PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee and City Council will meet Wednesday evening to fill a vacancy on the School Committee left by the abrupt departure of Dennis Powell. Five.
Not yet ready to settle on a final plan, the Ordinance and Rules subcommittee unanimously voted to table a petition from Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon requesting that city and council continue to offer a virtual and call-in option beyond COVID-19 for all public meetings. I think that COVID has taught us that we can have in-person meetings, but we can also offer virtual meetings, Moon said. And while we have outliers that can take up a lot of space in our virtual spaces, I think that the net is positive when we are bringing democracy to a larger segment of our population and so I think that this is a meaningful change, allowing people who don t typically have the capacity to join in-person meetings for whatever reason that they have to continue to participate.
The Pittsfield Board of Health s plan to get state help in assessing the validity of a new cell tower s reported health consequences has been derailed. The state Department of Public Health has been offering information and referrals, but will not conduct a health study, a spokeswoman says. This new Verizon Wireless tower went into operation last summer, near Alma Street in south Pittsfield. EAGLE FILE PHOTO
PITTSFIELD â People unhappy about a new cell tower in south Pittsfield heard of two promising developments, when health officials took up their issue last month.
Neither, it turns out, will come to pass as described.
The Licensing Board on Thursday unanimously voted to suspend Methuselah Bar and Lounge s liquor license for 28 days and entertainment license for another 25 days as a result of violations from the evening of Thursday, April 15, into Friday, April 16, that were captured in three videos. The liquor license suspension will occur between Saturday, May 1, and Friday, May 28, and the entertainment license will be suspended from May 1 to June 25. Board member Kathy Amuso motioned to revoke Cohen s liquor license but it was not seconded. I have been having such a challenge dealing with this owner, Senior Sanitarian Andy Cambi said. At this point, it wasn t a mistake, it wasn t a lapse of judgment, clearly it s disregard for the safety standards that have been set by Governor Baker and his administration, that s how I feel personally.
Deputy Superintendent Joseph Curtis, who has been leading the 5,000-student district since last fall, was chosen out four finalists on Wednesday with a majority vote of 4-3. This prompted committee member Dennis Powell to publicly resign from the body, citing a lack of voice among his colleagues and a flawed process. It s unfortunate, and I really felt that at the beginning of this whole process, I could have wrote this ending, that s the way this whole process was run, Powell said to the committee on Wednesday before signing off the Zoom meeting. On Thursday, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey addressed those who voted for Curtis: Mayor Linda Tyer, Daniel Elias, William Cameron, and Chairwoman Katherine Yon, in a Facebook post stating that they had failed the district with their selection.