Planet Valenti

BY DAN VALENTI FIRST ADD, 4/9/11, 3:44 p.m. (Ted Williams’ lifetime batting average) (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, APRIL 9) — Do you remember Patrick Sheehan, the mysterious owner of the building on outer East Street that the city wanted to purchase for a DPW garage? He of the seemingly countless LLCs and corporations? Uncovered by sleuths […]

BY DAN VALENTI The Planet, in the middle of an extremely busy and productive morning picking hundreds off the money tree, offers a few quick though not-so-random thoughts on matters that have come out way in the past 24 hours: — SURE TO HAPPEN: Before he leaves office in early January, 2012, assuming the world […]

BY DAN VALENTI FIRST ADD APRIL 7 The Planet and The Chief, Man to Man (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, APRIL &, ADD 1) — The Planet’s exclusive came this morning with Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn. We called his office, and his secretary, Maggie (and one of the best in the business, by the way) put […]

BY DAN VALENTI SECOND ADD, APRIL 6 April Surprise Petition Circulating Ward 4’s Mike Ward is first in officially and on the record, posting on his Facebook page to my question that he likes the moves since it give the city two fine candidates “on a trial basis.” The Planet has talked off the record […]

BY DAN VALENTI FIRST ADD, 4/5/11 Chief Wynn, Attorney Dohoney to Speak? The Planet had learned that Pittsfield Police Chief Mike Wynn and City Attorney Rich Dohoney may be making a statement tomorrow about SteroidsGate. We haven’t confirmed that officially, as a call into city hall was not returned, but we believe the information is […]

BY DAN VALENTI SECOND ADD, 4/4/11 The Planet has just posted the following notice on the “comments” feature of this website: NOTICE TO ALL FROM THE PLANET!WE WILL NOT POST NOTES THAT GO BEYOND FAIR COMMENT. WE WILL TRY TO KEEP THIS SITE OPEN FOR A FREE EXCHANGE OF VIEWS, BUT, AS OUR DELETION OF […]

BY DAN VALENTI We started this modest enterprise at the tail end of September 2010. Why? Print is dying. Cyberspace is alive. The Planet recognizes that cyberspace is the dominant communications forum for pertinent issues and will remain so until a holocaust of some sort drives us all back to smoke signals and writing on […]

BY DAN VALENTI (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, April 1, 2011) — The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority has named Corydon “Cory” Thurston as its new executive director. Thurston succeeds William Hines, whose interim term expires this month. In making the announcement, the PEDA board go no information, either written or verbal in the open meeting, as to […]

BY DAN VALENTI (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MARCH 31, 2011) — “Thank God for The Planet.” So began an almost weepily grateful  note we received this morning in connection with Conor Berry’s story in the Boring Broadsheet today headlined, “Police seek attack reports.” We shall keep the flowery content of the note’s remainder unto ourselves. In […]

BY DAN VALENTI Colonials Lived up to the Promises This Friday, the Pittsfield Colonials will have their second annual “pep rally” lunch for advertisers and sponsors at Blantyre in Lenox. The Planet shall be there as an invited guest. Team owner Buddy Lewis, meeting with The Planet yesterday, reports brisk sales of billboards, program ads, […]

BY DAN VALENTI (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, March 29, 2011) — Doesn’t SteroidsGate — the federal probe into the use of illegal steroids by police officers, including those in the Pittsfield Police Department — amount to one question? That question is: How extensive is the use of steroids in the PPD? By “use,” we mean buying, […]

BY DAN VALENTI (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, March 28, 2011) —Today, The Planet has some odds and ends to present, and then we will share the posts from two guest writers, up and down, on the United States’ recent adventurism in Libya. SteroidsGate, the Berry-Heller Chronicles & More SteroidsGate isn’t going away any time soon. There’s […]

BY DAN VALENTI (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, March 26, 2011) — For a day anyway, and we hope for much longer, the local daily once again became The Berkshire Eagle. It was not the Boring Broadsheet, and it shed that label for today the way Clark Kent shed his two-piece gabardine for a set of blue tights […]

BY DAN VALENTI Feds Swoop Down on PPD (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, March 25, 2011) — The Planet can now confirm the extensive involvement of the federal government into a drug investigation involving the Pittsfield Police Department. According to a high-ranking city hall source, “the feds (Postal Investigators) are heavily involved.” Prior to this, no city, […]

BY DAN VALENTI The Planet has confirmed, through two three independent sources, that at least one Pittsfield police officer was busted in connection with illegal use/possession/reception of anabolic steroids. The latest confirmation, from a PPD source formerly of senior leadership rank, told The Planet: “It is very true. It’s too bad for the [Department]. We […]

BY DAN VALENTI Last Call, Gents. (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, March 23, 2011) — First, the barkeep announces “Last call” for Peter Marchetti, Paul Capitanio, Uncle Gerry Lee, and Jonothan Lothrop for compliance on our Three Top Questions survey. Each has until midnight tonight to go on record stating their views on PCBs, Hill 78, and […]