BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY Part Two of a Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY FEB. 7, 2018) — In considering the Administration’s request to further plunge the city’s indebtedness by a mere $80 million, it’s important to note how mayor Linda Tyer first attempted to scuttle a proper procedural process. Prior to […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY First in a Series (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY FEB. 5, 2018) — Congratulations to our Philadelphia Eagles on an exciting Super Bowl win. THE PLANET only wishes we could say the same for the bedraggled citizens of Pittsfield, who face the gauntlet of an ill-conceived and unnecessary multimillion-dollar plan to “upgrade” the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION FEB. 2-4, 2018) — For The Weekend Edition, we get away from Pittsfield’s politics, the kind on full display at a revelatory meeting of the city council’s finance committee over what may well be the last straw that sinks the city […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 31, 2018) — So, Pittsfield has yet another economic development “expert” who’s going to be the “quarterback” of mayor Linda “The Lounger” Tyer‘s “Red Carpet” plan for stirring up new business in the moribund city. Stop THE PLANET if you’ve heard this […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 29, 2018) — As most of you know, in our last column, THE PLANET issued a public debate challenge to North Adams city council president Keith “Chicken Bone” Bona. The topic: His move to acquire the unilateral power to bar citizens from attending an […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JAN. 26-28, 2018) — The U.S. Constitution, one of the most seminal foundational documents ever drafted, has been amended 27 times. The first revision stands by far as the most important. The freedoms articulated by the First Amendment spell out what […]
BY DANVALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 24, 2018) — THE PLANET extends congratulations to all involved in negotiating a bipartisan agreement to end the federal government shutdown. The temporary funding measure expires on Feb. 8, four days at The New England Patriots Invitational — what used to be called The Super Bowl. The […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 22, 2018) — Government shutdown? What government shutdown? THE PLANET asks with a straight face, did you notice? If not for 24/7 cable “news” and the dimwad of social media, you wouldn’t have noticed a blink, unless of course you were one of the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1 UPDATES, 1-19-18 LATE P.M. — There are two items to share in relation to today’s Weekend Edition: (1) Thanks to the responders to pointed out THE PLANET’s error in swapping Ward 1’s Helen Moon for at-large Mr. Persip. Moon cast the responsible vote on the toter plan, not Persip. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 17, 2018) — Minefield. Surface of the moon. Grand canyons. Beirut after the Smart Bombs. Eater of wheel bearings. Destroyer of front ends. Yes friends, it’s time for a roundup of Pittsfield roads. Calling all Road Scholars. It’s an odd phenomenon, puzzling […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 15, 2018) — Linda Tyer is a racist. Earl Persip is a racist. Dan Valenti is a racist. Milt Plum is a racist. They are of a race, the human race (a sprint, so the ish-ka-bible tells us in Genesis, won by […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, JAN. 12-14, 2018) — Have cities lost their mind, or is it just that satire is no longer possible? OFF KEY — Topping the list is The Tyer’s Administration‘s latest thrust into public art. The Artscape program plans to place pianos throughout […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 10, 2018) — With the recent thaw in below zero temps, THE PLANET deems we can justify thoughts of spring. “Spring” — a word that harbors hope, the breath inside the seed that waits for a slight warming of earth before the green spear […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 8, 2018) — Tonight, early evening, the most anticipated event since the city’s charter in the 18th century, and certainly since Pittsfield’s incorporation in 1891, takes place. Mountains quake, Angels tremble, and the twiglight of the gods once again finds sunrise. And […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JAN. 5-7, 2018) — THE PLANET heralded the warning in September 2016 and after in print, cyberspace, radio, and TV, continuing to November’s E-Day. Our efforts, alas, came to naught, going up as they were against the concreted apathy that yearly enables The […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY JAN. 2, 2018) — As THE PLANET extends a Happy Always to you, let us resume our mission of sharing the news you don’t and won’t get anywhere else. Former churches, for example. You’ve no doubt head that local developer David Carver plans to […]
