NOW PLAYING: “THE INVASION OF THE BIKE MAFIA” … or … McGEE & McGRATH BRING BACK VAUDEVILLE
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JULY 5, 2021) — THE PLANET‘s expose’ of the Bike Mafia’s plans to destroy Springside Park is a story with legs, as they say in the business.
It has morphed from the specifics of a particular project into a myth of why ordinary citizens are so disgusted with government at all levels. This myth exemplifies precisely what’s been wrong for the citizens of Pittsfield for a full generation and why city “leaders” have worked essentially to run good into the ground.
In Pittsfield, the recipe is so well known in local politics that the mayor, city council, boards, and commissions don’t need it to refer to it when cooking:
- Take one tiny Special Interest group, “connected” (in this case, bikers).
- Add a large measure of government sleaze.
- Garnish with the proverbial “smoke-filled back room.”
- Stir well, but don’t let an opposition group shake the mix.
- Let stand until corruption settles to the bottom.
- Shake hands with the devil.
In the case of “The Invasion of the Bike Mafia,” you end up with a ruined downtown traffic flow (nod to Nick “200 Hours Russo). Tweak the mixture slightly, and you have the destruction of Springside Park.
———- ooo ———-
THE PLANET and our spies keep poking around this dung heap, and the more we do, the more maggots we find.
The Bike Mafia has employed the recipe that been used in Pittsfield and Springside Park a number of times before. You only have to recall the plans for a golf course and tennis complex that would have included a high-end condo development with a parking lot built over a duck pond.
- Con the public by not showing the real agenda, which is to get a foothold then keep expanding.
- Keep hidden as much as possible.
- Give a sunshine/Walt Disney/family-friendly mantra for all websites, media, and talking points.
- “Influence” local government and so-called nature/environmental organizations (that aren’t) by any means necessary.
- Conduct false surveys that the bike groups themselves sponsor (without anyone else knowing).
- Present a false need.
- Deliberately ignore the fact that the Berkshire Chapter, NEMBA, already has nine bike parks from which to choose, including a “track cluster” of the Pittsfield State Forest, The Boulders in Dalton, Kennedy Park in Lenox, and October Mountain State Forest in Lee. These local arks supply plenty of mountain biking for anyone who wants to ride.
- Bring “The Children” — The Shire Shredders youth bike subgroup, complete with t-shirts — before the TV camera. This “out of the mouths of babes'” hype is a dishonest exploitation of kids. [ED. NOTE: Note the name of the group — The Shire Shredders — as in shredding nature trails and the woods floor. On its website, the Shredders already proclaim Springside Park as one of their ride locations].
———- 000 ———-
In our investigation, THE PLANET has unearthed even more interesting critters while raking the muck
ALISON McGEE
- Chief among them is the murky relationship among the Parks Commission, Alison McGee, president of the Berkshire Chapter, New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) and member of the Pittsfield School Committee, and commercial trail builder Powder Horn of New Hampshire.
- Did you know that the Parks Commission met with McGee each month from November 2020 to April 2021? No, because it received little to no coverage.
- At the Zoom meetings, commissioners gave McGee unlimited time.
- At the meetings, Jim McGrath, Open Space and Natural Resources Program Manager — what in saner times used to be called head of the Parks Department — cozied up to McGee’s plans with full support. Again, all this, according to our sources, was kept hidden from the public. McGee & McGrath. That combo might not only ring in the death of Springside Park but could revive vaudeville.
- At subsequent meetings, Friends of Springside Park were limited to three minutes each, while commissioners gave McGee unlimited Zoom time.
- At the April meeting, the Parks Commission tried to deny the opposition group any time to speak, telling them they had already spoken, this despite the fact that McGee got open, unlimited time for six months’ worth of meetings.
- At a secret walk-through at Springside Park in December, the only walkers were the Parks Commissioners, McGee, and local bikers. No public allowed or invited.
- On January 5, commissioners called a special meeting via Zoom. The bike proposal was the only item on the agenda. The only invited speaker? None other than Alison McGee, appearing as the chosen “star” of this wholesome, youth-based project.
- At the May meeting, McGee appeared again, this time pimped by the paid consultant, Josh Rebennack of Minnesota and Will Conroy, principal in Powder Horn Trails, the company that stands to make beaucoup bucks if the project is approved. Commissioners got an hour of Powder Horn propaganda with McGee and McGrath gushing.
- At the commission’s Thursday meeting (July 1), Conroy of Powder Horn, counting dollar bills for himself and his investors; and McGee, a walking conflict of interest, showed up.
- They weren’t originally scheduled to appear, but sources say they did because of the opposition group’s protests, particularly to the media — including THE PLANET. It was clear the Bike Mafia did it as a pacifying gesture. Commissions gave a token walk-through at the park then met to give the impression that they are open to public inpu. It came off more as a snake oil show for appearance rather substance, especially when they paraded five cute kids for a contrived drama intended to produce the “awwwww” factor.
- At the July 1 meeting, we saw shades of the Civic Authority battles redux. Commissioners ignored opposition comments. After everyone spoke, commissioners spent the remainder of the meeting attending to, discussing, and asking friendly questions of the bikers and Powder Horn’s Conroy. The bias toward the proposal was evident. Although other media outlets ignored it, it was THEEE story.
———- ooo ———-
THE PLANET took heat from the Bike Mafia for disputing McGee’s statement that the project was “approved” (by the by, we love the heat. That’s why we’re in the kitchen so much!).
Commission chair Anthony DeMartino has said repeatedly when asked that there has been “no decision,” and a final resolution is “far off.” At this point, THE PLANET takes the chairman at his word, but we’ve seen it far too often that such mollifying statements are made to hide what is going on behind the scenes. McGee spilled the beans when she bragged on her site of the approval.
