A rally at Park Square on Monday called for legislators to pass a slate of climate justice bills before the end of the session on July 15. There were 11 rallies across the state held at 11 a.m. to stress the bills are in the 11th hour with only four days left for passage.
Their are four bills in the Legislature addressing air quality, energy facilities, jobs and clean energy.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Local activists are pushing for the state Legislature to adopt a series of strong climate bills, saying we are in the "11th hour" for such initiatives.
Berkshire Environmental Action Team, in conjunction with the Berkshire Branch of the NAACP, 350MA Berkshire Node, and statewide environmental coalition Mass Power Forward had a standout on Monday at Park Square to advocate for climate justice legislation.
"We're here today to push the Mass Legislature to pass a comprehensive, equitable energy bill," said Rosemary Wessel, program director for BEAT's No Fracked Gas in Mass.
"On Friday afternoon, we learned that there's a possibility that State House politics could result in no climate bill at all in this session, so they need to have a deliverable bill worked out by [July]15 at the latest and the word is from several sources that talks have completely broken down. So we need to ramp up the pressure and make sure that the legislature hears loudly and clearly that no bill is not an option."
This was a part of 11 simultaneous actions across the state held at 11 a.m. on July 11 to signify its proximity to the end of the legislative session on July 15. They're using the hashtag #MA11thhour
"BEAT's mission is to protect the environment for wildlife in support of the natural world that sustains us all," Executive Director Jane Winn said.
"So we're here keeping in mind that this work is not just all about us humans. We are causing the sixth extinction, a massive loss of biodiversity. We need our legislators to take action now."
The climate activists want to keep the biomass language in the Senate version of a bill to prevent biomass energy and to stop the state's "Future of Natural Gas" assessment.
West Side Neighborhood Initiative Chair Linda Kelley acknowledged how environmental justice is important for her neighborhood. She said the West Side is the lowest income area in the city — with a median income that is nearly half of the whole city — and its residents have a life expectancy shorter by almost a decade.
Kelley outlined a few reasons why the area is in great need of environmental justice. These include residents not having the upfront cash to invest in cleaner heating options like solar, health effects from "dirty sources of energy," and a lack of transportation options coupled with lower-income residents being forced to drive older and less efficient cars.
"The health of our overall community depends on environmental, economic, and social justice," she said.
"So if we are serious about clean air, if we are serious about climate change, and we should be, it's absolutely essential that it must be clean air for all."
Wessel also reported that the organization had luck with two larger peaker plants that have agreed to convert to renewable energy.
BEAT's "Put Peakers in the Past" initiative demands that the three peaking power plants located in Berkshire County revert to only renewable and clean alternatives. "Peaking" plants are used to meet periods of high energy demand.
The decades-old plants at Pittsfield Generating Co. on Merrill Road, the Eversource substation on Doreen Street, and the EP Energy plant on Woodland Road in Lee run off fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, and kerosene. Pittsfield Generating is a co-generating plant that also provides steam energy.
Wessel reported that the Doreen Street plant and the Woodland Road plant are going to be transferring over to grid storage by the end of 2023.
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Pittsfield 2024 Business Wrap-Up: New Life and Closures
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Mayor Peter Marchetti gets ice cream cones from the reopened King Cone on Fenn Street.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In 2024, the city's business landscape saw some shakeups, with restaurant openings and closures and some new ventures.
King Kone, a soft-serve staple, was purchased by the nonprofit Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds to be run as a workers' co-op. At the end of the 2023 season, the Barbarotta family closed the shop's order and pickup windows for the last time as they prepared to sell.
The ice cream shop had a soft opening in August, offering frozen treats on a "pay what you will" basis while employees perfected the craft.
In 2023, Roots and Dreams was allocated $179,000 to purchase the soft-serve ice cream shop at 133 Fenn St. and convert it into a worker cooperative. It owns a series of storefronts ranging from 117 to 129 Fenn St.
This model provides workers with a flat wage, revenue shares, and the opportunity to buy into the business.
There were moving trucks outside the location instead of preparations for the lunch rush. It was first reported by PCTV on its Facebook page and a call to the restaurant was answered by an employee who said the eatery had no plans to reopen.
The former Crossroads Cafe saw new life in 2024 as Bei Tempi, which is Italian for "good times." Owners Elizabeth and Richard Zucco wanted to bring back food while preserving the establishment's long-held popularity for live music.
In 2023, the Licensing Board approved a change of stock interest for Crossroads Cafe and an application from Zuke's Soups and Variety LLC, doing business as Bei Tempi, for the transfer of license, pledge of inventory, and pledge of license from C.T. Colvin Inc. doing business as Crossroads Cafe.
Bei Tempi was granted an entertainment license in June.
North Street saw a new breakfast and lunch spot when Marie's North Street Eatery and Gallery opened in the former Maria's European Delights.
Maria's European Delights closed at the end of 2022 after 15 years in business. Maria Sekowski's late husband Krzysztof "Kris" opened the store in Great Barrington in 2007, and, in 2013, it was moved to Pittsfield. The Eastern European deli was known for the smell of homemade soup, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, and impromptu musical numbers.
New owner Neil Davis, a veteran entrepreneur, has kept an office in the historic Shipton building for about 10 years and Marie was a formal administrative assistant before they went into business together. He also owns a shredding business in California and has other startup ventures.
