IT’S LABOR DAY, A DAY FOR NO LABOR BUT ALSO A DAY TO ‘HAVE YOUR SAY’
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, LABOR DAY, 2019) — Can we all take a breath for a moment?
The recent spade of mayhem, murder, and violence has the city of Pittsfield on edge. Meanwhile, its top officials tell everyone that everything’s A-OK. Choose to believe what you will, but on this day, let’s all take a step back and inhale … then exhale. Inhale … then exhale. Repeat as necessary.
THE PLANET shall be brief today, a day that signals the de facto end of summer. Oh, we have a few weeks left, but after Labor Day, the Berkshires empty out, “normal” life resumes, and we look forward to the welcome change of seasons. Tomorrow we shall be back with continuing coverage of the Aftermath of a Murder. That’s what a pulp novelist might call the Columbus Avenue slaying of an “innocent bystander.” The killing has the city upside down. Any officials who ignore the severity of this disruption do so at their own peril. Simply put, there are killers on the loose.
So be sure to tune into THE PLANET, Tuesday’s Child. We’ve got more goods, the kind the tamed Mainstream Media won’t publish.
Meantime, try to enjoy the day.
We now turn the Comment Line open to anyone who wishes to Have Their Say.
God bless.
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“True love can conquer every fear” — Mick Valenti, from his song, “A Special Day,” from the album Beatlesque.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Don’t worry folks things will be vibrant and dynamic before you know it. Linda as plans for you.
After Labor Day, this is when Pittsfield politics gets exciting! I cannot wait to read Dan Valenti’s coverage of Melissa versus Linda! They are ALL Lovely!!!!
Happy holiday to all my Pittsfield friends. Thanks to the Planet for fantastic coverage we cant get anywhere else.
Tyer wont show up at Herberg school.Will any school committee members walk the halls?Will Taylor spend one month at Herberg school .This is a huge year for this clueless committee. State of Massachusetts is very close to having to put the schools back on track.If Tyer cant get road lines painted for the safety of Pittsfield drivers we are at the end of the road with Tyers ability to run her department heads.
Police must expand and the schools must consolidate.
Whats funny about that is the amount of drug activity and other bad stuff going on in those halls. Done right under the noses of staff literally in sonme cases. Have a friend who works at Mercer and I get the horror stories.
Excellent suggestion to have the mayor spend a month there. Where even the principal won’t walk the halls.
I’m betting the farm that failed schools of Pittsfield Ma. Will lie and say things have changed.We are in emergency on the amount of cash spent on 12 year old abusive children in Mccandless ,Curtis schools. All are office door shut administrators.All can work from every problem building….there is room in every hall and corridor…..Go to the problem Mayor Tyer,Mccandless,Wynn is that to much to ask in a of poverty and drug addiction.
Thank you Dan for the chance to voice opinions, exasperations and frustrations.
There is no doubt that politicians and self serving special interests were draining the life blood out of Pittsfield before Tyer was positioned at the helm. But it seems like she felt obligated to play Santa Claus to everybody with their hand out and had no reservations about giving the taxpayers a fortified enema. And it seems that she has at least several high level department heads that lack either the ability or enthusiasm to do their jobs in a professional manner. I do not see any obvious leadership qualities coming out of the corner office.
If she is reelected is there anything left of the city to give away? And if she is replaced will her successor be made of the same puppet cloth?
And if by some miracle, not seen on the horizon, a tough hard nosed financial penny pincher mayor came on the scene, how many years would it take to get the city off life support?
To a point where people were not embarrassed to say they lived here?
“In my mind there’s no sorrow
Don’t you know that it’s so
There’ll be no sad tomorrow
Don’t you know that it’s so
There’s a place
Where I can go
When I feel low
When I feel blue
And it’s MY MIND”
Happy End of Summer to all!
I’m looking forward to more election activity as well!
Cheers!
Harrington wants shooting gallery’s in Pittsfield???
What about the rest of the feminist progressive trio – Her pal Tyer who thinks like her, and faraway Farley, or shall I say Linda and Trisha? Sounds so cute just like Sally does eh?
Sally says sounds like an economic engine. Turn PEDA useless life science building into a shooting gallery, grow PCB laced weed all over the PEDA property, sell it outta same building, leave room for a cemetery on property where city can bury the OD “victims”, who after all were afflicted with a brain disease just like obese people aren’t obese per se, but rather they have obesity. It can be the Pittsfield Econmoic Drug Authority. Vibrant, dynamic, and collaborative.
Chief Wynn’s politically active wife, a tax payer funded state employee was indeed a prominent player in Mayor Tyer’s last mayoral campaign, being listed as the campaign’s “Public Relations Manager or Publicist”.
Is the chief’s wife again a front line player in this campaign or a behind the scene activist ?
Mikey and Tyer, the dynamic vibrant duo need to BEGONE. They are a menace to our city. How were they able to skirt the MA civil service for him to be chief of a police department with one of the most violent police officers, Dale Eason. the public knows of two violent offences by Dale how many more are there? Maybe we will never know as the police records have been purged. WHEN, the Ruberto Regime Cult needs to be overthrown by the everyday citizens of Pittsfield. Maybe an act of Civil Disobidience is what we need and is in order.
Anyone else takes note that a former iBerkshires reporter is now a spokesperson for DA Harrington. While y’all were laser-focused on Trump/ Russia, Andy McKeever (former iBerkshires reporter) was influencing the 2018 DA’s contest with this slanted, onesided reporting that favored Andrea Harrington’s campaign.
If you research McKeever’s articles, you’ll discover he referred to the Williams College sexual assault issue more often than the BB; or anyone else in the media (WAMC is a very close second).