When the project began in shrouds and secrecy, backers thought the heist would be easy. Now, there is meaningful opposition. That opposition is fast growing, and from the scrambling being done lately by McGee and McGrath, both of whom have yet to respond to our questions, as well as Powder Horn, they don’t know how to respond. Once can read their desperation when they brought in Rebenneck from the wilds of Minnesota.
———- ooo ———-
In every story like this, there are two sides but only one truth. It’s one of the functions of a vigilant press to seek out that truth, not by divining tea leaves and or being “objective” and splitting the story 50-50 down the middle. You find the truth by following the facts, examining the evidence, researching all sides, and talking personally to the principal players. THE PLANET came into this story neutral. We followed the evidence.
For the sake not just of Springside Park but also for the soul of the city we love, the Bike Mafia must be told to peddle their butts and bikes elsewhere. This is the most positive stand possible — the stand for nature, beauty, tranquility, and all that make The Berkshires “The Berkshires.”
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“Look out for No. 1, but when you do it, don’t step in No. 2” — Rodney Dangerfield.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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The Civic Authority debacle would have usurped democracy from Pittsfield politics and put political power in a few unelected hands. It failed, but then WHEN and Jimmy Ruberto came next in 2003. One of the WHEN ladies is the Lovely Linda Tyer, who has been the Mayor of Pittsfield since early-2016 – or for the past 5.5-years now. Jimmy Ruberto bet it all on downtown Pittsfield’s so-called cultural renaissance that turned out to be yet another one of Pittsfield politics’ costly failures. Local residents sarcastically joked that Ruberto’s renaissance rivaled Paris, London, NYC and L.A. “chuckles”. Instead, dangerous downtown Pittsfield is full of dozens of empty storefronts, social services agencies, the underclass, and daily gun shots that make local inner city residents fear for their lives. Jimmy Ruberto’s cultural investments with Kapanski Ka$h were insincere because he went on to lead the Berkshire Museum’s sales of tens of millions of dollars worth of historic artwork, which was one of the lowest points in Pittsfield’s decades of screw ups and DISSERVICES to the people of the Berkshires. Jimmy Ruberto writes letters to the editor of the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) and signs them from Naples, Florida, which is very far away from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Dan Bianchi seized on Ruberto’s snake oil sales pitches and expensive failures to serve as Mayor of Pittsfield for 4 short years, but Godfather Jimmy Ruberto organized around his former WHEN ladies with Pittsfield State Representative Trippy Country Buffet and the Lovely Linda. The Mayor, Linda Tyer, married millionaire Accountant Barry Clairmont, who filed a lawsuit against his wife’s 2019 challenger Melissa Mazzeo, and she (Linda Tyer) moved in with her husband into his wealthy gated community as far away from inner city Pittsfield as possible while still living in Pittsfield. The Lovely Linda is inaccessible to the average Pittsfield residents, but she and Barry are active with the big wheels in city and state politics. Linda Tyer is the perfect symbol of Pittsfield severe economic inequality and corrupt political insiders games of screwing over the proverbial Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family. Blogger Dan Valenti writes for the proverbial little guy, and is taking on the latest caper of turning Springside Park into a bike project and ultimately a bike park for the leisure class to degrade for their fun and recreation. What blogger Dan Valenti doesn’t fully understand and/or write about in his awesome blog that often is that when a proverbial little guy speaks out to the ruling elites who run Pittsfield politics on the state and local level, they only face retribution instead of a sincere welcoming from Godfather Jimmy Ruberto, Mayor Linda Tyer/Accountant and lawsuit filer Barry Clairmont, and State Representative Trippy Country Buffet, among other leaders of Palookaville. They will shut you out of their corrupt insider network, take away your job, play dirty politics against you, file lawsuits and/or other legal complaints against you, give police false information against you, spread vicious rumors against you, and make you want to drop out of the civic arena and even move out of Pittsfield. To be clear, all that they want is your hard earned tax dollars so they can sit on tens of millions of slush fund and stimulus dollars on the local level, and billions of the aforementioned dollars on Beacon Hill, while you sacrifice your lifestyle for no rational reason other than for them to hoard your tax dollars in their slush funds. Chrome Dome and Trippy Country Buffet still haven’t passed a state budget for fiscal year 2022 yet, but they have billions of excess dollars that they are sitting on. Chrome Dome and Trippy Country Buffet always talk up the environment and say they are fighting global warming, but where are they on the Springside Park bike project proposal? Perhaps Ed Markey can chime in from Chevy Chase Maryland with his hot air on the Green New Deal legislation that is still a pipedream in the Swamp. In closing, Pittsfield politics is infamous for screwing over the local people who pay for all of these debacles going back generations.
There should be term limits on the Parks Commission as well as the licensing board. As Pittsfield is proving once again, the longer a person is embedded with a board with huge power, the more likely special interests will co-opt the intended goals.
And because the city fights tooth and nail to head off any outside independent forensic audit there is absolutely NO oversight or control over spending. There seems to be a ballet like dance when it comes to any bidding processes and consultants will fly across the country to lobby the Pittsfield reconstruction scene. When was the last time a Pittsfield project came in anywhere near its original estimate?
Is this bike trail adventure really about bikers or is it about finding ways to distribute large sums of cash in the name of sport? Just curious because it seems like Pittsfield cannot find enough projects to spend enormous sums of money on while at the same time driving families out of town with ridiculously large tax increases.
How is being on the school committee a conflict of interest?
THOM
Here is an interesting comment on your question from one of your fellow commentators, KERMIT FROG:
“Would SC or another teachers union member share the emails going around asking union teachers to support this public spend on the bike trails?
Would School Committee person confirm if she was paid to lobby for the bike park? Has there been a negotiation between the Union and the city on current school contracts that involve union members supporting this spend?
What has the COP promised the teachers union if they support this spend?
Looks and smells like a conflict of interest.”
