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PLANET FORCES BIANCHI TO FIX ROADS … WE DEMAND, MAYOR CAPITULATES

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2015) — Politics as a study in human behavior will always fascinate us, but we ourselves remain immune to the toxic effects of power. We employ our influence solely for the surrogate use of Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, the forgotten Little […]

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CHESHIRE SCHOOL VOTE AFTER MATH ILLUSTRATES GREED OF SPECIAL INTERESTS … plus … THE COMMENT LINE IS OPEN

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, JUNE 19-21, 2015) — On Thursday, THE PLANET informed you of how the courageous voters of Cheshire told its avaricious public school system: “Enough, already!” Voters rejected the school budget put forth by the school committee and Supt. Kristen Gordon that called […]

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CHESHIRE VOTERS REJECT FAT SCHOOL BUDGET; SUPT. GORDON CALLS A $1 MILLION HIKE ‘A CUT’ … PITTSFIELD VOTERS CAN ONLY LOOK ON WITH ENVY

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015) — In towns and communities throughout Berkshire County this year, voters have slapped back greedy initiatives advanced by local school departments, teachers’ unions, and their bobo politicians. Their message: “Enough is enough!” Two examples will suffice. Last year, South County […]

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MORE HOT WATER FOR INHELDER? EXECUTIVE SESSION IN HADLEY TONIGHT TO AIR ‘CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST PUBLIC EMPLOYEE, DPW, WATER DIVISION’

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015) — THE PLANET recently (and exclusively) told you about the hot water former Pittsfield Water Department manager Matt Inhelder has evidently gotten himself into in the Town of Hadley. You will recall that Inhelder “resigned” his position in Pittsfield six […]

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CAMPAIGN ’15? IT’S AS EASY (AND AS CROOKED) AS “ONE … TWO … THREE”

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2015) — Campaigns have turned into Death Marches for the electorate. Presidential campaigns now run spill over into the fourth year. Literally the day after Barack Obama turned back Mitt Romney to win a second term, he became a lame duck, and […]

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FLAG DAY: ‘THE NOW-OLD TALE OF BETTER DAYS’

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015) — On this Flag Day, THE PLANET‘s thoughts go back to the four years in the early 2000s that we were honored to deliver the keynote address at ceremonies at the National Archives. Each year, we would gather our thoughts […]

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JIV TALKING … RUNWAY ‘RECONSTRUCTION’ DOESN’T PASS THE SMELL TEST … SUNS PULL OUT GAME WITH 4-RUN 9th … BREATHING IN NATURE…plus…COMMENT LINE IS OPEN

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, JUNE 12-14, 2014) — Last night Pittsfield citizens and taxpayers got a chance to see JIV in action. The superintendent the Town of Lee couldn’t wait to put in the James Bond ejection seat basically called the millions more his school department […]

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SUNS TOP DEFENDING FCBL CHAMPIONS … SYRACUSE UN-RETIRES #44 … plus … COLEMAN, GARIVALTIS, and the BROWN DOTS

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI Sports and Commentary ADD 1 — Tonight, tune into PLANET VALENTI TELEVISION, featuring another round of guest-host Terry Kinnas, with Special Guests. The fun begins at live 7 p.m. channel 16 Time-Warner cable from the PCTV studios. Also tonight, our Right Honorable Good Friends on the city council preside over […]

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STATE TAKE-OVER OF HOLYOKE SCHOOLS BEARS EERIE SIMILARITY TO PITTSFIELD’S CHUMP DISTRICT … or … HOLYOKE TO PITTSFIELD: TOWN’S RECENT PAST A SHIRE CITY PROLOGUE

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015) — Public schools have gotten so bad in Holyoke and school apologists there have refused for so long to take steps to improve the situation that the state will bring in what it calls an “independent education expert” to replace […]

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JUST IN!! SWAIL (RHYMES WITH ‘FAIL’) GETTING OUTTA DODGE … MORE TRUTH ABOUT PITTSFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOL DEPARTMENT’s SCAMMING OF TAXPAYERS

 By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD 1, TUESDAY MORNING — THE PLANET has just received word from our spies that Pittsfield Highway Department head Kevin Swail (rhymes with “fail”) gave public works chief Bruce Collingwood his two-week notice this morning. Sources say Swail has taken a position with the Lanesboro Water Department. […]

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SOME PITTSFIELD FY’16 BUDGET TRUTH, AND, FOLKS, IT AIN’T PRETTY

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JUNE 8, 2015) — As its finances are managed, or in the case of Mayor Dan Bianchi‘s FY 2016 budget mismanaged, so goes the city of Pittsfield. If the city had a finance director who Warren Buffeted the job to bail out the […]

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MEET THE PLANET TONIGHT AT ARTSWALK … plus … REMEMBERING BETSY PALMER … THANKS MSSRS. KINNAS AND GAETANI … and … THE COMMENT LINE IS OPEN

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, JUNE 5-7, 2015) — Tonight, Friday, THE PLANET will be at The Marketplace Cafe in beautiful, downtown Pittsfield in an appearance as part of Artswalk. There will be a number of our paintings on display, free refreshments, and we shall be there […]

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COUNCIL FAILS AGAIN TO FOLLOW ITS OWN RULES; THIS TIME IT MIGHT HAVE A COST … MAZZEO, CONNELL NAMED IN COMPLAINT FILED BY KINNAS WITH STATE AG

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015) — On Tuesday night, our Right Honorable Good Friends (RHGFs) on the city council conducted their annual Follies Fatale talent show, informally known as a departmental budget review. This exercise sees the automatic approval of budgets submitted by the mayor. When […]

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CITY HIGHWAY DEPT. & ‘THE MAN FROM UNCLE’ … BOARDS NOW HAVE CONTACT INFO … plus … LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015) — It’s not what you know — or when, where, why, or how you know. It’s who you know, even outside of Whoville. For example, if you’re a landlord with empty space in a downtown commercial building, it pays to know the chief executive […]

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PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION … plus … MORE “BIANCHI ON MT. CARMEL”

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015) — THE PLANET has done a lot of things over the years. Modesty prevents name dropping. Suffice it to say, we’ve done most everything, met most everyone, and been all over. This Friday, though, we experience a first. Here’s the […]

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ANOTHER PITTSFIELD DEPT. HEAD JUMPS SHIP … OCD SOURCES: ‘DOUG [CLARK] LEFT BECAUSE MAYOR SOLD HIM DOWN THE RIVER

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015) — Last week, THE PLANET told you the true story behind the departure of Pittsfield Airport manager Mark Germanowski. What a laugh — The only way the “news” department at The Boring Broadsheet knew about this was by reading THE PLANET. Sure […]

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