PEDA: TO INSURE OR NOT TO INSURE, BUT AGAINST WHAT? … QUICK HITS AND HOT LICKS LOOKS AT COMMISSION APPTS (FRIERI AND POLICE BOARD) & WARREN PEACE, or, HOW CAN ELIZABETH CLAIM TO BE REPRESENTING MARY JANE AND JOE KAPANSKI?

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PEDA: TO INSURE OR NOT TO INSURE, BUT AGAINST WHAT? … QUICK HITS AND HOT LICKS LOOKS AT COMMISSION APPTS (FRIERI AND POLICE BOARD) & WARREN PEACE, or, HOW CAN ELIZABETH CLAIM TO BE REPRESENTING MARY JANE AND JOE KAPANSKI?

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 18, 2012) — It’s been 14 years the creation of the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA). Progress, once the most important product for PEDA’s illustrious successor — General Electric Co. — has been painfully slow. That’s an understatement of the order that […]

September 18, 2012 43 Comments

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LEGENDS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE CONCERT: A TIME FOR MEMORIES AND REMEMBRANCE … THOSE WHO PLAYED DID SO IN THE NAME OF ALL WHO COULDN’T … RECOLLECTIONS OF QUARRY, ESPECIALLY THE SPECIAL BOND BETWEEN DAVE CARRON AND MICK VALENTI

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, SEPT. 17, 2012) — “So many people have come and gone. Their faces fade as the years go by.” That song, by the band Boston, came to mind while reflecting on the magic afternoon and evening spent with friends one week and a […]

September 15, 2012 17 Comments

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!PLANET EXCLUSIVE! NEW INFORMATION ON NILAN-MOORE CASE: REVISED SEQUENCE OF MEREDITH NILAN’S ACTIVITIES AFTER SHE LEFT ALLIUM’S ON THE NIGHT OF DEC. 8 … GOOD NEWS ON TOBY MOORE: HE CAN NOW WALK PAST THE SPOT WHERE HIS MASTER ALMOST DIED AFTER BEING HIT BY NILAN’S SUV … plus … SOURCE SAYS NILANS HAVE MADE AN OFFER TO THE MOORES TO SETTLE OUT OF COURT

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, SEPT. 14, 2012) — After all being quiet on the “western front” of the Nilan-Moore Case, new information has emerged that purports to provide a more complete, though not definitive picture, of what happened on the fateful evening of Dec. 8, 2011, and […]

September 14, 2012 53 Comments

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LINDA TYER SHOWS WHY SHES ACES AS CITY CLERK, SUPPLYING INFO HIDDEN BY THE REGISTRAR OF VOTERS … COUNCILOR CLAIRMONT: ‘I DON’T LIKE THINKING THE MAYOR ISN’T A TRUTHFUL PERSON’ … ADULT LEARNING CENTER LEASE OUT TO BID AGAIN THANKS TO LEGAL ACTION BY MASSERY … plus … MR. MITT GOES ON THE COUNTER-ATTACK

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12, 2012) — THE PLANET received this e-mail from Linda Tyer, Pittsfield’s city clerk. It illustrates how Tyer has made that office her own, which is to say, one of the offices on city side that operates more or less at full […]

September 11, 2012 51 Comments

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THE REVIEWS ARE IN: LEGENDS CONCERT WAS A SMASH SUCCESS … PLANET POST A ROUNDUP OF COMMENTS … plus …SONGLISTS OF A LEGEND … BOYS’ CLUB CONCERT SHOULD BE AN ANNUAL AFFAIR

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 11, 2012) — Here are some comments from various FB pages on the Legends of the Lighthouse concert held on Sunday, 9/9/12. — my oh my..the stars all aligned sunday sept 9th..everything rocked~ RICK FETRIDGE — We owe a huge thank you to Bill […]

September 11, 2012 34 Comments

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LIGHTHOUSE REuNION JUST FAB … DYNASTIC NE PATRIOTS GET OFF ON RIGHT FOOT IN TENNESSEE … PITTSFIELD CITY COuNCIL ACTION ON ‘UNITED v. FEC’ A WASTE OF TIME, MONEy, & ENERGY … COUNCIL RAISES WATER AND SEWER RATES IN SHIRE CITY ANOTHER 2.5%

