expressed in any comment section are not those of PLANET VALENTI or endorsed in any way by PLANET VALENTI; this website reserves the right to remove any comment which violates its Rules of Conduct, and it is not liable for the consequences of any posted comment as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and PLANET VALENTI’s terms of service.
This school district and it’s administrators are ridiculous. However, High School football games are prime locations for wheelin, dealin and rumblin in the parking lots.
We need a better school committee to hold these fools accountable. This district is in a tailspin. Wait until receivership happens; and it will.
Why the attack on Howard? It’s not an opinion piece. The quotes speak for themselves, complete with back-pedaling and inconsistencies. By playing it straight Howard has allowed those statements to corroborate your story, for any reader with a brain. You should buy him a beer.
TOMMY
This was not an attack on Howard. This was an attack on Howard’s article. This is his beat. He should have the contacts to ferret out the true story. He could have nicely built upon what THE PLANET laid out two weeks ago, in the same fashion that Eagle scribe Phil Demers did with his excellent “follow” coverage of the dad-daughter deaths. If Howard had the contacts and refused to use them, I can only surmise the reason. Most likely he was told either expressly or implicitly to give the mayor, the superintendent, and the AD “some smoke” — that is, cover. If that was the case, it represents a serious lapse in J ethics. The other possibility is that Howard does NOT have the contacts. If that is the case, the question becomes: Then why is he on the sports beat. Speaking of “Beat,” that’s just what THE PLANET did here. Personally, Howard is a friend, and I would gladly buy him a beer any time. I love the guy.
With Pittsfield politics, it is always for the children! Children who eventually grow up and end up in jail, on welfare, working in low paying jobs, or moving away to survive if they are able to find a living wage job elsewhere.
Pittsfield politics is really always for the Good Old Boys, who spend your hard earned taxpayer dollars on the vested interests who in return vote them in political office.
The vested interests in Pittsfield politics are the police, fire, and teacher unions, the hundreds of non-profits, and the politically connected Good Old Boys network.
The vested interests’ argument is: “But it is for the children!”
Do we still have an auxiliary police unit, or do we just say we do so some people can drive around in fancy fake police cars on the city’s dime? Seems like this would have been a perfect job for them that wouldn’t have cost anything.
Excellent response Dave, hope to see you in here more frequently!
You put names with every person except the people on the coaching staff that told you directly that they were furious.
You pose a fair question, TM. The answer is that the coaches spoke on a strict condition of anonymity. I would prefer running comments with names, and I always offer than option. It is almost never agreed upon, especially when the story concerns controversy, corruption, and other muck. That’s the level of fear in the city, especially among its employees. There is no other way to pry news out of the crypt.
Tonight at 8:30 can’t miss TV channel 16….he talks about things that the other mayoral candidates ignore.
Juan word…Greatness!
The Great Gaetani!
He is the only one who will try to make changes. The two establishment candidates are there only to manage the decline of Pittsfield and take care of the crony network.
The new sidewalk construction in back of Egremont School was poured earlier this week. Now some of that is removed. Something must have been done wrong. Maybe the new public services guy checked it out and saw something not right.
I have tried to collar Collingwood to no avail. I would like to know how long the steel plate is going to remain on Newell Street across from Ontario. It was two years on the other side, before the huge hump was fixed. This guy is an imbasol. This is Nick Caccamo’s Ward.
If you think your taxes are high, wait until Tyer or Bianchi get elected. I think Tyer will tax us to death, to tell the truth.
Tyer has warned us all that she is a big Progressive. Progressives are all about spend and tax.
Is it me or is Linda Tyer’s focus on the Parks out there? In a Rose Colored World, when everything is in place, I can see this focus. In reality, in Pittsfield, the hot spots, are definitely not the Parks. We are in trouble.
She is sending a shot over the bow. Warning that she will be spending a lot of money. Things for “the kids,”
Remember how things worked out the last time they had a million dollars to fix the parks? Goodies for everyone.
I’m glad she’s talking about the parks. The parks belong to all of us but increasingly the good people are staying away because the bad actors have taken over. If you travel outside of Pittsfield you will see parks like Forest Park in Springfield, Look Park in Northampton, or any of the beaches on Cape Cod. What these properties all have in common is OVERSIGHT, and a fee to get in. I have visited all of these places in the past year and you can expect to find garbage cans that have been emptied, dog poop bag dispensers that are stocked, bathrooms that are open and clean, and life guards on duty. This could all be done at Burbank Park. We could start treating it like the valuable property that it is. Build a gate house and charge a fee to enter, with an affordable season pass available to Pittsfield residents only. Tourists can PAY UP, just like we do when we go on vacation anywhere else in the world.
MIKE
I agree with a fee-based plan for Burbank. Start with that one. In Newburyport, officials started charging for parking during the summer months at the public parking lot that leads to the long beach, the one that reaches to Plum Island. The fee has provided the funds for an immaculate oversight.
I totally disagree. Parks should be free to all. Most families with kids – 60% in Pittsfield are living n poverty. Now to sattle them with parkkng and entrance fees to parks would just serve to keep them out.
The DPW should maintain the parks. Workers get paid by the hour. What do they do all day?
Charging fees would just allow the mayor to give the funds to his buddies like Monteroso and Scarafoni.
Charging people to use the parks which should be free to all is progressive liberal thinking of tax and spend at its finest. Its just another way to tax people more for what they are already paying for.
How many trash barrells would $150,000.00 empty? The amount given to Monterroso.