Obviously, when a candidate wins election to office, you reward your most loyal operatives. But McKeever was in a role unlike most of us out here campaigning. His power to influence was unprecedented – with (credible) tentacles that reached voters from a more diverse (county) readership than say a Dan Valenti, from his Planet Valenti blog. iBerkshires’ Internet site typically exceeds the readership of most, if not all, other Berkshire County media outlets.
No offense to Dan and his Planet, but McKeever came across by many as a first-class reporter. Readers placed more credence in McKeever’s reporting than articles or blogs appearing on Planet Valenti.
At the end of the day, McKeever may work for the district attorney, but his credibility is severely tarnished from hereinafter. But I guess when it comes to underhanded politics who really gives a rat’s a**! The name of the game these days is gonna hire me after the curtain drops.
Berkshire District Attorney spokesperson Andy McKeever’s just another Harrington hack lacking in honesty and integrity. Sad, but true!!
And that’s the bottom-line!!1
It was so bad and so obvious Andy would show up at strategy meetings at private homes and help coordinate Andreas’s press coverage with Helen Moon and the campaign consultant from Boston.
DA Andrea Harrington doesn’t have an ethical bone in her body.
Police report….even when she’s with her husband.
You are right, it’s no secret Andy has a special relationship with DA Andrea Harrington. It adds a special kind of stress.
Did McKeever coin the phrase a special kind of stress?
He definitely was unaware of the “special” role of the DA when he said on behalf of Harrington “We trust that law enforcement will find the person who committed this heinous crime.” Blind leading the blind.
BRIAN
Your bottom line is once again on the move. THE PLANET was the first to note McKeever’s switch. That, in itself, is not as troubling as you make it. There’s lots of cases when a journalist hires on to a special interest. Andy was a good reporter who, at another gig, might have been a great one. At iBerkshires, however, he was ground-up, and his later work began to show. Good for him he’s landed a better situation. I do not share your belief that Andy lacks either honesty or integrity. That’s not the young man I’ve seen in action. As to your statement about credence, upon what, exactly, do you make this claim, other than what appears to be rather like an uniformed opinion? THE PLANET’s readership is as diverse as iBerkshires (we have tools that measure such things). As for readership, as you know, we present one main story a day. The other sites, iBerkshires included, present many stories — too many, in fact, given the refusal to staff up to competent levels. One measure of THE PLANET exceeding all other local sites is the number of comments, hits, and unique hits we get each day. iBerkshires is lucky to have 1 or 2 comments, and often, zero. Ours routinely number in high double-digits and, recently, triple digits. Single-story focus no doubt makes a difference here but also the uniqueness of our information. We often break stories or add new information to running stories first reported elsewhere. It comes from our sources. We have them everywhere. And, BTW, in matters such as this, there IS no bottom line.
iBerkshires is not and never was as it claims to be “your trusted local news source. Note Ruberto quote: “It’s my dream that this will ultimately become an incredible communication tool between the people of Pittsfield and city government,”
Tangled web – City web site revisited
Firm created mayor’s campaign site without getting payment, then got city contract
With fanfare, the city of Pittsfield just unveiled a renovated municipal web site.
Among other “enhancements,” the new site eliminates a link to http://www.pittsfieldgazette.com, while maintaining a link to http://www.berkshireeagle.com and trumpeting content by Boxcar Media, a firm with mayoral connections that received and has retained the web contract under questionable circumstances.
In honor of the January 2007 relaunch of http://www.pittsfield.com, here’s the Gazette’s original February 2005 story investigating the first generation of the Boxcar-created Pittsfield web site…
February 10, 2005 The Pittsfield Gazette
City officials are preparing to unveil an upgraded municipal web site — but the long-delayed debut is overshadowed by questions about the awarding of the internet design contract to a North Adams company with close ties to Mayor James Ruberto.
Boxcar Media — which produced Ruberto’s campaign web site — was the only local vendor invited to offer a quote to develop the new City of Pittsfield web site.
Boxcar received the contract even though an out-of-area vendor provided a lower bid.
City officials stress that Boxcar did not receive preferential treatment, but spokespeople for other local internet firms say they would have jumped at the opportunity to design the city site.
Boxcar has close ties to the mayor:
• Boxcar president Osmin Alvarez, a Williamstown resident, donated the maximum permissible $500 to Ruberto’s 2003 campaign
• Ruberto appointed Alvarez to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority board
• In what the mayor terms an “internal oversight,” his campaign finance forms do not list any payments to or in-kind services from Boxcar for the development of his campaign web site in 2003.
Purchasing agent Michelle Hunt stressed that her department met all legal requirements in awarding that $21,325 base contract and $2,295 annual maintenance pact to Boxcar.
“This office completely followed [Massachusetts General Law] 30B in the procurement of the services,” said Hunt.
Carol Nichols, the city’s technology director, said that “there was absolutely no pressure“ to award the contract to a particular vendor.
The controversy began last summer when, after years of political campaigns discussing a new city web site, Ruberto initiated the project.
Since the contract would be under $25,000, state law only requires that the city seek quotes from at least three qualified vendors.
The city’s specifications required that “the successful quoter must be on-site within four hours of notification of technical difficulty.” The services sought included a web site that would allow individual departments to update pages; a database system to report and track citizen complaints; a City Hall directory; online forms; a calendar of events; and community links.
The city invited three companies to offer quotes: Boxcar, based in North Adams; Virtual Town Hall, based in Portland, Maine; and Qscend Technologies, based in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Hunt said that the firms were based on recommendations from Nichols.
“Our MIS manager reviewed both local and not-local companies that she thought were qualified,” she said.
Hunt said that the number of quotes sought varies based on the type of project and the recommendation of managers. “The departments know more about the companies,” she said. “They may give me three names, other departments have a list of six names.”
Hunt said it is important that firms seeking city business make themselves known, since in cases such as this one, phone book listings and promotional materials may be the primary source of locating vendors.
