BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY FEB. 14, 2014) — First things first. Remember on this day that you can’t spell “Valentine” without “Valenti.” THE PLANET puts it directly to city council president Peter Marchetti: Opportunity knocks. Are you going to answer? On Feb 12, Marchetti received a letter from the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY Third in a Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY FEB. 12, 2018) — When the EPA hit Pittsfield with stricter water standards in 2008, the city, to its credit, fought back. There’s some point in the drive for cleaner air, water, and soil that beyond which becomes too […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, FEB. 9-12, 2018) — Let’s keep it simple. Pittsfield’s two rival political machines, The Suits and The Swells, have alternated for more than a generation to drive the city to the brink of ruin. Linda Tyer‘s administration inherited a mess that […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY Part Two of a Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY FEB. 7, 2018) — In considering the Administration’s request to further plunge the city’s indebtedness by a mere $80 million, it’s important to note how mayor Linda Tyer first attempted to scuttle a proper procedural process. Prior to […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY First in a Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY FEB. 5, 2018) — Congratulations to our Philadelphia Eagles on an exciting Super Bowl win. THE PLANET only wishes we could say the same for the bedraggled citizens of Pittsfield, who face the gauntlet of an ill-conceived and unnecessary multimillion-dollar plan to “upgrade” the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION FEB. 2-4, 2018) — For The Weekend Edition, we get away from Pittsfield’s politics, the kind on full display at a revelatory meeting of the city council’s finance committee over what may well be the last straw that sinks the city […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 31, 2018) — So, Pittsfield has yet another economic development “expert” who’s going to be the “quarterback” of mayor Linda “The Lounger” Tyer‘s “Red Carpet” plan for stirring up new business in the moribund city. Stop THE PLANET if you’ve heard this […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 29, 2018) — As most of you know, in our last column, THE PLANET issued a public debate challenge to North Adams city council president Keith “Chicken Bone” Bona. The topic: His move to acquire the unilateral power to bar citizens from attending an […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JAN. 26-28, 2018) — The U.S. Constitution, one of the most seminal foundational documents ever drafted, has been amended 27 times. The first revision stands by far as the most important. The freedoms articulated by the First Amendment spell out what […]
BY DANVALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 24, 2018) — THE PLANET extends congratulations to all involved in negotiating a bipartisan agreement to end the federal government shutdown. The temporary funding measure expires on Feb. 8, four days at The New England Patriots Invitational — what used to be called The Super Bowl. The […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 22, 2018) — Government shutdown? What government shutdown? THE PLANET asks with a straight face, did you notice? If not for 24/7 cable “news” and the dimwad of social media, you wouldn’t have noticed a blink, unless of course you were one of the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1 UPDATES, 1-19-18 LATE P.M. — There are two items to share in relation to today’s Weekend Edition: (1) Thanks to the responders to pointed out THE PLANET’s error in swapping Ward 1’s Helen Moon for at-large Mr. Persip. Moon cast the responsible vote on the toter plan, not Persip. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 17, 2018) — Minefield. Surface of the moon. Grand canyons. Beirut after the Smart Bombs. Eater of wheel bearings. Destroyer of front ends. Yes friends, it’s time for a roundup of Pittsfield roads. Calling all Road Scholars. It’s an odd phenomenon, puzzling […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 15, 2018) — Linda Tyer is a racist. Earl Persip is a racist. Dan Valenti is a racist. Milt Plum is a racist. They are of a race, the human race (a sprint, so the ish-ka-bible tells us in Genesis, won by […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, JAN. 12-14, 2018) — Have cities lost their mind, or is it just that satire is no longer possible? OFF KEY — Topping the list is The Tyer’s Administration‘s latest thrust into public art. The Artscape program plans to place pianos throughout […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 10, 2018) — With the recent thaw in below zero temps, THE PLANET deems we can justify thoughts of spring. “Spring” — a word that harbors hope, the breath inside the seed that waits for a slight warming of earth before the green spear […]
