QUIK HITZ & HOT LIX: BEACONBEZZLEMENT … VERIZON … VIGIL-ANCE … SUPERSTORE … DPI DUI … PHOOLIN’ … 10 YEARS AFTER … WELL DONE, RICK BELTAIRE
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, JUNE 16-19, 2016) — When it rains absurdity, as it has been lately in Pittsfield, it pours reason and logic on THE PLANET. We even rule time, declaring The Weekend Edition to start on a Thursday. Time to bring out Quick Hitz and Hot Lix.
Beacon Endrezzlement — “There a whole cultural energy around downtown Pittsfield.” Thus saith Jonathan Butler of the Berkshire Chamber in carrying water for and shining the shoes of Richard Stanley, multimillionaire owner of the money-losing Beacon Cinema. The Butler did it in support of an additional five years of tax breaks for Stanley’s private enterprise on North Street, which is losing money faster than the Titanic took on salt water, faster than the North Atlantic iced Leo DeCaprio‘s fingers. Butler got it right about “a whole cultural energy around downtown.” The culture consists of drug dealers, addicts, Bloods, Crips, gun fighters, robbers, and other creatures of the night, who have made ventures into the city a life-threatening proposition. No worry, though. While Stanley got his tax breaks, The Lovely Linda kicked Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski got kicked in the ass with a double-digit tax increase.
Verizon on the Horizon — While the city council compliantly licked Stanley’s boots, it took a “principled” stance on behalf of Verizon strikers. The council’s ridiculous show of support for this national issue came while it ignored the devastating finances of the city. Our right Honorable Good Friends must have pull, however. Not long after the council’s show of support, Verizon settled with its workers. “It’s not about wages.” Right.
Vigil Vigilantes — They rallied for Orlando, like it mattered. Tricia State-rep-hyphen-hyphen ate doughnuts in solidarity. The mayors of the county’s two cities said that the murder of so many innocent people was, you know, terrible. “Community leaders” circle-jerked for more gun laws. A splendid time was had by all.
Superstore at PEDA — The “news” about Walmart‘s proposed aircraft carrier on the PEDA site doesn’t come as new to PLANET readers and viewers. We called it months ago and broke it on Facebook days before anyone else this week. Here’s another scoop: PEDA head Corydon “Thirsty” Thurston will announce that The William Stanley Business Park will be renamed The Richard Stanley TIF Tent on honor of the multimillionaire moocher.
DPI DUI — Is Downtown Pittsfield Inc. drinking on the job? Or is it just drinking the Kool-Aid? One can only draw that conclusion when examining it’s “strategic plan” for center city. Jesse Cook-Dubin, another hyphenated DPI president, said the four-part plan included public safety, promoting downtown, and quality of life. That’s only three parts, but Dubious Dubin uses Common Core math. What are the odds, folks, that DPI survives the FY17 spending plan. Can’t you see it The Lovely Linda‘s eyes?
Don’t Be Phooled — Pittsfield finance director Matt “Kufflinks” Kerwood made a big deal about refinancing $4.8 million of city debt. Kufflinks claimed it would “save” taxpayers $448,000. Reality Check for Phantom Accounting: It won’t “save” a cent. This comes from a debt obligation of $12 million “for a variety of projects in 2008, leaving $7.2 million at ruinous rates. Phunny that Kufflinks didn’t raises a peep about the proposed record $12 million capital spending plan he engineered for the spend-happy and tax-buoyant mayor. Even Kufflinks had to admit that the actual “savings,” if any, cannot be known, since it all depends on the future of the finance market. “The current market is favorable,” Kufflinks coughed. Big deal. What will it be next month, next year? Total city debt? Don’t a$k.
Ten Years After — “North Street is a very different place than it was just 10 years ago” — The Lovely Linda. She speaks the truth. North Street is a much more dangerous, bumpy, pot-holed, congested, anti-pedestrian, anti-human place than it was a decade ago. Peter Layayette, Mr. Rah Rah, called the Beacon an “anchor.” THE PLANET agrees. It’s taking Pittsfield right to the bottom of the drink.
Don’t Let ‘em Do This, Rick — The legendary morning man at WBRK, THE PLANET’s old radio home to “The Dan Valenti Show,” retired about a month ago. Our show followed his morning drive shift. For more than a generation, Rick Pittsfield entertained, informed, and tickled a generation of Pittsfield radio heads. Well done, dear friend. You ran the good race. Enjoy a well-earned bon voyage.
——– 000 ——–
The Comment Line is now open for intelligence, always, and not ignorance. Be sharp.
Have a great weekend, everybody.
———————————————————————————————–
“Listening to a news broadcast is like smoking a cigarette and crushing the butt in the ashtray.” — Milan Kundera
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
The views expressed in the comment section or opinions published within the text other than those of PLANET VALENTI 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.
The story of the year is Pittsfield is in serious financial trouble.
Why won’t a City Stand up for itself? Lookup “Learned Helplessness”.
It’s the story of every year.
Corydon’t ain’t worth his salt?
RE: Walmart at Silver Lake:
Great idea, except for when the wind blows from the Southwest carrying Silver Lake’s own special brew of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) off-gassed from the lake’s surface. These carcinogenic vapors are what’s left of generations of dumping into this glacial lake’s deep waters highly toxic chemical waste, beginning in the 1850’s by Pittsfield Coal Gas Company and later, in the 1890’s, by Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company which in 1903 became part of General Electric Company. G.E. carried on the practice of dumping poisons including PCB’s into at least the 1960’s.
