BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016) — Welcome to March. In like a Hillary, out like a Trump. Since Pittsfield state rep. Triscuit Faraway Tralalla Boomdier has dragged THE PLANET into it, we have no choice but to return fire. This past weekend in the mainstream […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, FEB. 26-28, 2016) — It wasn’t published here first but in The Boston Globe. Nonetheless, thanks to our vast spy ring, we got it before anyone else locally. The house race in Pittsfield just got more interesting. Here’s how our Globe […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 25, 2016) — The editorial “he” and other masculine pronouns have the Pittsfield City Council in a tither. Nice to see them worrying about important things rather than trivialities such as the ruinous amounts of money annually wasted by a top-heavy, underperforming […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY Second of Two Parts (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24, 2016) — In Pittsfield, Shannon Grant money is used on children 10 to 20 years old. The city has 44 kids enrolled in a program called Pittsfield Community Connections (PCC) — another program with a catchy nickname, another few […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY First of Two Parts (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 23, 2016) — Has anyone asked tough questions about the now-rote assignation of grant money by the state to Pittsfield? Mayor Sara Hathaway was the first to openly admit the city’s unhealthy dependence on state welfare for its […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, FEB. 22, 2016) — When it snows, you can see the footprints of the patrons of Lach’s Lounge walking more or less in neat, orderly paths. Check out those footprints hours later, and you will see a zig-zag worthy of cigarette paper. The […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, FEB. 19-21, 2016) — Allow THE PLANET to empty the notebook with another fearless edition of Qwik Hitz and Hot Lix. Separated at birth: Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels and Don Knotts, a.k.a. Barney Fife, deputy sheriff of Mayberry, N.C. Prediction: […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 18, 2016) — You’ll recall how strongly Dan Bianchi campaigned for his first term on “transparency.” THE PLANET doesn’t have to remind how that turned out. Thus far, however, Linda Tyer has proven the opposite. While mentioning government openness in her campaign, it […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17-II, 2016) — For technical reasons not worth explaining here, today’s column was listed as a Sunday, Feb. 14 publication. Here is is today, where it was meant to slot. BLACK HOLES COLLIDE, ‘INVASION,’ AND ‘THE CATHOLIC MIRROR: A CONVERGENCE BY DAN […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 16, 2016) — Not long ago, our Right Honorable but myopic Friends on the city council tripped over the Pittsfield School Department in its hunt to cut costs and landed onto the Pittsfield Municipal Airport (PMA). Pity, since the PSD awaits like the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, PRESIDENT’S DAY, 2016) — While we enjoy this contrived holiday, let THE PLANET weigh in briefly with some presidential thoughts. GREATEST PRESIDENT: You’ll get arguments here for Lincoln (the consensus), FDR, and others. THE PLANET has a different idea. We choose Richard Nixon. Surprised? […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17, 2016) — Two black holes colliding, Michael Moore, and The Catholic Mirror — no, a Carnac the Great answer. This seemingly disparate triad coalesced in commonality for THE PLANET. The first event rocked physicists, scientists, and mathematicians. Two black holes, the incredibly […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, FEB. 12-14, 2016) — This is St. Valentine’s Day weekend. THE PLANET reminds you of two things: (1) You can’t spell “Valentine” without “Valenti,” and (2) be sure to be extra nice to your sweetie! Now then, let us switch emotional gears […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 11, 2016) — When we think of photographs of WWII, the immortal picture shot by AP‘s Joe Rosenthal on Iwo Jima comes to mind. For THE PLANET, however, one sticks out even more. I first saw it as a young boy in […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10, 2016) — As we were saying … Isn’t that Convenient? — Here’s a screen grab that might interest all taxpayers in danger of losing their homes, all seniors on fixed incomes who got 0% increase in Social Security COLA, and anyone […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 9, 2016) — Yesterday we outlined the simple mechanics behind Pittsfield’s looming financial meltdown. The main culprit? The school department, which consumes between 70% and 75% of the entire municipal budget. Despite the cash glut, each year sees the PSD with declining […]
