GREAT HONOR FOR STATE, CITY: SPJ’s ‘BLACK HOLE’ AWARD
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION APRIL 24-6, 2026) — Let’s see. By THE PLANET‘s count, we have more-or-less 50 states in the union. Care to guess which one stands alone as the only state that exempts the governor’s office, the legislature (both houses), and the judiciary from public records law? You read that right. In this state, all three branches of government can hide any documents from citizen taxpayers.
Give up?
Here’s a hint: If you live in Berkshire County, you live in that state.
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Dan Valenti kicks off his NE book tour for Sanity Made Simple in Pittsfield … 2 p.m. Saturday 4/25, Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Stop by, get a free book, and meet the author!
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We see this unhealthy pattern of secrecy in every level of corrupt government in the Commonwealth. Gov. Maura “Openly Lesbian” Healey continues to bury hundreds of entries to the state’s ICE Misconduct Portal, where anyone can share what they know about illegals grifting on your dime. As for the courts and legislature, where’s the audit of the State House that voters overwhelmingly approved (72%) in 2024? Stuffed by the do-nothings and no-goods in the house, the senate, and by DEI-AG Andrea Campbell, who has worked tirelessly to block the audit.
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At the local level … you kidding? There aren’t enough photons in THE PLANET‘s computers to list all the violations. Let’s exemplify with the city’s refusal to release to “independent” report on the corruption and slime in city schools — even though that report was conducted and sanitized by two retired judges with strong local connections to The Suits. Professional courtesy.
SANITY MADE SIMPLE: Aphorisms, Epigrams, and Other Parsed Phrases, is available now at amazon.com or at any Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Just $14.95 for the paperback, $4.95 for the e-book. Your purchase will help support a Pittsfield-based small business.
We could also include this omertà the settlement of Victoria May’s lawsuit against Pittsfield’s Mayor “Openly Gay” Lumpy and the Pittsfield Co-Op Bank. The sides reach agreement at the end of March. There was no announcement, but THE PLANET‘s spies dug out the notice in the court records.
That official Bitchfield continues to hide its misdeeds proves the old saying about shit running downhill. In fact, the gutters direct the smelly stuff directly in the corner office, council chambers, and school committee sessions.
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THE PLANET didn’t realize the Bay State’s singular place in the Sunshine Hall of Shame until we got word courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), a group we first joined on Oct. 17, 1974. SPJ’s Freedom of Information Committee presented its “Black Hole” award to Massachusetts. The committee cited MA “for
deficiencies in the state’s public records law, including broad exemptions, weak enforcement mechanisms, and persistent delays that limit access to government information. Despite a legal framework that purports to guarantee access to public records, Massachusetts [leaves] significant portions of the state government shielded from public scrutiny.”
The SPJ report noted:
- Requests for public records are typically delayed or ignored altogether
- Officials routinely ignore statutory deadlines
- High costs throw a wet blanket on attempts to pry public records lose
- Enforcement mechanisms for public-records violation are virtually nonexistent
- Seekers of public records must often seek redress through the courts, a costly, time-consuming process.
- Compliance is inconsistent and unreliable
- There’s almost no central oversight or accountability.
You can take all seven of these complaints, and you have an accurate picture of city government under Two Pete’s & Dumpster.
Have a great weekend, everybody.
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“Secrecy: The freedom dreamed about by tyrants” — Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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April 23, 2026
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
Governor Maura Healey always likes to blame Donald Trump for many of Massachusetts’ economic problems. In return, her critics call her “misguided Maura” due to her own public record of severe state funding cuts to social programs.
Earl and the 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics all support record-breaking municipal operating budgets, while always asking for increases in state administered, federal funding: which is what State Aid is, which will NOT solve Pittsfield’s financial crises.
Where is PAC Man Richie Neal when it comes to the diminished federal funding that the state government needs and administers in Boston? Answer: He is probably on K Street in the Swamp always filling up his campaign coffers with millions of corporate dollars that have little to nothing to do with his mostly rural Western Massachusetts Congressional District.
State Representatives Leigh Davis, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and John Barrett III are all do-nothings in Boston. State Senator Paul Mark is a BIG rubber stamp in Boston.
The Berkshires’ former state lawmakers enrich themselves in Massachusetts politics. Dan Bosley is a greedy lobbyist in Boston. Peter Larkin is a GE lobbyist. Nuciforo is all about BIG insurance companies in Boston and the state’s lucrative marijuana industry.
Despite the systemic secrecy and corruption in Boston, we all know full well what is going on in Massachusetts politics.
The state and local career politicians are all do-nothings, symbolize rubber stamps, like to blame Donald Trump while they themselves severely cut state funding for social programs, enrich themselves as greedy and GE lobbyists, serve as a corrupt financial lawyer in Boston and millionaire marijuana businessman, and support record-breaking Pittsfield operating budgets while asking for increases in State Aid that does nothing to solve Pittsfield’s financial crises.
The Massachusetts State Government should NOT be this bad, but this is what happens when a group of one political (Democratic) party insiders treat grassroots and bipartisan democracy like their ATM, doormat, and worse.
“Pay to Play” politics leaves the fictional Kapanski family with a very high tax bill!
Best wishes,
Jon Melle
P.S. When I have $100 left over at the end of the month, it is still a lot of money to me. I wish that the government would invest in people and communities, but I am happy with the $100 bill because I know better than to dream about having an good and honest politician represent someone like me in the Halls of Money and Power.
All of this means that Massachusetts government can get away with a lot and it does as we see everyday. Hiding the corruption in the schools is disgusting and it helps to hide their liberal agenda of indoctrination. Lizzie Warren thinks she can do whatever she wants with taxpayer money and with the lack of transparency we don’t know what she is funding.
Hey c’mon Dan, can’t you at least get the plural of photon correct? Your credibility suffers! Delete this!
You may sleep easy tonight, JP. The rouge apostrophe has been assigned to Eggy land.
Since childhood I have always heard our state called Taxachusetts, for about 10 years or more it is Crapachusetts. The whole state is full of crappy elected officials.
One part of your post really hit me. Mayor Lumpy reached an agreement in March with Victoria May! This totally explains why Mayor Lumpy treated Ciarra Batory like a piece of crap on live TV at the School Committee meeting in early April. He knew he could get away with it. He couldn’t even behave for a full month. His behavior at that meeting reminded me of a toddler throwing a tantrum. Recently I also viewed this behavior during an interview on It’s Pittsfield Tonight. The host asked some very straight forward informative questions but in doing so he hit the “Mayor Lumpy, HOW DARE YOU GO AGAINST ME NERVE”, out comes the bright red face and the uncontrolled temper and words. This uncontrolled temper would be laughable if it didn’t affect the hardworking taxpayers of Shitsfield. Didn’t realize, as Mayor Lumpy, in HIS words “first openly gay mayor” would have such hissy fits, now we all know, but a bit too late.
Pittsfield is getting a new stadium and another new not cheap SPLASH PAD for one of its parks. no worries about the budget or taxpayers ability to keep up with the spendamonium.
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