Planet Valenti

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 14, VALENTINE’s DAY, 2014) — Let the epitaph read: ‘Pope Benedict XVI, too pooped to pope.” Depending on who you listen to, he’s either a quitter or a wise man. THE PLANET thinks the latter. Benny took this thankless job when he […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13, 2013) — How appropriate that on this first day of Lent the disarrayed hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church finds itself dealing with a lame-duck pontiff. Pope Benedict‘s resignation shocker comes at a time when the Church, through the stubborn resistance […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 12, 2013) — How bad did Pittsfield panic during the dud of Snowmageddon? So bad, that when Pope Benedict XVI got wind of it, he thought it best to resign. After hearing of the imposition of martial law in Pittsfield for a !foot […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, FEB. 11, 2013) — Guess what? It snowed. In New England. In February. True, Long Island Sound and the coast up to Boston got hit, but here in the Berkshires, what, a foot, foot and a half, maybe? We’ve had a million storms […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, FEB. 8, 2013) — This most difficult week is over, with my father-in-law’s illness, death, wake, and funeral occurring in dizzying fashion. About the wake, the turnout for Michael C. Baccoli was nothing short of amazing. The doors opened at 4 and went […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY, FEB. 5-6, 2013) — THE PLANET will not rush back into full swing until we are full ready. That’s based on the wise advice of one of our loyal correspondents, Giacommetti. With “Know thyself” having been one of our life-long mottoes, two words […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, FEB 4, 2013) — Again, thanks for all the folks who sent in their kind wishes and condolences. We are at that stage of life now where this sort of this is becoming too familiar — sickness and death of loved ones. Nonetheless, […]

SUNDAY, 2/3/13 — I’m not THE PLANET today. I am Dan Valenti. THE PLANET is the character I inhabit when I deal with the vagaries of the world, this veil of tears. As me, I wish to thank all the members of this online community for their support, good wishes, and expressions of love and […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY EVENING, LATE, FEB. 1, 2013) — Please note that there was no column today because we spent the day at bedside in the critical care unit at BMC. We watched vigil as a family member passed on from this veil of tears to […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JAN. 31, 2013) — Let THE PLANET assure all friends and foes of Mayor Dan Bianchi: We are not out to unduly sing his praises on the one hand or needlessly cut him down on the other. We say this, because this is […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30, 2013) — On Tuesday night, the Pittsfield School Committee began grilling the first of three finalists for superintendent of the city’s public schools. They chose the one local guy in a mix of three, Jason “Jake” McCandless, presently the superintendent of the […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JAN. 29, 2013) — Why “Attorney Wars?” Why did the city of Pittsfield sue its former counselor, Rich Dohoney? The answer to that, assistant city solicitor Darren Lee tells THE PLANET, can be found in the Jan. 13, 2010 meeting of the Board […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JAN. 28, 2013) — “Attorney Wars,” as one commentator to THE PLANET dubbed it, continues to percolate. The Reader’s Digest twit account goes like this: Spectrum-gate begets Demolition-gate begets No Confidence-gate begets Attorney Wars. It has a suitably Old Testament ring to it. […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD #1 LATER IN THE DAY 1/25/13 — THE PLANET spoke to assistant city solicitor Darren Lee in the afternoon, after we “went to press,” about the case against attorney Rich Dohoney and also about the demolition of the Melville Street apartment building. Our conversation added clarification […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JAN. 24, 2013) — As speeches go, Barack Obama gave a good one as he took the helm for another four years. Good, not great: Certainly not as bad  as critics painted and not as great as supporters pined. Beyonce, a one-trick diva, […]

 By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE. TUESDAY, JAN. 22, 2013) — In case you missed it, you will want to feast your eyes on this story by the Boring Broadsheet‘s best scribe, Andrew Amelinckx. In it, we learn that the Bianchi Administration is suing former city solicitor Rich Dohoney for […]