When Maria's closed, he saw an opportunity in the space and a way to connect with the community and purchased the business in February of 2023.
The space had been formerly occupied by Berkshire Palate, a farm-to-table eatery, which opened its second location in the Hotel on North in 2021. Around the same time, its owners opened 413 Bistro in the previously shuttered restaurant attached to the Holiday Inn on Main Street in North Adams.
Unfortunately, not all city eateries made it to 2025.
Attorney Bill Martin said there is a "really bad relationship" with the holder of The A's liquor license — with owners struggling to even get in contact. A few years ago, the former tenants went out of business and now, he said the GEAA is facing a worse situation with the latest tenants.
He said there are unpaid vendors, amounting to "tens of thousands of dollars worth of obligations that we're probably going to have to clear in connection with an application" for a liquor license transfer.
According to The A's Facebook, the restaurant appears to have been closed since late summer.
Pittsfield also saw a new plant shop and liquor store/Latin market.
Owners Emilee Yawn and Bonnie Marks opened the original location on historic Eagle Street in North Adams in 2020. Within two years, the shop outgrew the Eagle Street storefront and moved to a larger location on Main Street.
They offer classes and workshops, residential and commercial plant care, and sell various plants and related merchandise. They also offer personal and cleaning products that are green, sustainable, and refillable.
It features authentic Latin food from several countries, including Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.?
The owner Frank Goncalves would drive by the building every day and see the rough condition it was in. He made it into an opportunity to make the area look better and more welcoming.
Prior to the opening of the market, the Hispanic, South American, and Central American communities had to drive an hour or longer to get authentic Latin food, Goncalves said.
Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Fenn Street in March with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
"We're focused on serving local businesses with state-of-the-art technology while providing superior customer service," CEO Christa Proper said. "And Indy's presence in Pittsfield will help keep jobs here, and continue to attract talent to this area."
The building, formerly occupied by Alliance Appliance for more than 40 years, underwent a makeover after it was purchased by the company last year. Proper explained that it was an "employee collaboration," with staff members assisting in ripping out carpet, cutting bushes, cleaning windows, and painting.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren meets with local entrepreneurs Destiny Saunders, Jocelyn Guelce, Desean Scales and Ludwig Jean-Louis, who all received support through the Berkshire Black Economic Council.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in the city in July to talk small business opportunities and met with four local entrepreneurs who have received assistance, advice and promotion through the council's programs.
The Berkshire Black Economic Council's work to support and attract new small businesses to the gateway city got boost with $455,000 secured by Warren in 2023's appropriations package.
"I'm here to celebrate partnership because I really do believe that we have the pieces right, every part of it then starts to work better," Warren said. "And of course, I'm also here to celebrate being able to put nearly half a million dollars into funding this effort, and the work that is being done here to make sure that small businesses, that Black-owned small businesses, are not at a competitive disadvantage."
Jonathan Butler was recognized for a decade of leadership at 1Berkshire's annual meeting, held at Barrington Stage.
When Butler joined the organization in 2014, he was executive director of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. He then navigated the 2016 merging of the chamber, Berkshire Economic Development Corp., Berkshire Business Bureau, and Berkshire Creative into the 1Berkshire that is known today.
While serving the entire county, 1Berkshire has had its strongest impact in Pittsfield, where it is headquartered. The organization has sold its property at 66 Allen St. after 12 years and will move to the second floor of Crawford Square on North Street.
A few businesses with locations in Pittsfield announced closures in 2024.
Designer and entrepreneur Annie Selke started with a bedding and sleep items business in 1994 as Pine Cone Hill. The largely wholesale home decor operation added Potluck Studios dinnerware in 2002 and Dash & Albert Rugs in 2003.
She invested nearly $4 million into the former Interprint mill on Peck's Road that dates to the 1860s and moved in 2007. The company was purchased by Rugs USA in 2023.
In the fall, signs appeared on Staples' front window in Berkshire Crossing indicating that it would close on Dec. 13. Then Big Lots announced in December that it would liquidate its assets after a purchase agreement with a competitor fell through.
"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Bruce Thorn, Big Lots' president and CEO, said in the announcement.
"While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process."
The closeout retailer moved into the former Price Rite Marketplace on Dalton Avenue in 2021. The grocery had been in what was originally the Big N for 14 years before closing eight months after a million-dollar remodel. Big Lots had previously been in the Allendale Shopping Center.
Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. It operated nearly 1,400 stores nationwide but began closing more than 300 by August with plans for another 250 by January. The Pittsfield location had not been among the early closures.
Advanced Auto Parts, with three locations in the Berkshires, is also closing 500 stores and 200 independently owned locations by about June. The North Adams store has had a "going out of business" for weeks and one of the Pittsfield stores is also slated for closure.
The Public Safety Advisory Committee has ranked four properties to consider during its feasibility study on locations for a new police station. Three have existing structures and one is a vacant lot. click for more
During the event, Pittsfield Bureau Chief Brittany Polito will ask the four Select Board candidates questions curated from voter submissions.
click for more
Officials approved a third-party investigation on alleged staff misconduct at Pittsfield High School that's expected to wrap up by March. click for more