Representatives of several local firms that provide internet design services say they would have provided aggressive price quotes for the opportunity to design the high-profile city site.
“It would have been something we would have been interested in,” said Ray Gargan of Gargan Communications, a Dalton firm whose internet clients include Hancock Shaker Village and the Red Lion Inn.
Mike Ward of Lenox Softworks said his firm had indicated an interest in working with the city but did not receive the opportunity to offer a quote.
“Yes we would have bid,” he said.
Lenox Softworks’ clients include Jiminy Peak, Legacy Banks and Simon’s Rock.
Pittsfield-based NetConnex has grown from being primarily a web design firm to a full-service technology company with 14 employees.
“It certainly would have been something we would have been interested in,” said David Monterosso.
When the city closed the bidding process at the end of July, Boxcar and Qscend were the only bidders.
A third bid from Vadar Systems of Maynard — presumably affiliated with the Maine firm — arrived 45 minutes after the deadline and was never opened.
Boxcar bid $21,325 and Qscend bid $18,760.
The city awarded the contract to Boxcar because it ruled that the Qscend bid did not meet a tracking standard for “ticketing” of comments submitted by residents.
A letter to Qscend from Hunt reads: “One of our major concerns is that our residents can submit their complaints/requests via our web site. While both your company and Boxcar Media offer this capability, your product does not offer, at this time, the ability for residents to log in and check the status of their requests. We feel this is a very important option and have therefore decided to contract with Boxcar Media.”
Qscend — a firm that specializes in governmental web sites and offers several predesigned software modules that it customizes — then sent a request to Hunt, asking for a copy of Boxcar’s winning bid package.
Qscend appeared confused about the rationale for awarding the contract, since Boxcar would be creating the “ticketing” feature — as well as the entire site — from scratch. According to Qscend’s current web site, the “ticketing“ feature is available as a routine part of its package. Qscend was also in position to meet the requirement to have the new web site up and running by the stated August 31 deadline.
Hunt said the delay in launching the site is not Boxcar’s fault.
“It is not the contractor, it is the city,” she said.
Nichols said that the City Hall technology department has been overwhelmed by other projects.
“We were going through multiple migrations,” she said. “Our workload is enormous now… As much as the Pittsfield web site is a priority, we have had so many other things going on.”
Contacted this past week, Keith LeBeau of Qscend said that his firm sent the follow-up letter last summer to learn why it did not win the contract.
“Qscend Technologies was surprised given the low number of bidders that they didn’t win considering their vast e-government expertise,” he said.
On Wednesday, Ruberto said he played no role in the awarding of the contract.
“I have not tried to influence Michelle Hunt in the way she went about her job,” he said. “I have not tried to influence the use of a vendor for this or any project.”
Ruberto said he was unaware that only one local company had a chance to offer a quote.
“I have been an advocate of having Pittsfield purchases first,” he said. “I have insisted that we give local vendors the chance for everything from police cars to firefighters’ vehicles.”
While stressing that he did not promote giving the business to Boxcar, Ruberto said the firm “produces a tremendous product and does incredible work.”
Ruberto said he considers Boxcar president Alvarez “a personal friend.”
“Ossie Alvarez is giving of his own energy and time to Pittsfield, Massachusetts as a member of the chamber and as a member of the PEDA board,” said Ruberto. “He is an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur and a person of integrity.”
The mayor said that the failure to report his campaign’s dealings with Boxcar was an error.
“It’s an unfortunate incident,” he said. “We’re going to make the necessary corrections with our apologies.”
Ruberto campaign treasurer George Diehl says he has reviewed records and cannot find any reference to Boxcar other than Alvarez’s personal donation, which is properly noted.
“We just didn’t get an invoice,” Diehl said. “This is just one that got by us and we’re going to rectify it.”
Diehl said that he cannot find any invoices that indicate Boxcar was directly or indirectly paid for the Ruberto web site. The treasurer said that it may have been an “in-kind” service. In-kind services would still need to be listed and are subject to regulations limiting corporate donations to campaigns.
Diehl said that Alvarez is currently out of the country. “Once he’s back, we’re going to fix it and see what happened,” he said.
Ruberto said that he is not sure “what the [financial] intention was” in the providing of the service by Boxcar.
“The campaign clearly overlooked recording that service or fee,” he said.
Denis J. Kennedy of the state office of campaign & political finance, said campaigns can correct filing errors.
“Candidates can always amend reports after discovering something was incorrect,” said Kennedy. “The law is designed to give people the chance to correct errors or omissions.“
Ruberto stressed that “there was no intent to deceive anyone.”
The mayor also expressed hopes that the web site will be well received.
“It’s my dream that this will ultimately become an incredible communication tool between the people of Pittsfield and city government,” he said. “We’re looking at using our web site as a factor of convenience for the people of Pittsfield.”
Rob Adams, director of sales and marketing for Boxcar and the city’s contact for the web site project, did not respond to queries from the Gazette.
Agreed, Aerin. IBerkshires is a chamber of commerce arm promoting member businesses – end of – I don’t trust anything they publish.
Wonder how long he’ll tolerate her nonsense?
Dan
At I Berkshire Andy I feel was,limited and stifled by Tammy Daniels. In order to keep access to District Attorney’s office information she Limited the scope of their reporting.
His new career does not and should not afford him that option.
Imagine Dennis left when first criminal complaint was,lodged,to avoid prosecution.
Andy will follow shortly
Brian
Andy was an at will employee, given assignments and directions to be followed,which given the limited prospects in Berkshire county he completed as,directed.
Not everyone can have their own autonomy
Yes good point DV about the “broadcast” approach to the news of iberkshire and bb websites…..you get the feeling they just shovel stuff in there with no rhyme or reason. Both disallow comments, the bb totally and iberk on hit stories.