McGee is a city official. The evidence strongly suggest she is eye-deep in the secrecy that has shrouded so much of this “iceberg” project. She has touted the project as an educational supplement to what the school department can offer to “The Children,” particularly children in need and from poor homes (even though a good mountain racing bike cost upward of $10K!). There is a strong commercial aspect to the project, with city officials, including McGee herself, avoiding pertinent questions. Some $400K of seed money will be spent in Phase 1. Again, the evidence suggests this will be only the “foothold” phase of a much larger project, one that will presumably about to untold millions. All this spells CONFLICT in capital letters.
Thank you. Just wondering.
My pleasure, TM. You asked a great question. McGee is definitely in conflict here.
The conflict of interest is direct and simple.
She is the head of the NEMBA local chapter.
She is also a municipal employee.
“ (d) Self-dealing and nepotism. Participating as a municipal employee in a matter in which you, your immediate family, your business organization, or your future employer has a financial interest is prohibited. (See Section 19)
A municipal employee may not participate in any particular matter in which he or a member of his immediate family (parents, children, siblings, spouse, and spouse’s parents, children, and siblings) has a financial interest. He also may not participate in any particular matter in which a prospective employer, or a business organization of which he is a director, officer, trustee, or employee has a financial interest. Participation includes discussing as well as voting on a matter, and delegating a matter to someone else.”
ETHICS
Precisely. You are 100% spot on. This has CONFLICT for McGee all over, under, around, and through it.
Off topic – contemplate if you will; one individual person, simultaneously working at the DA’s office, Domestic/Sexual Violence Task Force, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Railroad Street Youth Project, Berkshire Health Systems, City Council, Berkshire Community College. So much for privacy and rights. I am the banker, baker, candlestick maker. This is the recipe for big injustice. Get another job at the post office & you’ll rule the world. That is a lot of phones ringing, & nobody answering. Thanks, for taking on multiple roles & creating a void in services. Great !
What’s the financial interest? How is she profiting from this?
Fair question. She has now refused three requests for comment from THE PLANET. The best explanation for a public official doing that? She hiding something.
But, but, but, .. BUT !!! “IT’s FOR THE CHILDREN”.
Oh my God. What a web of deception to avoid being honest with the people of this city.
The neighborhoods in the Springside Park area have already been taken over by the fireworks mafia during the 4th of July and it’s a noisy place to live during what should be an enjoyable day for everyone. Last night was the usual “Leave the neighbors shell-shocked” attitude so maybe the people in these neighborhoods don’t care about noise or their neighbors. Watching fireworks from a distance is the traditional way the 4th was always celebrated and not sitting on top of the fireworks, but the liberals want to change the traditions and, sadly, the end result of doing this is chaos and lots of disturbing noise. If these bikers all congregate in Springside Park, the surrounding neighborhoods will be aware of it and I don’t think it will be pleasant because the really noisy bikes will move in eventually once they get a foothold in the park.
What’s the difference between gunshots and fireworks in Pittsfield? Fireworks are once a year. Gunshots are year round.
That’s called “inclusion and diversity”.
Don’t be a racist and deprive “people of color” , their own special types of “fun”.
Pat, in all fairness, every neighborhood in Pittsfield suffers, or celebrates, at the hands of the fireworks mafia every July 4th.
In a urban city it is important to offer outdoor recreation of anything.Pittsfield is blessed with 27 parks of great size and resourses.We have 2 nice lakes and a State forest and skate bording and biking are part of that gift.My generation saw activity as only baseball basketball and football. Trump would be against skate parks and city parks for fun exercise…..Some people want to go back in time and thank god in Pittsfield we want to move in a healthy way into the future…..The angry stuck in the mud critic in 2021 are also Fox entertainment disciples.
You must live in a quiet neighborhood so you can tell the rest of us how to live.
Regressives dont like change unless its lower taxes for billionaires.Being anti labor does not work in capitalism.Everyone needs to participate
27 parks you say?? Any idea what the real cost of building, adding to and up keep for them is? No one does and no is going to find out I guaran effing teee that much. But does a city of 40,000 need 27 parks when the roads are shitty and many of the signs (stop, beware children, slow etc) are bent or faded beyond readability?
Parks are nice but should not be the main focus and in Pittsfield they seem to get more real attention than do basic infrastructure.
There are not 27 parks, however Pittsfield does include a larger area than most for its citizens enjoyment. Unfortunately a large swath do not care to go to them. In this day of Illegitimate Joe and the Kerry environmental team you would think everything would be getting kicked out of the park so they could plant more trees or solar farms.
An urban city? Is it possible for you to post without men Trump? He owns your head.
Good night 507
Kids used to hunt fish and trap too.
Silver Lake, spring fed from Springside Park once held edible trout.
Your future is addling your remaining brain cell, by eating more fish and frogs from GEs “clean river”. And stop dipping the paint chips in dip and eating them……….
Silver Lake once held edible trout, but it was a long time ago. Silver Lake has been polluted since the late 1800s, when the surrounding wool and leather refining mills used it to dump their waste.
Silver Lake of today is a clean mountain stream compared to the past. It ices over in winter for skating, fish and fowl are back, and the water is clear enough for swimming. The problem is that the city failed to deliver on its promises to turn the boulevard perimeter into a people’s park. The city doesn’t mow properly and has let the beautiful plantings (shrubbery, some exotic trees) fend for themselves. It’s overgrown and wild looking, but not in an inviting way.
Dan, can I bring You a glass of this fine water to drink?
How about me catching you a Friday fish dinner?
Or a roasted duck dinner on Sunday? Ducks/waterfowl from Woods Pond are classified as toxic waste by EPA. Can’t even put them in a landfill.
I don’t think I’d swim there. If you drive on the Blvd and get out and take a good whiff, the discerning nose can still detect PCBs.
I agree with the swimming, but there’s no reason it has to look so overgrown. Each mayor who takes office now shoulders the blame. Tyer’s turn for “Thanks for nothing, mayor.”