How much grass cutting would $500,000.00 buy? The amount given to Scarafoni for the needless move to 100 North St.
$100,000.00 free gift to methadone clinic?
$121,000,000.00 needless new high school?
Again, use of the parks should be free.
It’s actually the opposite of tax and spend. It’s recognizing that Burbank Park needs better care and oversight and we’re foolish if we don’t get visitors to help pay for that. Every Pittsfield resident would be able to afford the nominal fee for a sticker but SOME Pittsfield residents who would prefer to stay under the radar might not feel comfortable buying a sticker, and they might not feel comfortable driving by the gate house attendant several times a day. And you know what? I’m perfectly OK with THOSE GUYS finding another place to conduct their business.
I just feel the hot button topics for Pittsfield need immediate and all focus. We all believe in the Parks, however they are not pressing. Poverty, Crime, Jobs, DPW, and Safety need 200 percent attention.
Spagirl I think Tyer’s focus on the parks is just the tip of the iceberg of exposing the Bianchi & Mazzeo administration of bad management of city services. I personally spoke to her at the Tyler St. fair and she has a lot of plans to fix the mismanagement of the current administration.
I can’t wait until she exposes the DPW mess.
True that, Henry. Thanks.
If she exposes the DPW mess she deserves a statue.
Henry, was this the Tyler St fair that was actually held at the parking lot on Kellogg St? Yes, what a great way to promote Tyler St businesses- bring them off of Tyler St.
We can close North St for Third Thursday’s but a one day event on Tyler St isn’t feasible? Just guessing that this will be the end of the Tyler St business group, just like all the businesses bailed out on Downtown Inc. that turned it into sort of shell corporation. Luckily the savior is on the way Tyler residents, 4 cream, 4 sugar please.
Excellent point. Kellogg Street, not even by the bass-ackward standards of city officials, is NOT Tyler Street.
Perhaps Tyer will plant money tree groves in all the parks
“Mayor lockdown to ban all masks on Halloween”.
“The Halloween parade to be moved to Stockbridge over safety concerns”.
“Special permits need to be issued from 100 North Street for any large gatherings of youths. The situation has reached critical mass”.
– Mayor Lockdown
I would almost believe there story, if the construction of the turf facility had broken ground. But do to the efforts of a small group of NIMBY they have not. Hopefully by this time next year it will be up and running, not a soccer field, a multi use facility with grandstand’s, concessions and restrooms.
The Berkshire Eagle has turned into a pitiful excuse for a newspaper. The spelling, puncuation and grammar are beyond bad. It seems as though the days of investigative reporting are long gone, as are follow up stories. The bias is so obvious, it slaps you in the face.
I agree with you completely. Investigative reporting would uncover wrongdoing by the politicians which is exactly why they don’t do it anymore. The local media and the national media is in bed with the politicians which spells big TROUBLE for the general public.
What’s going on with the Pittsfield Carosel? Nothing.!.tThey had the ceremonials.
When are they going to paint Elm Street and pave the entrance to Deming Street. Jesus Pittsfield needs a kick in the ass.
They finally have equipment at the blighted Burger King on Merrill Road……Teardown. Nice!!
Hess forest has been cut dow for the moment
What will Linda do without weeds to cut down?
Both were featured in DVs hiralious films this summer. DV exposes, city gets embarased and some cleanup happens.
Glad you enjoyed them, W4NW4.
Thats because Bianchi is reacting to Tyer’s annoucement on blighted business properties. Tyer is all ready makeing a difference. By getting Bianchi to do something !!!!
Gaetani is the only one who will try to make changes. The two establishment candidates are there only to manage the decline of Pittsfield and take care of the crony network.
Bianchi still is not the choice. No matter what.
Breaking news. Pittsfield High 22 Taconic High 20. 0 people shot, awesome game!
Come on Juan, Gaetani is a ridiculous candidate. He is a fools fool. If he was mayor the city would go bankrupt from law suits.
And yet he is still the best choice. What does that tell ya about the others?
that’s happening under Dandy Dan Bianchi
Howard Hermann is a class act and is and has been for the community and sports. He had a little hiccup and is forgiven. The eagle sports department is so thin you couldn’t feed a Buzzard with it.
How much per week does the City spend on classifieds every week? The City is keeping the Eagle going.
Does anyone think Bianchi should be re-elected? What do you think Tyer would change? Bianchi cuts ribbons and she wants to cut weeds. Is that the choice we want? I hope everyone watches the event at BCC on Monday night. Listen very closely to what the candidates say. See who answers the questions and who dances around issues. This is serious folks. Pittsfield is on it’s way to becoming the second incarnation of Detroit. Do you want four more years of GOB crony baloney from a GOB or GOG? The choice is yours.
Dan
Go back and do just a wee bit of research.
You will find out..very quickly..that proposed facility at BCC is a MULTI PURPOSE field..not a just a soccer field.
Good lord….now it makes sense why the Taconic PHS football game would’ve been scheduled there. As for bleachers……there are some….more would’ve been trucked in that have for years been in storage in the City Hall garage.
More so…most wouldn’t have even been needed. The student support at city schools is abysmal. Between the two schools….a grand total of 400 kids….Might show up. When’s the last time you’ve been at city clash…I bet 30 years or more.
Howard’s article was fine and answered all the questions.
Secure the facility means provide enough officers for the game. I bet…..nobody has it in the budget. A game at Taconic on a Saturday requires…at best….two off duty officers.