Planet blows them away in terms of impact, and relevant. Comments a huge part of that.Any one who wants to know whats going on reads the Planet that includes everyone in the public sector, just about all candidates and all office holders.
It’s always a pleasure to read your replies, Dan.
My point: McKeever, regardless of his good natured temperament, played on Harrington’s team without disclosing such a conflict. He underscored his credibility by playing press agent for Harrington’s campaign. That’s my issue with him.
Besides, no one goes to work for her unless they played a central role in her election campaign. You know that as well as everyone here.
McKeever’s reporting for iBerkshires was not reporting but a predetermined scheme to mislead his readership on behalf of Harrington for District Attorney. His articles were Harrington press releases.
As a voter and campaigner in last year’s DA contest – I’m offended at McKeever’s deceitfully designed double role-playing.
And that’s the bottom-line!!
BRIAN
Likewise. We appreciate push-back, as long as it is somewhat reasoned and well-articulated. I will add that Andy’s reporting in the final phases of his tenure at iBerkshires has to be in question. THE PLANET even said at the time that the iBerkshires coverage of the D.A.’s race was in the bag. Appreciate your participation.
” When you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there.” – George Harrison
It is going to take a lot of prayers for Floridians and up the coast. This is devastating. It strikes the heart.
Let’s start with the basics: Harrington’s campaign was based upon an ACLU video which demonized white male DAs as corrupt, sexist, and racist. The progressive DA is a creation of academia, self-described social justice advocates, and privileged white peoples’ racial guilt. What may have started as a genuine movement to address structural racism in the criminal justice system has been bastardized into a tidal wave of misinformation, over-simplification of highly complex social ills, and opportunities for self-promoting individuals looking to obtain and retain political power.
This was obvious during the DA’s campaign. Harrington misled voters about everything from her experience, mass incarceration in Massachusetts, the use of jail to treat the addicted and mentally ill, and the role of the DA in crime prevention. She made promises that no DA could keep and manipulated information regarding national trends to create a false narrative about crime in Berkshire County. Of course, the 185K salary, full benefits, and a state pension provided compelling incentives to run for an office for which she is totally unqualified.
It seems the DA has failed at every job she’s held. She has no trial or prosecutorial experience, has never managed employees, or run a government agency. The idea that she can hire experienced staff has proven to be a canard: her first assistant has yet to try a case after being on the job since December; her deputy DA has tried one criminal case yet is responsible for the supervision of the legal staff; and of course, Harrington herself has prosecuted zero cases. That’s at a cost of almost a half-million dollars to the taxpayers in an office statutorily mandated to appear in court on behalf of the commonwealth on criminal cases. That may work in a larger jurisdiction but in Berkshire County, the allocation of resources to three basically administrative positions is a shameful bureaucratic waste. She hired an outside special ADA to handle a case too difficult for her current staff to handle at $100 an hour. Within a period of a few months, she fired six women over the age of 50 and replaced them with campaign supporters, removing required educational qualifications for employment established by prior administrations. Three attorneys hired in the last several months have already quit. She has hired a poverty advocate and a juvenile caseworker, two important positions, but ones that have no part in the prosecution of criminal cases. Her Domestic and Sexual Violence Taskforce is loaded with politicians and political supporters, but few who actually work with victims.
Harrington portrays herself as a progressive reformer focused on crime prevention, but under the law, prevention is actually a very small part of the DA’s job. But let’s give her the benefit of the doubt that prevention and education is her primary responsibility. Why then, despite public outcry, did she fire the entire Community Outreach and Education staff, disband the program, and fail to create anything to replace it?
The DA’s position is elected but cannot be political. Harrington, unemployed and coming off the loss of a state senate seat, spent the nascent period of her campaign weaving bits of a manufactured narrative with the push for progressive female candidates into a message that voters bought despite a dearth of evidence that the progressive DA model actually works. And how did the DA approach the first homicide of her tenure? By colluding with her political supporters to suppress the information that a murderer was at large in Pittsfield until after her girlfriend’s mayoral debate. Whatever the details of the case, the facts are clear the victim was murdered, the offender has not been apprehended, and the DA sat on that information for three days, putting the public at grave risk.
Those who work in the system regard the DA as a dilettante. From law enforcement officials to court and probation staff, to the defense bar, those who know the system know that Harrington is dangerously incompetent. This is not because her reform ideas challenge the status quo, but because criminal justice professionals realize the complexity of the multiple factors that create crime cannot be addressed with ill-conceived but politically popular policies.
Here’s one great example—her no cash bail policy. This makes her supporters in the bail reform movement happy, but as a practical matter, it is unworkable. Serious law enforcement professionals know that policies that exclude options like cash remove one useful tool available to ensure a defendant’s return to court. Not all charges fall under the dangerousness statute—but all charges may be subject an offender to bail. This knee-jerk, all-or-nothing policy is a political decision, not a public safety one.
Those with substance use disorder (including alcoholism) should not be incarcerated to treat their addiction as a rule, but for some folks, that option is needed to help them gain and support their recovery. Spend some time in a Drug Court session and you’ll see remarkable stories of people whose recovery is due to their participation in the program. In dealing with such a complex problem, no opportunity for intervention should be discarded because it does not fit with the DA’s political agenda
.
Real reform comes from a deep, nuanced understanding of the criminogenic factors extant in every society. The disparity of treatment of communities of color by the criminal justice system is only one manifestation of the impact of structural racism on American society. Other cultural institutions of education, housing, wealth, and the media have reinforced and perpetuated the historical disadvantages imposed upon people of color. To those who advocate for resource allocation to a zero-tolerance approach to crime in our county, I say absolutely, yes. To those who advocate for resource allocation to educational and employment opportunities for communities traditionally excluded because of race I also say, absolutely, yes. Those who advocate for one to the exclusion of the other belie a lack of understanding of how deep these schisms go—we need both, and all, approaches to address crime in our county. Political opportunism, partisan self-interest, and implicit bias must be eliminated from what must be an informed, concerted, and pragmatic community approach to the crisis facing Berkshire County—the public safety of all citizens.