You can barely see the pond from most angles due to the fast growing forestation surrounding it. Perfect example of how this mayor runs the city. Once the financial icing is scraped off the project it is abandoned and another more lucrative one is started. LIke, say, a bike trail, or dog park, or pickle ball thingy or North street renovation. All roads lead to the almighty taxpayer dollar.
A forensic audit would paint a shocking picture but the wagons have circled to prevent such a thing. Why did Pete Marchewtti change his mind? I thought he was initiating one.
Yes, and it doesn’t have to be that way. As you point out, POINT, once the money is in and the thing gets done, it’s essentially abandoned, which suggests that certain people “got theirs” and they don’t need to “care” any longer. The Springside Park bike monstrosity will be the same thing if approved.
A drop in the bucket compared to what GE’s who brings “longer than lifelong”, toxins buried under rug that are still lurking.
A friend, who worked on cleanup stated more toxins, just in Sliver Lake, than in Love Canal superfund site.
Same with the token river “cleanup” so far, and the toxic wasteland for eternity proposed for Lee.
Right you are, Trapper.
No question Pittsfield let GE off the hook. Great work by Doyle and Hickey. They sold Pittsfield down the river for $10 million PEDA bux.
GE sold Pittsfield.ma down the river.They have zero plans to clean anything. Corp sham
Used to be the city’s swimming hole
yeah right
The people have proven that they’ll put up with anything, but the complaining will never cease. From the supersonic spinning wet ball, to 9/11, to wearing masks, to getting jabs etc etc. The people are accustomed to getting abused. Might as well just accept it, and move on, right? And then when the Moors say, “ we don’t recognize your authority “, the people get mad about that, and the people will say, “ how dare they, who do they think they are”?
Why do we have to pay for it? I would have no problem if a private company wanted to do this on land they bought with proper vetting. This city is driving out people as they cant pay their taxes. Its very Trump like to make the poor public pay for his folly.
What $ are the teachers getting for this? Can you tell us what the union position is and why are they supporting this?
They are the Moops.
Strong read! DV, this is why I attend class each week – I support independent, investigative journalism to challenge wrong doing that undermines democratic values and institutions, and sparks public debate.
Thanks, PM. The key word is “independent.” It’s fast become an endangered species in 21st century journalism. Have no allegiances. Owe nothing to no one. Go where the evidence takes you. Don’t back down. Dare to question, dig, probe. Be fearless. Follow the leads as well as the instincts.
Wow Dan, great expose! And your second to the last paragraph about truth hit it outta the park. Thanks for telling it like it is. Jim Bouton will be rolling in his grave.
Dan,the Baseball Man! Imagine Taconic playing in a Historic venue Wahconah Park and can make History today if they win, it would be back to back Championships first time ever.
Three P M is the starting time and admission is Free. Also Imagine pctv will not have their cameras rolling,what a shame.
They make damn sure Arts productions and politicians year round on T B R
Student radio channel is produced though. Shame on Mr. Marchetti and the Mayor and former Super Mc Candlees,Yon, and now Joe Curtis.
By the way taxpayersTheT in T B R stands for Taconic
STOOGA
Thanks for the THS baseball plug. Go Braves!
Here’s the real problem
An entire society, which has essentially given up their individuality and freedom in exchange for the indoctrinated conformist route, has decided, for the most part, that they’re not to sure that abdicating their own personal responsibilities to others, in government, is working out to well. And when such a society exists, whereby, the conscious mind has taken a back seat, and the decision is made, albeit unconsciously, that being a back seat driver, while a good idea, is not very practical, it comes much too late for the purpose of salvaging the mess. And even though this is a simplistic dumbed down version of what’s going on, the collective conscious mind is still not able to fully come to terms with the notion that freedom and conformity are two diametrically opposed ideologies. While their is a philosophical argument for and against most anything, because, ideological shades of gray are ever present, this is, for the most part, the truth. In the end, the unconscious collective are sidelined and reduced to complainers, because, they are unconscious.
This is why it’s extremely important to accept basic truths, such as, we don’t live on a supersonic spinning wet ball. It’s a small gesture that takes a bit of courage to come to terms with. A people which doesn’t have the wherewithal to take such a small baby step in the right ideological direction is not deserving of living in a truth based sustainable society, and as such, they will not have it, because, by and large, such a society is reckless and immoral because they prefer the cold comfort of the lie, in order to sooth them, like a baby with a pacifier
NUT
Yeah, all well and good, but for this specific issue, why don’t you abandon the Philosopher mode and get down to cases. Less windage, more momentum.
Ok, Dan, you’re drawing attention to the so called government, which has run amok. But the problem isn’t the government, it’s the people. Would you ostracize many of your readers by leading them to those waters? Because you know that they would not drink from those waters? So, best to point the finger? To what end?
NUT
I lead no one. I present news, information, and points of view. The rest is up to the reader.
You don’t lead anyone with your take on government? Of course you do Dan, come on now. There’s a big difference between presenting the news in an objective manner as opposed to intermingling your opinion into it. Bike mafia? Ok Dan, got it. Presenting your point of view does not lead anyone, I mean, influence them, or, whatever. Symantics
And now you’re off and running onto Bill Cosby.
I’m honestly trying to understand what it is you do, or, what it is that you’re trying to do.
NUT
Presenting news in an “objective” manner? Objectivity has been the cause of so much propagandizing in journalism. Neutral reporting is fine for the routine business of public life: The next pancake breakfast from the Rotary, a ZBA meeting, school menus, election results, and the like. When it comes to the issues that define public life, objective reporting becomes a way to give the skunks a pass. An extreme example: “Objective” reporting would not take a stand and go 50-50 covering Germany’s Third reich under Adolph Hitler. Locally, on stories such as the Civic Authority debacle and presently, an attempt by a private group to make a money and land grab at Springside Park, “Objectivity” slants the story surreptitiously, for example local press coverage of the Bike Mafia: The bikers get sunshine and roses for 75% of the story, up front and top loaded, while the opposition group gets buried (do a content analysis, as we have done). In stories like this, there is a moral element, a “truth” that needs to be brought forward and defended. That’s what THE PLANET does. We provoke. We expose. We muck rake. We do it in the great journalistic tradition of Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, Westbrook Pegler, Drew Pearson, Jack Anderson, and others. As for Cosby, he was the victim of blind prosecutorial ambition because of his wealth and fame. My column isn’t about his guilt or innocence. The focus is on what can happen when prosecutors ignore justice and run wild, fueled by crooked politics.