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER, 10, 2012) — Just a quick word on the Legends of the Lighthouse reunion concert at the Pittsfield Boys and Girls Club: fabulous! THE PLANET doesn’t know the official attendance figure, but we eyeballed maybe 1,500. We ran into so many friends […]

September 9, 2012 40 Comments

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HARRIS, NEAL VICTORIES CAME WITH EXPECTATIONS … HARRIS WON BY BEING HERSELF, A ‘NON-POLITICIAN’ COMING ACROSS AS THE MOST KNOWLEDGABLE … NEAL COULD HAVE BEEN HAD, BUT NUCIFORO’S PLAGIARISM MISTAKE PREVENTED IT … plus … !!!A PLANET EXCLUSIVE!!! FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE LENOX DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE … READ THE CONTENT OF THREE FED-UP LETTERS OF RESIGNATION

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, SEPT. 7, 2012) — Congratulations are in order for the campaigns of Patsy Harris and Richard Neal. Respectively, they won the Democratic primary races for register of deeds in middle Berkshire County and 1st District U.S. representative to Congress. Barring an act of […]

September 7, 2012 51 Comments

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COUNCIL PREZ KEVIN SHERMAN ADDRESSES ‘THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE’ IN WAKE OF THE COUNCIL-MAYORAL TIFF OVER SPECTRUM … 4th of JULY PARADE COMMITTEE ATTACK AGAINST HARRIS WILL BACKFIRE (DIRTY POLITICS FROM THE PHILLIPS CAMPAIGN?)

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, SEPT. 6, 2012) — THE PLANET put several questions to city council president, our Right Honorable Good Friend Kevin Sherman, regarding the rift between and among three councilors members (who may be speaking for others) and Mayor Dan Bianchi over Spectrum Health Services. […]

September 6, 2012 30 Comments

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PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE: PESKY COULD BE MORE THAN PESKY … plus … THREE ITEMS FROM THE LAND OF THE LOST, ALSO KNOWN AS THE TOWN OF LENOX

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 5, 2012) — A couple of quick points before launching into topics du jour. First, tomorrow is election day. It’s extremely odd it should fall on a Thursday, and we shall see how this affects turnout. The two key races are the […]

September 5, 2012 48 Comments

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COUNCIL-MAYORAL RIFT RE: SPECTRUM — PUT FEELINGS ASIDE, PURSUE THE FACTS, AND BECOME STATESMANLIKE … PRESSURE, AND A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, IS ON KEVIN SHERMAN … A LONE RANGER JEST … plus … TV STUDIO AT REID THE LASTEST IN PITTSFIELD’S EDUCATIONAL DUMBING DOWN

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 4, 2012) — THE PLANET appreciates the comments directed our way based on our coverage of the council-mayoral rift regarding the Spectrum settlement deal. It was a large undertaking, and we would offer that as Exhibit A that this website, more than any […]

September 1, 2012 44 Comments

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!PLANET EXCLUSIVE! BOMBSHELL DISCLOSURES IN SPECTRUM CASE: (1) CITY ALSO AGREED TO PAY COMPANY AN ADDITIONAL $76,500 TO RELOCATE and (2) TWO SECRET SESSIONS HELD … WE SHARE WHAT WENT ON OUT OF PUBLIC VIEW … plus … a STEP-BY-STEP WALK THROUGH THE CRUCIAL TIMELINE OF WHO KNEW WHAT AND WHEN

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary NOTE: THIS VERSION HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY EDITED AND IMPROVED FROM THE ORIGINAL POST OF EARLIER ON FRIDAY, AUG. 31, 2012. THIS IS THE ‘LIVE’ VERSION, AND WE REQUEST THAT ANYONE WHO IS uSING THE PREVIOUS ONE TO DISCARD AND WORK FROM THIS VERSION OF WHAT IS AN […]

