BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION SEPT. 4-6, 2026) — THE PLANET has received a lot of feedback from our interview with Commander X, a mid-level command officer of the Pittsfield Police Department. Most of it has been from ordinary citizens, thanking us for sharing the info and providing a look into the operations of a key city operation that the mayor’s office and compliant council apparently want to keep hidden from the public. That in itself spells trouble.

THE PLANET did hear from a council source that the mayor wasn’t pleased about Commander X speaking out, that even with our source being careful about what he/she said and and how he/she said it.  Secrecy, veiled threats, and loyalty litmus tests — that’s how spineless politicians wield the power that voters place in their inept, cynical hands. Lack of transparency only invites suspicion from the public.

Any evident pressure from the corner office on the PPD command staff puts the PPD in an awkward position, especially with a new chief. Administrative pressure can only impede public safety by putting undue strategic emphasis on politics. That can never produce a good outcome for Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski. Meanwhile, we are pursuing through back channels more information from the police, and we can say there are forces within the department who want to see more of the truth emerge. Our sense is that there’s a tenuousness in command, one that Commander X likened to tightrope walking.

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Given all that, today THE PLANET planned on publishing our interview with a well-respected middle-school teacher, until …

… until the source asked us at the 11th hour NOT to publish. In a long career of investigative journalism, we have NEVER outed or abused a source, and we won’t do it now. Sources are the lifeblood of efforts such as this board, and their wishes rule. In fact, many times we receive information from a well-connected source meant only as background and not to be published. That is how we shall handle this request from our teacher, Miss Rachel (not her real name of course).

Funny thing is that she contacted us. We also don’t know if her decision to pull out related to a series of general staff meetings held by administration both within the local middle-school department and from Mercer. Such meetings are routine  prior to the new school year. We’ve heard some rumblings with respect to these meetings, but again, we won’t postulate.

———- ooo ———-

What to make of Miss Rachel’s change of heart? There’s not enough information to make a determination. Simple case of cold feet, even though we guaranteed anonymity? Did the school administration somehow get wind of our talks and convince Miss Rachel to “recant” even though we scrubbed her comments of any ID? Was it the mayor’s office? Someone else? THE PLANET can’t say, and we won’t speculate. We will, however, do some furtive followup with sources in the schools and at Mercer HQ. And let it be clear to our source and everyone else that we respect her decision.

We’ll be sure to let you in on what we can learn.

In the meantime, enjoy, feel free to comment, and have a great weekend, everybody!

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“School’s out forever” — Alice Cooper.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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