By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2015) — Going on three days, and still nothing from the mayor on the murder and mayhem Saturday night that left one dead, two dying, and two wounded. THE PLANET covered that yesterday. We will only add that Dan Bianchi‘s head-in-the-sand approach to this latest outrage makes it clear, citizens: You’re on your own.

A vivid example is the “acting” status of Police Chief Mike Wynn. Mayor Jimmy Ruberto devised “acting” for the police and fire chiefs as a method of controlling them. When Bianchi campaigned against Ruberto in 2009, an election he narrowly lost, he promised to officially name permanent chiefs to these two critical public-safety posts. He repeated this promise when he narrowly won in 2011 against Peter Marchetti. He has failed to act on the pledge. Wynn is still “acting,” dissipating this man’s talent.

Pounding Pavement or Pushing Paper?

Wynn’s “acting” status has hampered his ability to manage the office. He must manage with the mayoral threat ever-present. For instance, are the department’s personnel being used in the best way possible? One police source says no: “Too many [officers are] doing too much desk work, administrative stuff, pushing paper.” Does the city want more officers pounding the pavement instead of pushing paper? The chief doesn’t want it that way, and yet …

Also noteworthy is the lack of reaction from other “players.” This would include other office holders and candidates. Linda Tyer, for example, Bianchi’s all-but-certain opponent come Nov. 3 with Craig Gaetani‘s campaign imploding and Eric Bassett residing permanently on the side of a milk carton, hasn’t said a word in a situation set-up for her like a hanging breaking ball fat over the plate. The situation presented an opportunity for Tyer to differentiate herself from the absent-Bianchi — visit the crime scene (as THE PLANET did yesterday), issue a statement, something.

Tyer’s critics portray her as a lightweight, a pretty face lacking substance. This was the chance for her to demonstrate otherwise. Instead, her campaign yesterday issued four press releases. When the first came in at 9:51 a.m., we thought, “Good, she’s going to say something about the gunfire.” Instead, we found a statement with the following headline: “Tyer Announces Results of 5K Race Challenge.” Huh?

Six minutes later, another Tyer press release arrived. Ah, this is it, we thought. Her demonstration of leadership for a city on edge.

Headline: “MEDIA ADVISORY/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY / Tyer to Address Parks and Playgrounds in Pittsfield.” Three minutes after that, a corrected version with a change of date. Two hours and 19 minutes later, another Tyer press release with the following message: “Good Afternoon, The media event scheduled for July 7th has been canceled.”

What hath God wrought? In its time of greatest need, in its most desperate electoral hour, citizens get  Scrabble.

The BB Chokes; Crime Scene Still ‘Active’

There were two other Day 2 developments following the shootings.

(1) First came the continuing coverage failure of The Boring Broadsheet. It got badly beaten by several news outlets, including THE PLANET. It apparently had no reporter to get to the crime scene for first-hand coverage. Instead, it cobbled together a staff report from wire services and TV stations. More failure came in the Monday edition. The BB ran the same story it had on the web the day before — a no-byline laundry list pasted together from the work of other media. A responsible newspaper would have sent a news team  to the police station, the mayor’s office or home, and to the crime scene to get answers. Why no arrests? Are there any suspects? Were shell casings recovered? What type of weapons were used? Who were the victims? Why did this occur? What is going to be done about it?

(2) Second came THE PLANET‘s visit to Linden at Dewey. We went there to film a new opening to the hour-long documentary that will have its world premiere on PLANET VALENTI TELEVISION at 7 p.m. Thursday on Ch. 16 Time-Warner local access via PC-TV. Its title: “In-CITY-ous: Pittsfield’s Crisis of Confidence.”

After we were done shooting, no pun intended, not 50 feet from the murder scene, a dozen young people milled about, five women and seven men. One of the women was screaming something at one or more of the guys. Ebonics and Spanish mixed like Ovaltine and milk. One of the men was trying to calm another down. The body language looked aggressive, heading to “violent.”

We left in a car. A few minutes later, while stuck in traffic on North Street between Eagle and Fenn, two Pittsfield police SUVs with lights on, sirens blaring, flew past traffic in the northbound lane. Dave Bubriski, our TV producer, was driving.

DAVE: “You think they’re heading to what we just saw?”

DAN: “Most likely.”

DB: “Want to double back?”

DV: “Yup.”

At HOTEL ON NORTH, not far from the murder and shootings, a riderless bicycle stand vigil, unmourned, “Sham’d by Ridicule alone.” (PHOTO BY DAVE BUBRISKI, SPECIAL TO THE PLANET)

We did. Minutes later, we saw the second of the police SUVs leaving Linden and Dewey. Whatever the trouble was, the police didn’t stay too long. In the vehicle’s wake, the same people began to cluster again. More raised voices. More ignorance and stupidity —

—  in broad daylight, about 10:45 a.m., mere footsteps from where the shootings took place.

Can you imagine those mean streets at night?

Citizens are upset. Families are terrorized. For leader-less “Official” Pittsfield, however, nothing of note happened at Linden and Dewey. Everything’s great.

It’s another sunny day in beautiful, downtown Pittsfield.

Meanwhile, in front of Hotel on North, not far from the shootings, a bicycle without a rider leaned forlornly on the empty sidewalk. It, too, had no direction.

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“So proud, I am no Slave: / So impudent, I own myself no Knave: / So odd, my Country’s ruin makes me grave. / Yes, I am proud; I must be proud to see / Men not afraid of God afraid of Me.” — Alexander Pope, “Epilogue to the Satires,” lines 205-9, (1738).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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