And unless you’re prepared to counter what I’ve said here, what’s the point continuing?
Try cutting your joints in half.
And don’t forget about the big steal that happened right before your eyes without a whimper
Big steal?
Where’s Eco-Saviour Rinaldo DelGallo on this bike proposal? He fought against plastic bags & styrofoam – what about the destruction of the trees & the natural beauty of Springside Park?
Do you people really want the public park turned into a giant dirt track?
Great expose Dan!
Rinaldo Rulz! He would be an asset to state and local politics in the Berkshires. I think you could find Rinaldo at the Lenox Town Democratic Committee.
I do wonder why the sudden interest in Springside Park. For years it has been being systematically destroyed by dirt bikes and ATV’S. Snowmobiles have a field day when winter comes along so there is never a moments peace for the local wildlife or anyone living in earshot of the park. Where has all the outrage been?
Hunter Biden can be the new Jimmy Hoffa as the would be Union Boss for strippers and sex workers in the U.S.A. Maybe his father Joe Biden can go golfing with Hunter Biden and discuss giving union legal protections to America’s strippers and sex workers.
Hunter Biden proposed unionizing prostitutes, according to laptop texts (yahoo.com)
Pittsfield’s PEDA debacle can be turned into giant brothels and strip clubs. Hunter Biden can visit Pittsfield to tout the sex trades to the nation and rest of the world. Barry can give Hunter a tour of inner city Pittsfield’s streets at 3 a.m. Hunter can make an early morning cameo at Cumby’s with Bare Bare.
Bill Clinton has 26 known flight logs on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet. Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein must have been doing nothing wrong because Bill Clinton denied any illegal activities. But we’ve heard that one before. Bill Clinton was convicted of 2 felonies for perjury and suborning perjury. I wonder if Ghislaine Maxwell will spill the beans on Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and other rich and famous men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein. Some people say that if she does roll on the powerful then she will be murdered. She is between a rock and hard place in her NYC jail cell, while Bill Cosby walks free after 60 women came forward about being sexually assaulted and/or raped by the famous black actor.
Oh yeah, the politically connected in Pittsfield, Massachusetts are pushing for a bike project in Springside Park. But the Democrats are going to save the World from global warming! Or is it just more hot air?
What does all that have to do with my post? Good grief.
Of course they make it about race. If fireworks really do pose a danger besides noise pollution, then people of all races are in danger because white people live in poor and middle class neighborhoods too. So sick of everything now being about your race. This seems to be the future of medicine too. Every health issue will be seen from the perspective of race. This is so racist. The obvious answer would be to limit fireworks to what was done for years which is limited fireworks displays during a short period of time. No more neighborhood fireworks in densely populated areas where people are breathing in this sulfur and gunpowder, but that makes too much sense to the crazy far left who want to make everything about race so everybody breathes in this unhealthy air from fireworks and ends up with lung issues.
Fireworks pollution does present a threat to all, but the intent in viewing so much from the perspective of race is to address systemic inequities. This is in essence racist, as Pat correctly points out, but the intent is benevolent, in contrast to the way that the term ‘racist’ is usually used.
i believe there is much more to this than meets the eye. there is no reason why anyone would drop a half-million $$$ for 1-2 acres. ‘phase 1’ reveals just how far this is already planned to go, yet undisclosed – the entire park. what other aspects are there – as with the golf course and other proposals, construction in and near the park, condominiums, restaurants, skateboard ‘parks’, e-bikes, dirt bikes, atvs? a wreckreational complex to destroy the whole environment and nature of springside and all its living things. with so many other venues where biking is already happening throughout the berkshires, there is absolutely no reason for it to be at springside. unless there is a hidden agenda that is not being made public. new and fashionable stealth styles for the wreckreation waltz….. one dance to avoid……….
Couldn’t get down to the game at Wahconah was hoping to see or hear it,guess not. Anyway wishing Taconic all the luck,the young man pitching for Taconic will get it done,my son played against his team many times but he never pitched against him?
Go figure,we couldn’t beat Sherman’s team anyway,for some reason. Look for Vans to have a big game,like that kid,talented.
Vans just ripped a bulertt for two rbi Taconic was losing, but now Taconic is up 13-6. Good call M V B !
ROYAL
Your comment gets at one of the essential points in this matter. The Berkshire Chapter of NEMBA already had nine riding parks in its jurisdiction. Why does it need 10, and why at Springside Park. The only logical reason would be a much larger expansion than the initial beachhead proposal now before the Parks Commission. And why does Alison McGee not respond to the tough questions. Same hold for Jim McGrath. If all is on the up and up, you’d think they would be eager to share the information on THE PLANET, which, truth be told, is the only media outlet in the state covering this issue with honestly.
Follow the money. If you could get details on all the other park renovations over the last 15 years, and who got the contracts, and if there was an honest bidding process, what would you find? We are talking millions of dollars. Perhaps tens of millions of dollars. Where did all this money wind up?
According to this mountain bike website, there are over 400 miles of trails in the Pittsfield area for mountain bikes.
Pittsfield, Massachusetts Mountain Biking Trails | Trailforks
CAT
Great information. 400 miles is plenty. So what actually is going on with Springside Park?
Royal I always thought as my Mom and Dad told me that Springside is one big wetllamd and untouchable? That is why they kept mucky culvert next to the wading pool-untouched in the sixties. The pool was outside the wetlands area, nearer to the road.
