BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY Second in a Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY NOV. 2, 2022) — Continuing with How They Got That Way, THE PLANET continues to uncover the manner in which certain of our public officials stumbled upon their careers in public life. HOW LINDA “FLAT” TYER GOT THAT WAY […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY OCT. 31, 2022) — Join THE PLANET for some fall cleaning. Get your Lysol, Mr. Clean, and help bring all the sun in: No Ands, Ifs, or Butts: In announcing their divorce on social media, Tom Brady and Giselle issued matching statements acknowledging […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (SYRACUSE, NY, THE WEEKEND EDITION OCT. 28-30, 2022) — It’s been and will continue to be quite the weekend in a hoppin’ Salt City. Tomorrow, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame invade an already sold-out JMA Wireless Dome, with 50,000 expected in the Loud House when #16 […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY First in a Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY OCT. 24, 2022) — When interviewing someone, especially at length, one of THE PLANET‘s favorite lines of inquiry is to ask people how they got involved in their careers. The most interesting stories ensue. Applying this to city government, […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY OCT. 24, 2022) — The most interesting video THE PLANET saw over the weekend came from China. It came during the conclusion of the weeklong Communist Party congress, when officials escorted a confused for president Hu Jintao, prominently seated to the immediate left […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1 SAT. OCT. 22, ’22 — This received from the Pittsfield Police Department. More proof of how “vibrant and dynamic” has become under Flat: On 10/21/2022 at approximately 5:48 PM, Pittsfield Police were dispatched to the area of Dalton Ave and Dartmouth Street for a report […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY OCT. 19, 2022) — If it occurs, as seems likely, THE PLANET can harken to earlier this year, when in a column we predicted that downtown Pittsfield would lose at least one key business by the end of the year. If scuttlebutt can […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY OCT. 17, 2022) — It’s about a mile and a half walk from the State Tower in the heart of downtown Syracuse to the Dome, refurbished last year to the tune of $128 million. Makes for a delicious walk on a glorious fall […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION OCT. 14-6, 2022) — On the flip chart, the mechanisms of government work flawlessly. In practice, not so much. That might well service as the controlling idea of many of THE PLANET‘s thousands of columns over the years. Government is a […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY OCT. 12, 2022) — Let it sink in at its own pace. The following is a recent picture of YOUR city council vice president: NOTE: This photo has not been edited, retouched, photoshopped, altered, cropped, sized, tampered with, or fished out of The […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY OCT. 10, 2022) — “In the middle of the road, you see the darndest things” — The Pretenders. Democracy is not a middling thing but a middle thing. In media res. It you were to plot it, democracy would trace a bell curve, […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION OCT. 7-9, 2022) — At the previous meeting of our Right Honorable Good Friends, the Ward 2 member introduced the following: A petition from Councilor Kronick requesting to postpone all future funding requests and grant approvals by the Parks Department until […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY OCT. 5, 2022) — A key vacancy to be filled on Election Day will be state attorney general. Having just been in a contest for district attorney, where voters chose expertise over incompetence, the Berkshire County electorate should have no trouble choosing the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1 10-5-22 — From Lt. John Soules, Pittsfield Police Dept.: On Monday October 3, 2022 at approximately 3:31 pm, members of the Pittsfield Police Department (PPD) responded to Springside Avenue near the intersection of Parker Street for a ShotSpotter activation. Several residents also called to report […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2022) — You might have missed it Tuesday night at the Pittsfield City Council meeting. THE PLANET‘s Right Honorable Good Friends took up a curious appointment by Mayor Linda Tyer. She nominated Matthew “Kufflinks” Kerwood, finance director, to […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE WEDNESDAY Sept. 28, 2022) — Today, THE PLANET presents three photographs. Here’s the first. Photos two and three appear at and as the finis to this column Let us begin with the reason for posting them. What the cause here? Only THE PLANET can […]