August 31, 2012 45 Comments

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PLANET STILL IN THE BERKSHIRES AND NOT HANGING WITH MITT IN TAMPA … KRATKA KRAPS OUT AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH TODAY’S CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE ON WBEC (KRAT KAVES IN TO NEAL’s $$) … SPECTRUM-CITY PROBE TURNS UP A CACHE OF DOCUMENTS, AND THEREIN LIES THE NARRATIVE … OUR OLD NEWSPAPER ADAPTS WITH THE TIMES … plus … THE MARINE CORPS TAKES ON THE ISSUE OF WOMEN IN COMBAT ROLES

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, AUG. 30, 2012) — No, we are not in Tampa, Fla. No, we didn’t take a chartered jet out of Pittsfield airport last night. We met with that ridiculous rumor yesterday and proved it not true by showing up in the flesh at […]

August 30, 2012 28 Comments

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!BREAKING NEWS: PLANET OBTAINS TEXT OF CITY-SPECTRUM CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT! … ‘THE MAYOR IS A LIAR’ SAY A TRIO OF COUNCILORS. TRUE OR FALSE, EITHER WAY IT’S A POWERFUL AND EXPLOSIVE CLAIM … BEVERAGE COMMISSION ON HERMANN ALEXANDER’S MAKES ONE WONDER: WAS EVERYTHING ON THE LEVEL? … plus … MASSERY LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY JUST MORE SOUR GRAPES FROM TWO OF THE SOUREST

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 29, 2012) — We begin today’s installation with this exclusive. THE PLANET has obtained what a source has represented as “the entire Confidentiality agreement” agreed to by the City of Pittsfield and Spectrum Health Systems. We will simply present the contents and […]

August 29, 2012 39 Comments

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HARRIS COMES UP BIG AT BCC DEBATE, PHILLIPS FLOPS, PIGNATELLI RISES TO THE CHALLENGE … “TAKE MY CONCERT, PLEASE”: IT WAS 29 YEARS AGO TODAY; BAND LINEUP SET FOR LEGENDS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE REUNION … plus … MORE ON THE KROL-J-LO-CLAIRMONT-BIANCHI RIFT

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, AUG. 28, 2012) — They came. They debated. Harris won. Harris-Phillips-Pignatelli: win-place-and-so what? HARRIS SHOWS WHY SHE’S THE BEST CHOICE FOR REGISTER PATSY HARRIS: Cooking with the best recipe for victory. Last night at BCC, in a debate sponsored by The Pittsfield Gazette, […]

August 28, 2012 67 Comments

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HARRIS, PIGNATELLI, PHILLIPS DEBATE REGISTER’S OFFICE TONIGHT, 7 P.M., AT BCC … QUICK HITS AND HOT LICKS EXAMINES MAYOR-COUNCIL RIFT, KRATKAGATE, AND A FOOTBAWLER’s FAILURE … plus … ‘TOO BIG TO FAIL’ DID A NUMBER OF AMERICA, AND, IN A MICRO SENSE, ON PITTSFIELD …

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, AUG. 27, 2012) — At 7 p.m. Tonight in the small theater, K-111, at BCC, and important debate takes place. The three candidates for Middle Berkshire County register of deeds — Patsy Harris, Scott Pignatelli, and Jody Phillips — square off. The race […]

August 26, 2012 32 Comments

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SCHOOL COMMITTEE BARELY AVOIDS FLUNKING OUT … CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION SET; FEUDAL SERFDOM A LIKELY OUTCOME FOR PITTSFIELD’S UNWASHED … LIFE AFTER HERMANN ALEXANDER’s A FAMILY AFFAIR, MASSERY CLAIMS, BUT SO WAS HA WHEN IT FIRST OPENED? … plus … NEW STAGE DIES A QUIET DEATH

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, AUG. 24, 2012) — THE PLANET gets a kick out of the ponderous lengths of honor rolls at the Pittsfield Middle Schools, where every kid is a genius and the star of his or her own bumper sticker. It has nothing to do […]

August 24, 2012 47 Comments

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