BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY FEB. 26, 2020) — Move over Houdini. Step aside David Blaine. Retire, David Copperfield. There’s a new magic act taking Pittsfield by storm: The Amazing Tyer-o: Then you saw her, now you don’t. Tyer-o has lately been astounding man, woman, and child with her […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY FEB. 24, 2020) — The ascendancy of Democrat latecomer Mike Bloomberg has put stop-and-frisk back into the searchlights. As mayor of NYC, Bloomberg authorized the policy for his city’s police. The move helped clean up a decaying city — or don’t you remember […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION FEB. 21-23, 2020) — The debate Wednesday night narrowed the Democratic nominating field to Bernie and Mike. After Super Tuesday voting on March 3, with 14 states calling, that order will be reversed — not the first and certainly not the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY FEB. 19, 2020) — Parking stands as Pittsfield’s greatest unsolved mystery. Since Henry Ford’s folly first floundered the Shire City streets, city “leaders” have wondered in hand-wringing angst about parking. Throw in how the city mismanages snow, and you have Bigfoot with the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY FEB. 17, 2020) — On this President’s Day, THE PLANET asks about “patriotism.” As a child who grew up in the halcyonic Fifties and who “came of age” — a term subject to many definitions — by the mid-Sixties, we loved America, or […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION FEB. 14-16, 2020) — Want to make nearly $100 an hour? Then get a job plowing snow, or not with plow up, for the City of Pittsfield. “Strange days, indeed. Most peculiar, momma.” “Strange.” What else do you call paying snowplow […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY Second of Two Parts (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY FEB. 12, 2020) — The first thing noticeable about trash collection in Pittsfield is change: Covanta, Republic Services, Casella Waste Management, Springfield Materials Recycling, and Community Eco Power. Is the Pittsfield trash contract that lucrative or that much a dog? […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY First in a Two-Part Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY FEB. 10, 2020) — There are numerous places that offer temptation and near occasions of sin for anyone in power (or close to power) in municipal government owing to Shroedinger’s First Law of Graft, which states that “power […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION FEB. 7-9, 2020) — In our previous column, THE PLANET eluded to whispers of concern over the financial integrity in two city accounts: municipal trash and snow removal. As to trash, we hope to present what we have learned next week. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY FEB. 5, 2020) — Let’s see, a Super Bowl, the Iowa Caucuses, the President’s State of the Union Address, an Impeachment vote, and in local business, hints of corruption from snow and garbage: Just another slow news day. THE PLANET would like to […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY FEB. 3, 2020) — THE PLANET, bowing to numerous requests, reprints a Boston Herald article suggesting a move of the state capitol from Boston to Pittsfield. The notion is not as far-fetched as it seems, although it has about as much chance of happening […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEKEND EDITION JAN. 31-FEB. 2, 2020) — For The Weekend Edition, THE PLANET gives you an eyeshade, armbands, a cigar, and a gluepot, because you get to play “Assignment Editor.” You will decide on the topics via The Comment Line. We’ll get it […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 29, 2020) — Time for THE PLANET to clear out the notebook of “dissa and data.” Firewall — Late in 2019, THE PLANET invested in a new digital platform to improve the experience of both publisher (moi) and reader (you). We freshened the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 27, 2020) — We’ve heard a lot of talk lately about the need for a forensic audit in Pittsfield. THE PLANET agrees and would back such an effort. But what, exactly, is a forensic audit (FA)? How does it differ from a […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEKEND EDITION JAN. 24-6, 2020) — For The Weekend Edition, THE PLANET presents statements from two ward councilors regarding accusations made about them on Monday’s post by Eliminator, a key member of Mayor Linda Tyer’s re-election campaign staff. Here, Ward 4 councilor Chris […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 22, 2020) — One might see it as useless bickering, but the recent back-and-forth regarding Peter Marchetti’s city council appointments can be better understood as current flowing in the swollen stream of Pittsfield politics. It’s not partisan bickering, since nearly everyone involved […]
