Planet Valenti

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JAN. 22, 2013) — The blaze that gutted the DPW garage on West Housatonic Street in Pittsfield came as gentle dewdrops from the heavens above. The city has been aching to get out of the West Housatonic rat hole for for some time. […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY, MONDAY, JAN. 21, 2013) — Happy Martin Luther King Day, any excuse for a holiday. This is not to question King’s greatness, but there is a point when the myth surrounding a man graduates from honor to sanctification. Such is […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JAN. 18, 2013) — Here’s the “latest,” if we can call it that, on Tailgate-gate, pieced together from several sources, all speaking on condition of anonymity. “Overall, this regrettable and embarrassing incident has been swept under the rug,” says one source. “Looks like […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JAN. 17, 2013) — Do you want another great example of why so many politicians, bureaucrats, and public employees are lying sacks of guano? read this little item, from Yahoo! News: What, exactly, does a $222,000 bathroom renovation look like? Gold fixtures? Marble […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 16, 2013) — How far out of tough is the Pittsfield School Depeartment? Before THE PLANET answers that question, let us clarify that by “School Department” we include administration, School Committee (the Frozen Chozen), and the United Educators of Pittsfield. How far […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JAN. 15, 2013) — Where did the bad idea surface of paying the Pittsfield School Committee members, also known as the Frozen Chozen,  $8,000 to $10,000 a year, this board that presently serves on a volunteer basis? Who thinks the city’s finances are […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 13, 2013) — Quote: The Pittsfield School Committee “should be paid equal to the city council.” — Kathy Amuso, school committee member. Kathy baby, we agree. The school committee is manned — oh, excuse us — “peopled” — on a volunteer basis. […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JAN. 11, 2013) — Did the eagle shit for you since the beginning of the New Year? N0, we don’t mean the Boring Broadsheet excreting its usual combination of local celebrity worship, “I, Pretentious,” non-news, and puff pieces on how everything is great […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JAN. 10, 2013) — Did you receive a 26% boost in wages in the fives years from 2005 to 2011? Is your average salary, including compensation for benefits, $74,298.75? Does your work year consist of six months? Do you have six months off? […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9, 2013) — You’ve heard the one about the kid who killed his parents and then appealed to the court for leniency because he’s now an orphan. It has long been used as a standard definition of chutzpah. Here’s one that equals […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JAN. 8, 2013) — The city of Pittsfield got another bright idea: If it’s not broke, then break it, and thus was the notion hatched from the philanthropic chicken of forming a review of the current city charter. Why now? And why these […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JAN. 7, 2013) — The discussion we have stimulated about public education highlights one simple fact: citizens want competition when it comes to public education. Competition forces the players to strive for continuous improvement and offers the “consumer” (a word we cannot use […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JAN. 4, 2013) — As those know who have followed our work in print and on the air over the years, THE PLANET has a deep, abiding interest in public education. For example, our strident coverage of the Pittsfield Public Schools has focused […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JAN. 3, 2012) — Today, we give THE PLANET over to a magnificently written guest column. The topic concerns one of great interest to ourselves and many. The author is Nabil Shaath, chief negotiator for the Palestine Authority in its talks with Israel […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 2, 2013) — It’s never a good thing for a community when a local journalist gets fired. Nonetheless, Vox Radio had no problem reducing its already skeletal human staff in giving 16-year newsroom veteran Tom Conklin his walking papers. The move became […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, DATE, 2012) — Let’s close out 2012 with Quick Hits and Hot Licks, to help reduce the number of stories that are flying in a holding pattern over THE PLANET, seeking permission to land. Before that, though, THE PLANET wishes all of you a […]