By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, SEPT. 19-21, 2014) — What in the name of Fred Fahey and Jim Mooney is going on at the Pittsfield Boys and Girls Club? THE PLANET‘s spies, including several sources closely involved at the old brick building on Melville Street and “a heartbeat […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary Don’t forget to tune in tonight for another thrill-packed adventure of PLANET VALENTI TELEVISION. We will mop the floor with The MOP and perform other astounding feats. Channel 16, tonight, live, 7 to 8 p.m. Replays Friday at 11:30 a.m., 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 11 p.m. and […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, SEPT., 17, 2014) — The Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts started out as a one-off in 1950, when Bill Rosenburg opened his shop in Quincy, Mass. Today, the company describes itself as “the world’s leading baked goods and coffee chain, serving more than 3 […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 16, 2014) — THE PLANET presents a new Greedysburg Address: Floor score and seventy plus twenty thousand dollars ago, our Mayor brought forth to 70 Allen Street a new flooring, conceived in vanity and dedicated to the proposition that all men are […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, SEPT. 15, 2014) — The transcript reads as follows: THE PLANET: Mr. Chairman, point of order. CHAIR: Proceed. PLANET: We request the floor. CHAIR: Chair acknowledges THE PLANET. We give THE PLANET the floor. ——– 000 ——– Well, it sort of went that […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, SEPT. 12-14, 2014) — The new Batmobile from Batman v Superman has been unveiled. A Real Housewives of New Jersey couple are headed for prison and have put their mansion up for sale. Britney has signed up for Tinder All that, and the Ray […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, SEPT. 11, 2014) — The city has hired a new director for Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Her name is Kristine Hurley, who has been DPI’s manager for the past three years. Hurley spoke of her appointment — announced when DPI issued a prepared statement […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10, 2014) — Water, water everywhere, and not a drop for taxpayers. We might call this the latest episode in “TES: Water on the Brain.” (An aside: If you see The Worried Man, a.k.a., The MOP [The Mayor of Pittsfield] today, ask him how well the robocalls […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ——– 000 ——– !NEWS FLASH!— THE PLANET breaks into its usual coverage to share with you two thing we have learned about fired city veteran’s agent Rosanne Frieri. First, the city tried to reach a settlement with her. That failed. Second, Frieri is filing a lawsuit stemming […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, SEPT. 5-7, 2014) — One of the courses on The Old Professor‘s class schedule is “Tumultuous Decade: America in the 1960s.” Do we like it? Why, sir or madam, we have fallen in love with it. Imagine THE PLANET‘s delight to be […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary EDITOR’S WARNING!! CAUTION: The following article contains generalizations. They are valid ones and not hasty, but THE PLANET realizes that in this age of political correctness, words can incapacitate the ability of a small but loud minority to entertain thoughts deeper than Kim Kardashian. We do not […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 2, 2014) — The much-anticipated showdown over “100gate” between our Right Honorable Good Friends on the city council, particularly councilor-at-large Barry Clairmont, and the mayor will not take place tonight, THE PLANET has learned. THE PLANET also has heard from tenants at […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, AUG. 29-31) — Dan Bianchi, caught in the act of stonewalling again! What a shocker. Talk about your quotidian occurrences. Yes, my dear friends, The Empty Suit again has given citizens, taxpayers, and the public The Fickle Finger. The NY Post headline announce in […]
WEEKEND EDITION TO COME SHORTLY! WHAT IS THE MAYOR HIDING? The Administration answers councilor-at-large Barry Clairmont’s request for e-mails pertaining to the mayor’s proposed move of city hall to 100 North Street, an egregious move that will cost taxpayers up to half a million bucks. Clairmont received 63 pages. What did they contain? Not much. […]
DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary Part 4 of 4, Finale (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, AUG. 28, 2014) — The previous three columns in this series looking at the “post new journalism” explored how THE PLANET has provided a working model for making money in a news milieu dominated by cyberspace. In doing so, […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary Part 3 of 4 (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27, 2014) — One thing has never changed about the news game. Pay close attention, all you would-be investigative reporters out there (don’t speak up all at once). THE PLANET is about to share the singlemost important piece of […]