How’s Marsellus these days?
A very comprehensive statement.
Harrington is all about a political agenda. Tyer was so wrong to support Harrington when Tyer had promised to be tough on crime.
Hear hear! Well said Mrs Mia, and fairly too..
With Harrington’s hiring frenzy goin’ on – I wonder how much her office budget has swelled since assuming office?
I still wanna know when DA spokesperson Andy McKeever’s gonna release a press statement outlining a timeframe when Harrington’s office plans to seek indictments relating to all those Williams College sexual assaults she and her mouthpiece McKeever kept shoving down our throats as a iBerkshires reporter.
Liar, liar, pants on fire, Andrea and Andy.
Don’t forget to mention that called in to save the day is Capeless who is to try the appeal on the 2011 triple homicide case as a volunteer. Also pulled back in is ADA Pieropan who I believe was fired by Harrington or at least not reinstated after many decades of service.
They sent that case to another prosecuting office. See below, quoted from this iBerkshires article:
https://www.iberkshires.com/story/59676/100-Days-An-Interview-With-District-Attorney-Andrea-Harrington.html
“One case Harrington or her office isn’t touching is the one that became a talking point in the election. An attorney, who supported Harrington, went on the attack against the former administration for not prosecuting a case allegedly at Williams College. Harrington said she opted to shift that case to another prosecuting office for review to avoid any issues of perceived impropriety.
“Because that became such a feature of the campaign — not from my campaign but it is was an issue that was talked about in the press during the course of the campaign — we felt that it was really in the interest of justice that a prosecutor from outside this office takes a look at that case. I wouldn’t want to be in the position where a defendant or a suspect had serious questions about if there was a bias or a conflict of interest on part of the prosecutor,” Harrington said.
“We sent that out to a prosecutor in Suffolk County who is reviewing the materials in that case and submitting a report as to whether or not they believe there is probable cause to send it to a grand jury.” “
February 31st.
I would encourage you to sign your name to this very intelligent statement, Mrs. Wallace, and send to all local media, but of course, they would not run it.
MAMA MIA
THE PLANET appreciates such a well-written, well-thought-out, well-presented argument.
A very well written and composed post.
I agree.
In future, split your posts into smaller blocks of paragraphs. It will be easier to follow.
Yes, you must use small words and very simple paragraphs or uncle grand whizzer gets disoriented.
I’ll refrain Dan.
Spank “it” for me
I was a Professor. Retired.
I published in peer reviewed scientific journals.
That was before a PHD dissertation , that was ~350 pages.
I wrote many recommendations to medical/graduate schools: Harvard, Tufts, Yale, Dartmouth,….
What have You written/published , it anything ?
Besides slander?
Nothing I’ve ever commented is slander.
Shakes,
You have wrongfully accused people of being sex offenders.
That is slander.
Want LAW SUIT?
I will get your IP addy from, Dan, and let DA Harringtion deal with you..
If it’s written it’s libel, not slander.
Always remember Spoken = Slander
Now getting his IP address would be a start but ultimately a private lawsuit is a civil tort.
Lastly as you use a pseudonym, you can prove no harm to your reputation.
Exactly.
He reminds me of another person in town who claims to have been a professor and has a track record of filing frivolous lawsuits, breaking into cars, intimidating witnesses, and (allegedly) showed up drunk to a debate.
So , I’m corrected.
Shakey is a libelous liar.
Not a Slanderer.
MMW – very nice.
A real eye opener. Great information for the unaware public.
Wow! sounds like someone who lost a job very bitter. Sorry but that office lost in a landslide because of 30 years of failed policies. Change is hard but 8 months in hardly time for that kind of judgement..Just my 2 cents
SARCASM:
To summarize the negative sentiments on this blog:
All of society’s problems are the fault of the Progressive Women, especially Andrea Harrington, Linda Tyer, and Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
If it wasn’t for these 3 Progressive Women, then Pittsfield would not have violent crime.
Do I have it right?
Actually, it comes down to this: Harrington, Tyer, and Farley-Bouvier do not their collective asses from their elbows. They are indeed Female Three Stooges. And that even demeans the memory Moe, Larry, Shemp, Curley, and Joe.
Being a woman has nothing to do with their incompetence. Tyer is the least incompetent of the three, IMO. I disagree with most of what Tyer does but I don’t believe she is dumb by any means.
Dumb like a fox maybe? But she also has handlers who can make her look smarter than she may be.
On a side note, puppets are also only as smart as the guy making the mouth move and providing the words. But that is another story for another day.
Maybe cunning as a rat? When she is directly quoted her speech is far more articulate than AH or Mazzeo, to be honest, who both ramble.
Tricia Bovine needs to retire.
I wish an independent would unseat her and Hinds. We would loose money from the state but that would just starve out the public service grafters (social workers, excess school employees, bad cops) and make daylight for people who want to work for a living and contribute to society not on the public sector dole. And by that I mean all the state funded salaries. I have sympathy for actual poor folks.
I am from a law enforcement family. I would not call MA state trooper if I could avoid it. They are routinely rude and lazy and several legal actions show them to be corrupt. NY State troopers are not so bad. I would not expect a Pittsfield police office to solve any problems either, didn’t they show up to the wrong house and beat up an old lady? They ain’t seeming to be stopping any crime but they are often in the paper for causing crime.
KERMIT, don’t bet on low IQ Linda if she’s ever on Jeopardy, unless the other two contestants are Andrea and Tricia.
This is for Kermit – there is no option to reply to his comment directly – Kermit – there’s plenty of poor people on public sector dole who are lazy, and made poor choices, and plenty of good social workers, cops,and school teachers, and they aren’t going to work for free. If you hate cops, don’t call one when you need one.
