Letter: International Women's Day

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To the Editor:

This letter was ignored by the Berkshire Eagle

Friday, March 8, was International Women's Day. Here in the Berkshires, it was celebrated by the Zonta club, an International Women's Leadership organization, by honoring six dynamic women from our community at a special dinner that attracted over 200 attendees.

This diverse group of women has made monumental contributions from coaching young professionals to build careers here to providing over two million diapers to those in need. These women aren't CEOs of big corporations and they didn't develop the latest app. They excelled by giving their time, skills and in most cases their own money for the benefit and betterment of the Berkshires. Their stories are inspirational, serving as powerful testaments of selfless service to guide young girls and women.

On Saturday morning, I sat down with my digital copy of the Berkshire Eagle–our Hometown Newspaper– expecting to read about this event and the special women leaders who are uplifting our community but there was no story or photo. Making headlines was the lead story with photos about “Drag Time Story Hour for our Children.”


I seriously question the Eagle's editorial decision and judgment. How do you ignore this opportunity to illustrate International Women's Day through local coverage of Zonta's six remarkable honorees, from diverse backgrounds and roles, who are leading the Berkshires to build a more equitable, desirable and respectful place to live?

I've met the editor and publisher of the Eagle. He's a smart guy. This wasn't a mistake. I believe this was an intentional effort by our hometown newspaper to advance a political agenda while ignoring real community heroes. Eagle editors have demonstrated irresponsible behavior and a lack of leadership and judgment by propagating a targeted narrative.

Get the focus where it belongs.

Respectfully,

Roger Gibboni
Lanesborough, Mass. 

 

 

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Berkshire County Urged to Stay Home During Monday Nor'Easter

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Students and non-emergency municipal workers are home on Monday as the region is deals with another Nor'easter

Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales estimated that there was about 8 inches of accumulation around 10:45 a.m., and another two or three inches are expected. All of the main routes are covered by contractors and in-house staff, with support from the water division. 

"Wind is critical right now," Morales said. "That's the biggest problem we have ahead of us is wind driven conditions that may be difficult for people to drive on the road." 

The city has 19 contractors. There are still seven vacancies in the highway division, as well as one individual out on sick leave; four additional contractors with larger plows and road treatment capabilities were hired to fill the gap. 

Parking restrictions are in effect from 7 a.m. on Sunday to 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24.  Residents are asked to use off-street parking whenever possible and follow alternate side parking regulations if they need to park in the street: 

  • Between 7 a.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. Monday: Park on the even-numbered side of the street.
  • Between 7 a.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday: Park on the odd-numbered side of the street.

The McKay Street parking garage is free through Tuesday at 7 a.m.

During the last storm, Pittsfield had to tow about 30 vehicles obstructing the plowing route.  Morales reported that the city has towed a few cars during this storm, and that people should be parking on the odd side of the street on Monday. 

"It's not bad. There's still definitely a few streets with parked vehicles all over the place," he said. 

"What we want with this is getting people to still be able to park on the road, but be organized in a way that we can more effectively plow the street." 

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