BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION MAY 26-8, 2023) — This Memorial Day Weekend, we mourn the loss of sanity in government. THE PLANET will play three-dimensional chess with out grieving at both top (federal) and bottom (municipal). At the top, politicians from both parties have allowed […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ————————– ADD 1 5/23/23 6:30 p.m. — As promised, our interview with D.A. Tim Shugrue is now available on YouTube. Go to PLANET VALENTI VIDEO and check it out. ————————— (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2023) — We slayed in third grade with this “knock knock” […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MAY 22, 2023) — Recently, the Berkshire chapter of United Way honored community volunteers, without whom, of course, it could not carry out its mission, which, in its own words, “ignites the collective power of individuals and organizations to build a stronger community together.” […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION MAY 19-21, 2023) — THE PLANET has several items to address today, so let’s get to it. One and Done: We have learned that Ward 2 councilor Charles Kronick will not seek re-election this year. Sources say Kronick will put his […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1 5/17 10:05 a.m. — THE PLANET shares this notice from the Pittsfield Police Department: In July 2022 members of the Pittsfield Police Department (PPD) began searching for 69 year old Lee Walter Meisenheimer who was reported missing. Meisenheimer lived alone and did not have any […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY MAY 15, 2023) — Daniel Penny found out the hard way that to be a hero in any woke city puts you in the crosshairs of prosecution. Riding on the F Train in Manhattan recently, Penny subdued a career criminal threatening to kill […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2023) — You sitting down? Pittsfield isn’t done with Tyer. Yes. Tyer will be running for a council seat in Ward 3. Bill Tyer, by the way, not Linda (no relation). Tyer will face some chap named Matt Wrinn. Tyer told […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2023) — In THE PLANET‘s far-too-premature coverage of Pittsfield’s mayoral race, a campaign in the first half-mile of a marathon, we have focused on the two frontrunners, city council president Peter Marchetti and former Ward 6 councilor John Krol. There’s a […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ———- ooo ———- On May 7, 2023 at approximately 5:00 AM, the Pittsfield Police Dept., Pittsfield Fire Dept. and Action Ambulance responded to the area of 1050 Dalton Ave for a report of a head on collision between two vehicles. A 2013 Cheverolet Silverado operated by Mr. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY Part 1 of 2 Parts (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION MAY 5-7, 2023) — Before we get to the core of today’s column, THE PLANET wants to acknowledge Assistant District Attorney Aleah Fisher. She received the Spotlight Award at the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association annual state-wide conference. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2023) — Housecleaning today for THE PLANET as we present six dustballs collecting in the corners, three on Hidin’ Biden and three on the State of Things in the city of Pittsfield. Slidin’ Biden: While the president languishes in the polls, […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MAY 1, 2023) — Who’s that dancing round the Maypole? Why, it’s THE PLANET‘s good friend, John Bissell. Bissell is Boss Man Greylock Federal Credit Union, the county’s #1 repository of fiat money at $1.4 billion. The bulk of THE PLANET‘s fractured fairy tale […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION APRIL 28-30, 2023) — When Syracuse Joe announced his intent to run for re-election, he did so on tape. The prerecorded message allowed handlers to splice together a coherent looking poli-babble from the multiple takes it took for Biden to get […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY APRIL 26, 2023) — THE PLANET has seen the future. We found it in the past. In March 1968, two events rocked politics: (a) Bobby Kennedy announced his candidacy for the presidency. A couple weeks later, President Lyndon Johnson told the nation he […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY APRIL 24, 2023) — Last week, both in the column and in the comments, THE PLANET led a discussion about Pittsfield’s downtown woes and some of the simple fixes that could immediately be addressed at little cost. Why they aren’t done remains one […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION APRIL 21-3, 2023) — THE PLANET has to laugh. President Joe Biden and House speaker Kevin McCarthy recently released their respective (but not respected) budget “visions.” Reminds us of a brief back-and-forth in the comments section regarding the alleged “left” and […]