You’re out in left field again Mr. Melle. No one blamed theml, but certainly Tyer is responsible for the crime problem now – after all, she’s been mayor almost 4 years, pissed away millions on it, and it’s worse than ever. So while we don’t blame her per se, it is her r e s p o n s e a b i l i t y to fix it.
she’s damn lucky I didn’t run for mayor i’d crush her like a grape on that issue alone, and coast to victory.
You forgot the other stooge.
The cost of ineffective policing. Chief Wynn and Mayor Linda Tyer’s continued failure to address crime and intervene has led to wasting hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars on projects like this.
The city continues to provide unfettered access to criminals, drug dealers, and gang members all the while DA Andrea Harrington plans to create a safe and welcoming space for addicts to use illegal drugs.
What is the point of policing and addiction counseling if you are going to give addicts barcaloungers, a clean well lit place, and a few cookies while they get high.
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/pittsfield-housing-authority-wins-250k-for-safety-upgrades,583704
PITTSFIELD — The Pittsfield Housing Authority plans to beef up its security with a $250,000 grant announced last week.
The funds are part of a larger disbursement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will release $5 million to 21 public housing authorities looking to bolster their housing developments. In Pittsfield, the grant will cover security cameras, fencing, card access system, and lighting at the Columbia Arms, Jubilee and Dower Square developments.
And before you suspicious types start rambling you should know that the administrative costs of such things are minimal and there is never any graft type pullouts.
Contrary to popular belief Charisma Drive was not named for Pete White.
I see no reason that Pittsfield can’t provide a luxury pontoon boa to cruise around Silver Lake as junkies shoot up. It could be an economic engine for Pittsfield.
The city should have a running Go Fund Me Page for junkies too poor to buy their own drugs. I get a tear in my eye every time I see a pan handler having to sit out in the hot sun all day just to get enough money for a shoot up.
If the city can afford to forgive a movie moguls debt then it should be able to supply drugs to the less fortunate. Especially if it can graft out a portion of the funding for itself.
Why hasn’t the.Closer looked into the little girl that died on Plunkett St. now years ago? Maybe J Lo can shed some light on that one.
Mayor Tyer follow John Barrett’s advice and work while driving around.You and Mccandless and Highway need to as Barret advised drive to your problem see what it is.If your department heads are not there for them.Principles are lazy and don’t walk their buildings. It is a must .Kids know that principles don’t leave their throne.In one elementary school the school coordinator was in charge of snacks and treats in the teachers room and for 75k he kept it stocked.He also threw out the v egg under so that he could handle this nice little cash operation.He should have been in the halls and not in his office hiding behind his desk.
Louisville covers.
Oh the old start of the political season, seems the more information we have to less we are able to process it. Presidential elections run for 2 1/2 years. Compared to 6 months when we can get the information in a nanosecond.
Moe, Larry, Curley and Howard live on six-sided PLANET for shure. Progressive woman not just backward but sideways, mementos of things passed.
Berkshire Eagle does it again. Leads with a fluff piece with a murder on the lose, that Chief Wynn can’t seem to catch.
More shots fired or more fireworks depending on who is sitting behind the ShotSpotter.
DA Andrea Harrington advocating for government funded shooting galleries and opium dens for junkies.
A Mayor Linda Tyer not actually having any accomplishments for her 4 year term as mayor.
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/documentary-charts-tyler-fairbanks-path-from-deadly-illness-to-recovery,583731
HANCOCK — Tyler Fairbank is starring in a brand-new video. But it’s not a music video, and to be in it, he didn’t have to act.
Indeed, it was one of the results of a life-changing, near-death experience.
Fairbank, a prominent local businessman, community volunteer and guitarist in the local rock band T Bone Daddy, nearly died from a brain hemorrhage more than two years ago.
Since undergoing major brain surgery in July 2017, he has been fighting a daily battle to regain some of the motor skills he lost due to damage caused by the rare condition. For example, he had to learn how to play the guitar, which he started playing as a kid, all over again.
That’s nothing. Bouvier used to be a go-go dancer at Lach’s.
Unless Tyer can all of a sudden relate to poor taxpayers,consolidate schools,light up the hood,cut tree limbs,get 3 million back from underfunded snowremoval,bring in 1000 new jobs,not pay 75 million for water and sewar,run gangs out of our city and all of this must be done. Recognize the the jail has alot to do with our crime…….Its Mazzeo in a landslide mostly because Tyer cant do a budget.The CC cant do budgets.The Behnke,Mccandless,Yon department spentall the SS money on raises and new positions.Most people in Pittsfield gave up getting her attention.
Sally Says it’s Tyer in a landslide. Landside Linda. Mazzeo has only an outside chance and only if she wakes up and gets at it. God forbid there’s another murder she better jump on it like a fly on stink, or she’s done.
Why would people vote Tyer? For 1 month would you rather have Tyer in charge of your last 1,000 dollars or Mazzeo?
You made a good point.
Both are proven failures.
Why vote for either?
Pittsfield is stuck with a crap sandwich.
The outsiders in the race could be the best solution to getting rid of the current stench.
The city needs a mayor, mayor Linda Tyer has proven to be an absolute failure. The only other rational choice, is the unknown lesser of two evils.
Will Mazzeo be better? Maybe. Will she be worse? Maybe. The one thing for sure, she won’t be Mayor Linda Tyer and that’s really the point. ANYONE BUT TYER.
KAREN KALINOWSKI a mother and a police officer needs to be OUR mayor. I am sure that she knows the underpinnings of the police department . When you have a corrupt police department OUR city has serious trouble.
There’s a reason she was a DARE officer. She has no command experience and was basically a glorified crossing guard and hall monitor for most of her career.