If only there was an easily accessible place to fact-check the idea that Springside is one giant wetland… Oh, there is… https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/data/mapper.html
You don’t believe glads mom?
July 4 weekend 150 killed out our four hundred shootings in U S. Cant blame Trump!!!
ChiCAGO!!! Bang bang bang!!!
It is true, you can’t blame Trump for this.
Democrats blame law abiding people who own firearms. Not the criminals.
No we don’t. I’m a lifelong liberal D and do not blame firearm owners. We blame criminals.
You must live in lala land.
Everywhere Trap.
Read some this stuff and you get the idea that this seems to be a done deal.
https://www.berkshiremtb.com/
Just read that Bike Lane Russo is no longer running for a Council seat. Whew that was a close one! Was afraid our Ward was going to have bike lanes running all through to add to the two pot shops, a huge pot farm and a methadone clinic which all were opened with absolutely no consideration to the hardworking tax paying residents of this Ward. Wonder if he figured he screwed up North Street so bad that he didn’t stand a chance?
“200 Hours” came to his senses. Perhaps he will learn from his rookie mistakes and go on to better things in the future. THE PLANET hopes as much for the lad.
200 hours has a cushy job lined up gonna work for the city, full time. $65k and bennies
JACK
What’s the job? Sounds like nepotism rides again for “200 Hours.”
New job, Special Projects for Tourism and Recreation
Yeah, perfect. The kid who got almost $34K to wreck downtown and who gets shamed out of running for council gets rewarded with a 65K-plus-bennies “make-work” job. Tyer and the council enablers ought to be ashamed.
He knows too much now they gotta keep him happy.
All he has to do is cause chaos. Any way he chooses.
Doesn’t one of those 3 new positions just created pay around that amount? I might be wrong on my whole thinking.
I doubt it. Another heist with more loot must be in the works, too much light was shed on his last caper.
Who is left?
Mickey Mouse, Mighty Mouse, Tom & Jerry, Underdog, Kermit the Frog, and Scooby-Doo.
Looks like a very productive City Council. I am sure they would be much more attentive to the taxpayers then the current Council. At least they all aren’t locked in their attics on ZOOM meetings. Bring them on.
and Felix the cat for some racial balance
“Here I come to save the day….!”
Not to fear! Mighty Mouse is here! Either that, or Andy Kaufman.
heart emoji
Me too.
Time and place
Another candidate is Charles Kronick.
He definitely seemed to be an insider special interest plant who will almost certainly be replaced with another insider special interest plant. (like Yuki and Lampiasi who could just stay home and mail in their contributions further insulting the people who elected them.)
Taconic won the state championship game today at Wahconah Park. Thousands were in attenedance. Best game I ever watched, live or otherwise. Both teams played great. I didn’t know a high schooler could hit one out of that park but it happened when number 4 for Taconic hit a 3 run homer over left field fence. And after Medfield rallied in the 6th, to go up 6 to 4, taconic put up 10 runs in the bottom of the 6th, and put the game away, although the other team mounted somewhat of a comeback in top of 7th. I believe the final score was 14 to 10. Hats off to both teams.
Congratulations Taconic.
Did Tommy Grieve hit one out? How about Carl Botez?
I would have loved to have seen the game. Hats off to the kids. For all its faults as a city, Pittsfield still has great baseball.
Pittsfield has great parks,fields,coaches, youth leagues,athletes .We are a great surviving city.We survived GE ….Pittsfield kids are not what most of you people think they are.These students are winners.Pittsfield has bad councilors who simply cant budget.Pittsfield has bad school administrators and a bad mayor who also can budget.Still a great city.
I hit three out as a little leaguer,can verify.
Its time American conservatives tell us what they saw on live television on 1/6/2021.The answer will tell us if the reublican party is the domestic threat to our very young democracy.I think democracy has already lost except that this insurection is still in the hands of the fascist Trump royal family.That simple fact makes me ill.The New York City narcissist is in charge of so many scared racist I never knew how big the power of hate was in our country.The billionaires use the hate and secure their power.
I saw the congress certify a fraud of a selection.
Conservatives tried to tell everyone what they saw on tv with the burning, looting etc.. but the CNN news casters said, everything was calm at the time. We weren’t seeing what we had seen. So why bother?
J2S
Check out video of the looting of an upscale store in SF. All of them black youths. Way to help race relations, knucklheads.
Then there is people like this.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/07/senior-san-francisco-official-compares-complain-surging-crime-looting-kkk-members/
More nonsense from this buffoon.
You are not a baffoon
Another year and a half until the Holmes Road bridge gets fixed!
Geez! They’re really dragging their feet on this one.
https://www.iberkshires.com/story/65327/Holmes-Road-Bridge-On-Schedule-Construction-Set-for-2022.html
In 1942 they built a highway to Alaska, through wilderness.
The mASShole DPW “excuse” is power lines running down the rail tracks.
The Chinese could build that bridge in an hour. It took them only two years to do this one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan_Yangtze_River_Bridge
Concerning Springside and rest of city parks, most have been ruined by the crooks in city hall and their minions/cohorts. Everything they touch turns into sewage quick. Will they have a special section to traverse the “bum tent” area, maybe some jumps over 2 3 or 4 bum tents?
Why not spend the city’s loot to reclaim the little spring fed pond in the park. Maybe some panfish for the kids to learn fishing. I’d support that.
Has anybody contacted the people who sell mountain bikes? What is their interest in all this? Larry at Arcadian shop?
The city demolished Wild Acres, and the Kaminski Farm, for that “economic engine” of an airport. How has that worked out? I remember the fishing derbies there each spring and how nice and peaceful it used to be.
Is tired around? Should be seeing a big photo op for the Braves win.
Parks should be sacred especially this one. Keeps hands off city hall!
