BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

First of Three Parts

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016) — Buried within a massive 350-page supporting package for tomorrow night’s city council meeting a most startling document. It contains something you only rarely come across in official Pittsfield: truth. THE PLANET credits Terry Kinnas for wading through the morass and fishing out what amount to indictments about the veracity of local government.

The city filed the paperwork with the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Office of Grants and Research in pursuit of another Shannon grant, $95,000 for so-called anti-gang programs. In plain English, the city is begging the state for public funds. To win this money, Pittsfield officials had no problem telling the state what it almost never shares with its citizens or taxpayers, which is an accurate assessment  of public safety.

‘Gang Violence Problem Statement’ is Just That

In its “Gang Violence Problem Statement,” Pittsfield admits to “a severe and disturbing trend for youth involvement in gangs and violent acts in Pittsfield over the last several years.” The statement then reveals the shocking numbers of gang members:

Bloods — 198 members and 54 associates, for a total affiliation of 252 persons.

Crips — 52 “documented members.”

Latin Kings — 70 members.

That adds up to 374 documented gang members. Keep in mind, as the report implicitly admits, that the 374 does not include members of lesser known gangs, nor does it include members of known gangs whose affiliations have eluded public safety officials. The city’s statement confirms there are “nearly 500 known gang members” in Pittsfield. How many “unknown” gangsters lurk in the shadows? If you talk to the Pittsfield Police Department, the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Department, and others in the local criminal judicial system, there’s general agreement of “at least double the [official] number. This leaves the city with about 1,000 gang members, mostly male, minority, under age 25.

One thousand gang members.

Let it sink in.

Murders, Violence Increasing ‘at An Alarming Rate’

The “Problem Statement” tells the state that murders, gun violence, use of weapons among local youths, and delinquency have increased at an alarming rate. We read, “When compared with cities in central and western Massachusetts with similar population sizes, Pittsfield experiences higher numbers of DYS admissions and drug[-]related intakes. There are also a large number of DYS releases. All of which indicated youth are playing a significant role in violent behavior … that manifests on the streets of Pittsfield.”

Hmmm, THE PLANET doesn’t recall the city using language like this when pumping Hotel on North or some downtown promotion, for instance. However, when coming to the state with the tin cup out, Pittsfield all of a sudden can’t share enough of what’s truly happening — the stuff it keeps from You, The People.

The report tells the state of the “trend toward more overt demonstration of violence, and an increase in the possession of weapons, and the use of intimidation at an early age.” Contrast that with the lies of the Pittsfield School Department and especially the Pittsfield School Committee (PSC), whose deliberations blindly send more taxpayer dollars to a failing school system and whose verbiage paints a rosy picture replete with sparkles, swoons, and moons in June.

Later in the report, we read this astonishing fact in a section dealing with “high risk” matters such as drugs, delinquency, and teen pregnancy: “Pittsfield has 5,774 students, over 70% of which meet state definition of high needs.”

Folks, when more than 70% of students (about 4,100 of 5,700 ) are “high need,” educational is impossible.  High-priced day care is the goal.

Funny how the city so readily admits the truth to the state but lies so handily to its own citizens. Questions:

1. How much longer will citizens be content to allow this political travesty?
2. When will the mayor, council members, school committee, state reps, and other officials address the problem of gangs and violence in such honest terms as we find in the application for the Shannon grant?

Tomorrow, THE PLANET continues to expose the truth about “quality of life” in Pittsfield.

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“‘Courage,’ he said, pointing toward the land” — Alfred Lord Tennyson, opening line, “The Lotus Eaters,” (1842).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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