Planet Valenti

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, OCT. 13, 2011) — From the accounts we’ve received from various sources, the informational meeting last night in a dimly-lit Lenox Town Hall (power outage, operating on generators) was (a) worthwhile (b) mostly reasoned (c) “passionately dispassionate” and (d) leaving the crowd wanting […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12, 2011) — Two enormous questions loom over Berkshire County and the county seat, Pittsfield, Mass., with respect to the industrial toxins left in the air, water, and soil by General Electric Co. after it pulled out of the area: (1) What […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, OCT. 11, 2011) — With the important meeting set for tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., at Lenox Town Hall of PCBs, GE, and The Rest of the River, we present several related items to load the chamber. We urge everyone in Berkshire County to attend […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, COLUMBUS DAY, 2011) — Yes, even THE PLANET enjoys an occasional holiday, as we are doing today. We have already had a lovely walk, a sunbath, and are about to host a small luncheon party with dear friends. We came on briefly to […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, SATURDAY, OCT. 8, 2011) — The controversy over Allen Harris of Berkshire Money Management in a radio-debate moderator’s role continues, as a current office holder, wanting to remain unnamed, calls the decision by WBRK radio “highly suspect and a sure sign that [Harris] has […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, OCT. 7, 2011) — Now we can say the baseball season is truly over. ‘Tis much worse to fail in the first round of the playoffs than not to qualify for post-season, especially when you take a team into competition that just led […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, OCT. 6, 2011) — And so in this sloppy business called government, the battles rage, usually with good intent among well-purposed people but sometimes not. The bad actors most always stand exposed by the fruits of their work. FRUITS FAIR AND FOUL The fruits […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ANOTHER VIEW ON PCB ISSUE (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5, 2011) — There are multiple views on what to do with the tons of remaining PCBs that GE left in the ground, the water, and elsewhere in Pittsfield and, by extension, southbound on the Housatonic River. […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, OCT. 4, 2011) — Hello. Thanks for checking in. Today, we present various and sundry items that have landed on THE PLANET.  DON’T YOU PAINT AFTER YOU PAVE? Residents of Williams Street have been scratching their heads trying to figure out the city’s […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary FIRST ADD, 10/3/11 SHERMAN RESPONDS, CALLS COMMENTS ‘A LIE OR FABRICATION’ THE PLANET has received a response to our posting about Kevin Sherman and the open meeting laws from my Right Honorable Good Friend Councilor Sherman. We post it the substance of the message as follows. “For […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, SATURDAY, OCT. 1, 2011) — Welcome, my dear friends, to October, when men rake leaves and women are glad they do. Today, we have some quick observations to share, and then we turn the page over to our guest commentator, Francois Arneau. SHERMAN NEXT […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, SEPT. 30, 2011) — Where don’t know where, but the time sure is on a jet plane. We just welcomed summer, it seems, and here we are, doing the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene with September. it has been a good, often soggy, […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, SEPT. 29, 2011) — On Election Day, prelim division, THE PLANET can now reveal: We skipped town for some serious fun and R&R. We got back home late that evening to find an e-mail from our Right Honorable Good Friend, Mike Ward, the […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary A LANDSLIDE FOR APATHY The fact that under 25% of the electorate voted yesterday for the county seat’s most important municipal office illustrates the point THE PLANET has made in the past couple of days, both in writing and speaking: the democratic process is d-e-a-d in Pittsfield. […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 27, 2011) — Today being election day, and with 20 to 25% expected to overwhelm the polls, we might lament the state of our so-called democracy. Rather than do that, though, we light the candle for apathy and place it in the […]

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, SEPT. 26, 2011) — Second things first, and that’s tomorrow’s preliminary election, where the municipal fields get narrowed down to two candidates. THE PLANET will not and does not issue endorsements for prelims. Endorsements are of little use in any case, but especially […]