THey are both incompetent
//planetvalenti.com/2019/08/more-info-trickles-out-on-the-columbus-avenue-murder/comment-page-2/#comment-180036
By JimH
Clairmont donates money and offers jobs and who know what else in order to rubber stamp Lovely Linda Tyer’s (aka Liar Tyer) wishes for the council Perfect examples are: Moon has a job in the DA’s office as well as Diehl-Lampiasi, Donna Todd Rivers
has a position at the job placement center, Andy McKeever, former iberkshire reporter, who was extremely bias in his coverage now also has a job in the DA’s office as a reporter. Peter White, Earl Persip, Cacamo, and Marchetti are Tyer’s puppets. One can only imagine how they are benefitting from their rubber stamping of Tyer’s wishes. Dirty politics is what has turned this city into the mess its in. People better get out and vote for a real honest city council and mayor. This is for you Barry….Why does your wife still use her ex husbands name? If i were married to a women who used her ex’s name, I would wonder if she was using me for her political gains. We know your reputation is not very good, maybe she doesn’t want the public to know who she is associated with. Does she really think she is fooling anyone? You’re’ judged by the company you keep. Take a look at the names and who they constantly support. Believe me, they are getting something from the corrupt machine. Just remember, what goes around comes around. We, the voters are on to you. Waiting for Krol to open up.
Donna Todd Rivers resigned from that job.
Let’s sum it up with regards to Harrington, Tyer, and Wynn:
What they’re doing isn’t working.
Do voters stay the course and allow this to continue, or do we take matters into our own hands and change things hoping for a better outcome. To continue doing the same thing expecting different results is insanity.
If Tyer isn’t getting the job done, vote her out. With regard to Harrington, can a citizen petition be undertaken to trigger a recall vote if that’s the answer?
It’s obvious thought that this can’t go on much longer.
D.A.s in Massachusetts can not be recalled but a no confidence petition can be circulated and presented to her in an effort to wake her up.
They can be disbarred.
Public officials, including district attorneys, can be removed from office by our Supreme Judicial Court under G. L. c. 211, sec 4.
Just sayin’!
Marchetti can’t cook a three minute egg unless he tells the egg- ” I need you to wrap it up.”
Somebody got ran over at a third Thursday this summer. anyone know if they filed a lawsuit against the city? Asking for a friend.
So Summer and Labor Day is behind us now and could not help but notice while driving around over the weekend that potholes still exist, lines are not painted, including cross walks, traffic signage is laying on the ground, or being held up by a bucket and sandbags, or missing all together. Pittsfield is still decorated with orange barrels and cones. Wonder what the latest excuse for this neglect will be from Lovely Mayor Lin/Barr or Turocy (is he here, or was he ever)? Also while listening to the scanner, once again I noticed our ragged PPD was working more for the Brien Center than the tax payers. Does anyone know if the Brien Center reimburses the City for these “well being checks”? Why can’t the Brien have one of their hundreds of counselors check on them?
The Brain Dead Center . Wasn’t Turocy fired from the other end of the state, I believe it may have been Newton, for drinking on the job?
someone wanted to know why barry clairmont gave peter white 200.00 dollers for his campaign to win votes for tyer. just like they did for moon dina lampiasi at the DA office very good jobs
don.t forget donna todd rivers
@ PoliceReport – you are correct. Tyer has been a failure as a Mayor. She campaigned on public safety and blight. BOTH are WORSE now. Pittsfield running fast to the murder capital of America…great place for criminals, bad place for us reg folks. ALL blame is on Tyer, Wynn and now Harrington. Sweep ’em out, vote Graves !!!
In a bit of irony the city pays how much for all these flowers and big cement planters on the medium strips while along side the roads trash is everywhere you look. Could we take some of the money for the pretty flowers and use it to pick up the garbage instead?
and what lucky provider has the contract for all these saplings, planters and flowers? Or should I even ask? Is it someone getting tax breaks from the mayor?
I’m confused by the gazillion comments about the supposed crime wave we’re going through thanks to our DA, Andrea Harrington. Reads an awful lot like partisan hacks trading anecdotes to gin each other up, which tells us very little about the overall objective crime picture. Worsening crime hasn’t been my observation/experience at all since Harrington took Office so I dug around for some stats to see if I was missing something. I wasn’t.
Here’s a LexisNexis source for crime stats per the PPD:
http://communitycrimemap.com
DA Harrington has been in Office 8 months. Looking at the same 8 month period – Jan. thru Aug. – for the last 4 years, here are summary crime incident report stats as per the PPD. They are down across the board for all classes of crime. Still a long way to go before this city is tolerable, but the narrative that things have spiraled out of control in the last 8 months is a load of horse crap.
2016 2017 2018 2019
Homicide 5 2 4 3
Robbery 40 38 25 21
Aggr.Assault 188 196 188 188
Assault-Other 347 343 374 348
Burglary 272 259 349 140
Theft 333 298 344 201
MV Theft 19 18 41 28
Arson 5 2 5 4
DUI 55 53 41 18
Drugs/Narcotics 57 92 80 59
Vandalism 230 181 194 157
Weapons Violation 62 36 35 27
So why the fear-mongering and conspiracy theories about the Columbus Ave. murder? Simple. It’s an attempt to get political mileage out of a murder because it happened just as the mayor’s race is heating up. The idea that the investigation process, the crime scene, the declaration of death, etc. were all manipulated to gain Tyer an advantage in an approaching debate is not only daft, it’s offensive and unworthy of any further response.
Blare
Yah but, with this particular administration can you trust the figures? Information has been kinda tight the last few years I think you will agree.
It would be interesting to compare the numbers for years 2012-2015 to the stats for 2016-2019.
You posted crime under Tyer’s administration. How does this compare to the prior four years?
http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Pittsfield-Massachusetts.html
The number of crimes are actually down for quality of life crimes, this year, because the PPD and all departments have started not arresting subjects. Further the change at the state level on crime reporting as well as how juvenile crimes are handled have changed.