Is the splash pad fixed at Clapp? Only have a month or 2 left of summer…..wondering what that cost us
Anyone else remember this? Oh it’s a Jewel and …. 2019
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/archives/mill-town-capital-proposes-45k-project-at-springside-park/article_3a3c1cd2-80b3-5e8a-
936c-4d99d89aa3ba.html
Link isn’t working sorry
2019 May article
PITTSFIELD — Springside Park is a city jewel in need of polishing, members of Mill Town Capital and Greenagers say.
To achieve that, the two groups propose the city allow them to tackle and pay for a $45,000 project at the Pittsfield park this summer. Mill Town Capital, a Berkshire investment firm, approached the city last month with a trail overhaul idea to be executed by Greenagers, a Berkshire nonprofit that hires young people to do environmental work.
The Pittsfield Parks Commission voted Tuesday to accept the offer. The project now goes to City Council for final review.
The project involves blazing markers on the “confusing spaghetti network” of trails along the park’s 238 acres, according to a letter to the city’s Parks Commission from Caroline Holland, Mill Town’s managing director.
Those behind the project also want to add informational kiosks at five locations in the park, construct bridges at four stream crossings and provide gates to deter all-terrain vehicles from entering the trail system.
Holland said the investment firm secured funds for the $45,000 project from a private donor. She said Mill Town proposes the city accept the work as a gift.
“We’d love to see more users in the park,” Holland told Parks Commission members Tuesday. “It’s such a little jewel that we have in the city.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Greenagers dug into Springside. The city awarded the organization $5,000 last year from Community Preservation Act funds to consolidate and reconfigure trails at the park. Greenagers proposes hiring young people from Pittsfield and Dalton to do the work over school vacations, according to Holland’s letter.
Jim McGrath, the city’s parks and natural resource program manager, said he and his colleagues welcome the support from Mill Town Capital and Greenagers.
He said city staff plan to walk the park with members of the Greenagers team in order to identify high-priority areas.
McGrath said last year’s project focused on the southern portion of the park.
“We were very pleased with that work,” he said.
McGrath said continued trail work “is critically important to the enjoyment of Springside Park.” Unauthorized trails have cropped up over the years, he said, contributing to a trail system increasingly unfriendly to users.
“For someone unfamiliar with the park ,it might be easy to get turned around,” he said.
Joe Durwin, a longtime Springside advocate and member of the city’s Parks Commission, said the project presents an exciting opportunity for the city and for the park.
“I’m thrilled that through private investment we’re finally making some gains with the rest of the park,” he said.
Many of the trails are superfluous, he said, and interrupt the natural landscape and wildlife habitat. Once the Greenagers team does its work, “it will be a lot more navigable and less confusing.”
The planned gates are perhaps the most exciting, Durwin said. He predicts they’ll cut down on unauthorized activity at the park, citing all-terrain and off-road vehicles that sometimes plow through trails.
“That’s going to improve just basic park safety and security, and that’s something that we all are always trying to be cognizant of,” he said.
Ok so greenagers is in (the garden) bed with mill town. Makes Perfect sense now. Perfect. Check the greenagers grants & too, find out if their kitchen complies w/ sanitary code. They get money then they make out w/ youth (slave) labor & call it evo/education. Conklin here, familiar name- interesting, lots of insider NFPO names are going “green”.
Can we get some volunteers up to Dan Fox drive to pick up the trash and mow the hay on the sides of the roads? Preferably in that order. The city seems to love the airport but not necessarily the roads leading to it.
Oh, it will look pretty after the pipes are done all the way to Bousquet and the other venues being planned. Local politicians will make sure of that section at least will be done.
Go to Milltowns site and see the partnerships they have with the different groups and dig a little on the people who run those organizations.
So if Milltown has given up on its original plan it must be going to get a bite of the bike trail apple.Are they kind of a quasi governmental agency for Pittsfield now? Either above or below the surface?
Good question, are they in out on Cascade St? The city auctions of some lots on Cascade st, then they pave the street after years of neglect. I was told Milltown was involved but I did see Andy mick as the selling agent
What happened to the pickle ball moochers proposal for the park?
They will be back. They are regrouping especially with all the cash being distributed during and after Covid.
Anyone else remember this? Oh it’s a Jewel and …. 2019
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/archives/mill-town-capital-proposes-45k-project-at-springside-park/article_3a3c1cd2-80b3-5e8a-
936c-4d99d89aa3ba.html
Most sane humans avoid The Left Winged Parrot, as you need to pay tribute to Rutburger et al, to access the drivel.
It’s a community thing
I see that the largest teachers union is promoting Critical Race Theory being taught in our schools. However, over 2 dozen states are opposed. Not MASS! No surprise there.
Is CRT currently being taught in our schools? Or is it planned for next year?
mASS has taught perverted sex to children in schools for over 20 years now.
“Fisting [forcing one’s entire hand into another person’s rectum or vagina] often gets a bad rap….[It’s] an experience of letting somebody into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with…[and] to put you into an exploratory mode.”
The above quotation comes from Massachusetts Department of Education employees describing the pleasures of homosexual sex to a group of high school students at a state-sponsored workshop on during GLSEN-Boston’s “TeachOut” Conference on March 25, 2000 held at Tufts University.”
https://www.massresistance.org/docs/issues/fistgate/index.html
You seem to be following this very closely MT. You seem fascinated with the story.
I would suggest concerned rather than fascinated. Sick sh!t being pushed on children starting at a young age.
Pointstoponder
Just because a person researches certain activities doesn’t mean they have a proclivity towards the activity in question.
Why do ZZ Top fans holler and scream to “Pearl Necklace?”
A woman in back of me at the Dec 2020 concert in New Mexico said “My Mom loves this song. I don’t have the heart to tell her what it means.”
So if your kid comes home from school and says “We talked about felching (before/after lunch) wouldn’t you want to know what that was and query it on line?
Just because you ask, doesn’t mean you want to do it!
And your probable question on “Why” I know all this information is that this semi-public, obscure activity has and is suppressed because “certain” people/politicos that are/were involved.