It is folly to believe that any amount of ‘capping’ of this lake’s ‘bottom’ is going to prevent these untold TONS of industrial poisons from mixing with incoming fresh water and continuing to affect large swaths of Pittsfield and its ground water. That is what’s already been happening for generations as evidenced by all manner of cancer clusters in various neighborhoods surrounding the lake.
State-of-the-art air-handling systems (installed by Walmart, MountainOne Bank, or any other retailer or institution which moves into the Stanley Business Park) will most assuredly suck-in and circulate in-store Silver Lake’s aromatics, known bio-accumulatives, which can have long-term carcinogenic effect even at trace exposure levels measured in parts per billion (and even parts per TRILLION!).
Try driving down Silver Lake Boulevard on a hot summer day with the car windows open. Take deep breaths and discover for yourself whether Silver Lake’s vapors make you dizzy.
Let us not forget that as always, Silver Lake empties into the Housatonic River.
When THS is billed to the elderly est 200 per year extra for the rest of your life remember Yon Behnke Tyer Amuso Curtis and now Marchetti…..Whos your Daddy…..Mccanless heads this financial family…..disfuction junction…prisoners cost 52k and school students being compared equally with prisoners cost 75k…..know your facts Jake before using unequal stats
Circumventing Civil Service in order to appoint the police chief as permanent has nothing to do with Mr. Wynn’s qualifications.
It simply is another rendition of Tyer’s agenda of governing by a few and for a select few.
Wynn was appointed by a Tyer political ally and benefactor, Jim Ruberto. Wynn has long ties and is obligated to this political group.
Wynn’s fiance’ was Tyer’s campaign director of communications, she also is a PEDA board member who long supported Tyer and the backroom Wal-Mart dealings. She also feeds at the state public trough with an administrative job at BCC.
Bianchi was afraid to replace the politically sensitive chief because of the Warren Dewes syndrome.
Wynn may be the best candidate for a permanent appointment. But Tyer’s motives are strictly political pay back and political cronyism.
It should be Mandatory for Wynn to retake the Civil Service Test.
Mccandless said everyone will be back to work if CC passed the budget….they already got caught lying….Jake will be laying off 3 janitors ….he only cares about professional people….we are a blue collar town….they lied to the council just to get the budget passed
maybe they should just privatize the janitors and transportation division.
Hell, maybe they should privatize the teachers.
All charter schools for Pittsfield. Let’s get rid of the gravy train and all the people lined up at the pork barrel. Start from scratch. The Pittsfield school system is a huge parasitic entity that has attached itself to the taxpayers and won’t let go even though it is fully engorged.
they say pigs make good pets but I would not want to have to clean up after them.
I think you and I have different reasons for wanting this change.
And,,,,,the most incredible thing that happened in Pittsfieldl……. was the two days in April Snowfall,had more accumulation od snow in those two days, than the entire winter.
The most incredible thing in the United States is..O J. Is still looking for the killers.
Speeled purposely wrong to show my apology to painter for misspelling.
Councilor Kathleen Amuso for her role in the ham-handed attempt to reduce the job and salary of the mayor’s top administrative aide. NO councilor should apologize for trying to keep the pay increase with in reason. That person has not even been on the job for a year yet so how can anyone know she needs a pay increase.
Quote…..everyone laid off will return if you approve this budget….Jake
Well of course. Pink slips galore at Morningside. Just Smoke abd Mirrors…… What does it take for the Citizens of Pittsfield to Stand up and take back their City???
Painter, right on’again! Isn’t there a step process with any job?especially a taxpayer funded position. It called Tiers, pun intended.
Really?
Get your facts straight people.
She didn’t get a raise. She was brought in at step 3, that was the
Councilors beef. Her predecessor who was white was brought in at step three and was a blonde bimbo from the school department. No one questioned her starting step or her increase to step 4.
That is why everyone was up in arms, as they should have been.
At least the current person has a degree in the field, not just teaching 2nd grade like the blonde bimbo.
I think it is time to make Mike Winn, permanent Chief. Watching the City Council accoclades tonight it is all Men in Blue. I think he deserves it. This isn’t L A.
Exactly H. The City ouncil has been tripping over themselves at times, this should be an easy vote if the Mayor requests permanent status. We have bigger fish to fry in this town, it’s time to come together.
Problem is even the bigger fish isn’t getting fried in this city. Only people doing well work for the schools or the hospital. Everyone else is struggling financially thanks to higher taxes for one thing.
Eight years? Winn could have punched his ticket anywhere, if anything, just working understaffed and juggling the budget was enough to take a hike, to me,he seems totally committed? To the Unions and C C this isn’t Rocket Science, if you’re undermanned you will be behind the eight ball, this Mayor is confident and fed up with crime, let her do what she thinks is the right thing.
Councilor Simonelli is wearing a blazer with gold buttons on each side of his arms, near wrist,he will now be called The Admiral..so it is said and shall be written.
The school committee loves the cockey superintendent …Marchetti better not make faces at him any more…..Pete needs to hand over the cash and grill highway on snowstorms.As Mccandless says…Whos your Daddy?