Fewer crimes are being reported and processed because the police, via instruction from the DA, have just stopped recording crimes. Theft, burglary, robbery, vandalism, weapons violations, all down because they just stopped investigating. Drugs, PPD as well as all departments have been informed that low weight drug cases will not be prosecuted, at all.
Whereas in the past, the police would come out for a mv break-in, and file a report. Now you call them, they won’t come out, you have to go to the station to file a report for insurance. They actually now even discourage that by mentioning a deductible and that your insurance premium might go up. There’s actually a memo floating around about it.
The real tells are assaults, violent crime that must be reported. The only caveat there, if it’s juvenile crime, it doesn’t get recorded anymore.
So what you will ultimately find, that “close rates” on crime as well as convictions as a ratio to arrests will go up also.
Yes. If you do note record, it does not show up on the record. Part of the scam.
I will vote for the Engineer, Al Blumin. A New Perspective.
Politically correct phonies running for office:
White
Guile
Shetty
Parsnip
Connell
Warren
Kooky
The Children in Elementary schools started today. The lunch menu is not on the Pittsfield School Department menu website. Incompetence is REAL in Pittsfield. They should be SO proud!! The first day!!
Sad, spa,sad. What’s next, create an area to vape.
Another shooting, this time the activity and chase lead out onto the sacred North Street.
No mention of who he was shooting at or why.
Only thing that actually stopped this was witness statements to police and police being nearby.
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/man-arrested-for-oui-after-shots-fired,583758
PITTSFIELD — A man was arrested early Tuesday after leading police on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed a Jeep through a fence at St. Joseph Church and hit a tree.
Domingo Sobers, 28, will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Central Berkshire District Court.
Officers responded to the intersection of Daniels Avenue and Union Street around 3:30 a.m. for a ShotSpotter activation, according to a statement from the Pittsfield Police Department. Police later found evidence of a shooting in that area and were informed that a Jeep Cherokee might have been involved.
Domingo might be out of a job with BRTA as a bus operator if his case doesn’t go CWOF.
OMG. Where’s our chief? On another literary tour on leadership or on the banks of the shores in Maryland dining on crabs and drinking scrumptious wine like our unmayor on Ventura ave. before she moved into The Gated Community.
While there was no mention of how many shots were fired or what the perp was shooting at there is NO INDICATION THE PUBLIC IS IN DANGER.
It is possible the gentleman was rehearsing for a role as a cowboy in an upcoming play at Barrington Stage. Kudos for his effort to stay in character between scenes. Cultural Pittsfield on very safe North street.
Just in on the wire…individual is indeed a member of the actors guild and was rehearsing for a remake of John Wayne’s ROOSTER COGBURN.
such a relief
if people don’t have any confidence in the DA picket the DA’s office until she resigns
Waste of time. People had their chance. She won the election. Now we have to live with the consequences. As a minimum, Tyer should have supported the law and order candidate, and Mazzeo should make a big issue out of it. Mazzeo is such a gosh darn dissapointment. She won’t win sittin on the sidelines. She’s gotta come out with guns blazin’, like now!!!
But, if Mazzeo wins, don’t expect much to change. Her and Tyer are two peas in a pod and both clueless on crime
I agree. Time to pack it in and cut your losses people. You can’t even put lipstick on this Pittsfield pig now. It’s too late for makeup when the corpse starts to rot.
Good idea
Mazzeo will make a great Mayor,she is more independent than you think. The problem with our city is we rely way to much n the state and we need to reign in spending. Many of Tyers projects are for the taxpayer,but very badly managed,Hell, anyone can appropriate money to fix anything,it’s not prudent to release our had earned tax dollars and continue to have a not so good product.
Karen Kalinowski said it all,she ( the Mayor) hasn’t held the administrators accountable (sorry Barry)…. and there are only two reasons for that,she’s busy doing something else and doesn’t know enough about how to get things done, herself,or she’s has to be beholden to special interests to get re-elected.
Personally, the fact that she didn’t involve the whole City Council to that meeting with the E P A did it for me. Another was the School, the Citizens should have had the opportunity to vote. I talk to a few students almost daily,horror stories.
Serious question:
Can anyone list ANY major accomplishments of Mayor Linda Tyer’s administration?
Can anyone list ANY of the cases DA Andrea Harrington has won as a DA, ADA, or as a defense attorney?
Can anyone list ANY of the law enforcement initiatives that Chief Wynn has implemented that has reduced violent crime in Pittsfield?
Uh, she didn’t have dubious dealing with Red Sox tickets?
Wynn was the first cop on the scene when they stole the keeshka.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCqZQUhBBHw
Tyer has the Tyler St. trash cans going for her.
I believe the G Man has that list.
Remember when the mayor held a giant press conference in city hall chambers and announced “We will not stand down” to violence blah blah blah.
What a debacle that was, surrounded by questionably competent public officials and token black people. Eddie Taylor saw the writing on the wall and high tailed it to North Carolina. Ty Allan Jackson is still on the groupie wagon, but is so far removed from the black community it’s laughable.
That was May 2016. Her pledge to make Pittsfield “very uncomfortable for gangbangers and criminals was a total pipe dream.
https://www.masslive.com/news/2016/05/pittsfield_mayor_linda_tyer_to.html
Everyone I have asked is strongly voting for Mazzeo.She will ask Mccandless what the hell did you do with the money.Did Mccandless and Tyer work from Herberg today?Dodge City does not sleep with gangsters running around all night with guns and drugs on Tyers watch.A couple thousand pittsfield kids don’t sleep at night wondering if the bullets will end up going through the wall of their house.Mazzeo will be the greatest mayor in Pittsfield history.Tyer raised taxes and departments did whatever they want.