I’m disgusted at what mASSachusetts passes off as “education” to impressionable young children. These are the same deviants who to have “Drag Queen” hour for pre-schoolers.
SOBs don’t care if the kids never learn to read , write or do basic math.
Pittsfield politics teaches it too. “Assume the position, Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski”, “Grab your ankles, Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski”, “On your knees, Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski” at municipal tax and fee billing time.
Mr. Melle, you are making perfect sense.
Why does she keep exaggerating the truth? What does it say about her idea of the ethics of evidence? What are her moral principles?
DA Andrea Harrington @harringtonforda
4d
My time as a death row attorney shaped my view of the American justice system.
JAMES
Maybe she’s referring to her office when she mentions “Death Row.”
Can anyone find out or know exactly what she did as an attorney anywhere prior to being in the right place and time for her current job?
That would be like asking for how many times the current council and administration made tough choices to save the tax payers money…A fool’s errand!
Great point.
What I found funny about her post, according to DeathPenalty.Org, more white people have been executed in this country since 1976, than black and Hispanic people, combined.
Just a page out of the “progressive” playbook. When all else fails, bring race into the mix.
I wouldn’t trust Wrong Way to represent me in a traffic ticket appeal, much less a capitol case.
Capital case…
http://dadifference.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DaDifference_Questionairre_AndreaHarrington.pdf
She was a minor research assistant on a few cases. She was not a lead attorney nor was she even a chaired attorney. Typically names on briefs are listed in order of importance to the case, her name was always last. More telling is that in NONE of the transcripts of the cases does she present arguments to the courts. However there is a letter of censure related to her participation, meaning she, in her wrong way sort of way, did untold damage to a case because of mishandling of evidence, in this case she presented letters that were not admissible into evidence and not properly submitted.
To the editor:
During the debates of the candidates for Berkshire district attorney, Andrea Harrington keeps mentioning her death penalty cases of 12 years ago in Florida and not much since.
My curiosity prevailed so I decided to look into this matter a bit. It seemed to me to be odd that she says she was reversing death penalty cases.
From what I found out, Andrea Harrington had an entry level job, straight out of law school for about a year and a half with a firm that attempted these reversals. She was never a lead attorney, and on every brief hers was the last name mentioned on the brief which, by no means, equals her portrayal of her experience when she is campaigning.
After my research I came away realizing that not only is she inflating her experience way beyond what it is. We need an honest district attorney who tells the truth.
Harrington supporters, find out the truth about all the candidates before you vote. I think you will be surprised at what you find and don’t find regarding Andrea Harrington.
John H. Hart,
JAMES, Why is she even on twitter???? We don’t have a death penalty. We don’t criminalize marijuana use. Nothing Harrington says has any connection to Berkshire County or Mass. How does she have time for this garbage but can’t return the media’s request for comment on 50 cases awaiting jury trials and people being detained for more than a year? “Harrington was not available for an interview, McKeever said.” Can you say broken record??!??
DA Andrea Harrington
@harringtonforda
The continued penalization and criminalization of marijuana use in the United States perpetuates unbelievable harm.
I would be so proud to have Sha’Carri represent us at the Olympics.
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
I copied and pasted a news article from the NH Union Leader online newspaper about the City of Manchester, New Hampshire’s Mayor Joyce Craig’s proposal to spend the municipal government’s $43.2 million in direct aid “Biden Buck$”. Mayor Joyce Craig surveyed 156 city residents on how the city government should spend the stimulus dollars. The city has received $21.6 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) so far, and is expected to receive another $21.6 million in May 2022. The stimulus funds have to be allocated by the end of 2024 and projects using the funds must be completed by 2026. She is hoping to win approval from the Board of Aldermen (& Alderwomen) tonight – Tuesday, July 6th, 2021 – and then send the spending plans to her city’s finance office. She wants to get these funds out to the people, agencies and business who have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as soon as possible.
Has Mayor Linda Tyer done any of this with her city government’s $41.7 million in direct aid “Biden Buck$” in Pittsfield, Massachusetts? If the stimulus funds have to be allocated by the end of 2024, which is less then 2.5 years from now, and projects completed by 2026, which is less than 4.5 years from now, shouldn’t the Lovely Linda be doing what her counterpart in Manchester, New Hampshire is going to do at her Board of Mayor and Aldermen (& Alderwomen) meeting tonight – which is spend the city’s stimulus dollars as soon as possible to help the people, agencies and small businesses in her community?
Best wishes,
Jonathan Melle
Amazing that 63 % of republican voters believe states took Trump vote
Did not realize working class families were outcast….. my dreams are shattered.
In that time, people didn’t even go to rehab. They drank in the closet & never told. No one asked. We rode with a Budweiser in the cup holder. It was situation normal. Unless you were wealthy.
Then they maybe did rehab, legit, it wasn’t common at ALL in the 80’s to go to “rehab” she is full of shit. (da said dad went to rehab wherefore she too; suffered) she knows what it’s like – hahahahahahaha. STOP ! Andrea. Stop. You have no idea. And saying you do is an insult. We didn’t watch LA law after-school because we were raising someone else’s kid – catchmeousside, then you really might know what it’s like.
I wish the comments would focus on the public interest in developing a local park for a special interest. What are the pros and cons? If Springside is abandoned by everyone but drug dealers then it might make sense especially if the cost to police it is high. But of course, police will be needed for a mountain bike park so this may not be an issue. If the mountain bike park will bring in substantial revenue to the city, it might be worth it but I am always very skeptical of economic impact studies done by consultants paid by interested parties.
Why doesn’t anyone in these 155 comments see fit to discuss this rationally, as a policy question?
CHUCK
Great comment. THE PLANET can make the case. We can plead for on-topic discussions. And yet there is something about the internet that makes that almost impossible. For every one message that is apropos and rationally presented, there are nine that are of the “You stink” variety.