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"On December 8, 2008, Sabic Innovative Plastics laid off 40 of its 300 local employees. On December 11, 2008, KB Toys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in four years with the intention of liquidating the entire company. The 225 full-time employees at KB's Pittsfield headquarters will all be laid off by May 2009, company officials have said."
Source: "Crane lets go of 22" (By Tony Dobrowolski, Staff Writer with The Berkshire Eagle, New England Newspapers, www.thetranscript.com, Wednesday, January 14, 2009).
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"City leaders fail businesses, residents"
The Berkshire Eagle - Letters, Tuesday, January 6, 2009
As Nuclea Biomarkers prepares for its move to Worcester, I felt obligated to write a letter to the editor to address concerns that I feel beleaguer the city of Pittsfield. I was going to address these concerns in a private letter to our elected officials, but figured enough is done behind closed doors without the knowledge of the citizens of Pittsfield.
Pittsfield is in a recession, along with the rest of the country, but it is hitting Pittsfield harder than most. Over the past three months the city has lost approximately 300 high-paying jobs with certainly more to follow. This includes Sabic, KB and Nuclea. The economic viability of the region is in dire straights and we have not heard how the City Council, community development and the mayor will address this issue.
We have also lost companies that have helped our tax base to other towns and the spin has always been "It's OK, the company is still in the Berkshires," (referring to the move of Sinicon Plastics). It is a good thing they are still in the Berkshires but they are not in Pittsfield.
The GE Economic Development fund was set up as part of the consent decree to help fuel new business growth in the city. This money has been used for cultural projects, which I have nothing against, but this money was designated to help existing business growth and to attract new businesses. This money should not have been used to make up shortfalls of the Colonial Theatre and the new North Street Cinema project. The City Council and the administration have seemed to adopt a Republican stance catering to the top 10 percent of the city's citizens and businesses and have left the rest behind.
Viable companies have been leaving Pittsfield because the administration has not been flexible to their needs and requirements. In the example of Nuclea moving to Worcester, this is truly a political failure for our elected officials. There were 14 high-paying jobs that were lost to this move, most citizens of Pittsfield. There are no jobs in Pittsfield that can replace these high-paying jobs.
Now for the good news. The citizens of Pittsfield have the power to make a difference. These elected officials are your elected officials. The citizens of Pittsfield need to stand up and make themselves heard. With Linda Tyer resigning her seat on the City Council, the citizens of Pittsfield now have the opportunity to elect a city councilor who is not in the back pocket of the mayor.
Here are a few suggestions that citizens should ask of their elected officials. How is the GE economic development money disbursed? Request an audit be performed of the fund with a state level review of its bylaws and requirements. Why have certain deals been approved by the administration after the citizens have clearly disapproved? What are the mayor and City Council doing to protect citizens from violent crime which has increased substantially in the city?
The City Council should be asked to restructure the Community Development Office and replace the director with someone who has experience in the field. Most importantly, ask what the mayor and the City Council's plan is to address unemployment and how to retain viable companies.
In November, citizens of Pittsfield will have the opportunity to select a new mayor and a new City Council. Opt for change, as the city of Pittsfield needs change to survive. The current administration should be sent a message that the citizens of Pittsfield will not tolerate backroom deals and allow rumors and innuendoes from a few destructive people to sway decisions. Rumors and innuendoes don't really hurt the people that you are aiming at, but create collateral damage to innocent bystanders.
I hope people respond to this letter and make their views known — whether it is negative or positive you will be engaged in the process and that is what matters the most. Let's together bring this wonderful city back to its greatness it deserves.
PATRICK J. MURACA
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
The writer is president and CEO, Nuclea Biotechnologies.
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T8HTNBTURPK8OAGD8
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"Bump looks to address job losses in Berkshires"
2/19/2007, By: Karen Honikel, Capital News 9, Albany, NY
Governor Deval Patrick's new Executive Director of Workforce Development isn't wasting any time getting down to business.
Former State Representative Suzanne Bump is working to introduce herself to the local business communities and let them know she will make sure the Berkshires are not forgotten on Beacon Hill. She says a major concern right now is addressing the loss of jobs in the Berkshires.
Currently the Berkshires have the highest rate of job loss in Massachusetts. Bump says this can be changed with the right policies in place. She says she will be meeting with the Governor once a week to work on bringing skilled workers and higher paying jobs into the area.
Bump says a key part to local job growth and development will be finding a way to keep the younger workers in the Berkshires.
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Pittsfield's political inbred, dark prince: Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr.!
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Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen C Massimiano II (below).
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The Billionaire Crane Family Golddigger: DENIS E GUYER! (below).
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1/6/2009
Re: Remember Clarence Fanto's propoganda?
Hi, Clarence Fanto:
Do you remember your propaganda piece right before the last Pittsfield municipal election? You wrote an opinion piece entitled: "Ruberto is Pittsfield's champion".
You praised Mayor Jimmy Ruberto for the following reasons:
1. You praised Ruberto for "North Street" ...
(www.jonathanmelleonpolitics.blogspot.com/2007/11/pittsfields-revitalization-via-perverse.html) ... or downtown economic development!
These are your words!
"...restaurant row with diverse choices, including Burger, the just-opened adjunct to Spice, two restored playhouses offering live entertainment for nearly all tastes, hip, funky stores, and tired old apartment buildings rejuvenated as market-value condos."
2. You myopically praised Ruberto for a cheesy endorsement by Yankee Magazine.
Once again, these are your words!
"Ruberto...also is well-connected with the business community, state government, U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, and other key figures and agencies in a position to help Pittsfield move toward the mayor's mantralike goal — "best small city in the Northeast."
Now that you have seen all of the poor and failed outcomes of "Pittsfield's champion", do you still stand by your propaganda supporting Ruberto?
In TRUTH (I know, it hurts)!
Jonathan Melle
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"Cushy jobs for favored WHEN"
The Berkshire Eagle - Letters, Monday, January 05, 2009
I am writing in response and in approval of Donna Walto's letter of Dec. 24 on the appointment of Linda Tyer to the post of city clerk and the resultant cost to the people of Pittsfield in the form of at least one special election to fill her vacant City Council seat.
While I'm glad she's gone from the council, where she proved her ineptitude over and over again with irresponsible votes in favor of this mayor's wild and costly schemes, it is my feeling that the mayor is again thinking of who did him favors, not what is best for the people of Pittsfield. I think that the appointment of this person to this post is a slap in the face to the people who have worked in the office of the clerk, some for quite a long time, and are very capable of doing the job on an interim or even permanent basis and were passed over for the position in favor of Tyer, who has absolutely no experience at the job.
I guess if you are under the WHEN flag, you get advanced to a higher position in city or state government eventually. For example, Pam Malumphy from a council seat to a job in state government. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, to chairman of the School Building Needs Commission, which I'm sure will lead to a cushy job somewhere, and now Tyer to the job of city clerk. How is a person who is secretary to the principal of Lenox High qualified to be Pittsfield city clerk?
In my opinion WHEN should charge it's initials to WHER, Women Helping to Empower Ruberto, because that's about all they have done. I hope that in the November election of city officials one or more people run in opposition to Tyer so that the people can speak, and hopefully get a qualified person in the position of City Clerk.
JIM GLEASON
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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"KB Toys gift card update"
01/08/2009, 12:39 PM, By: Ryan Burgess, Capital News 9
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In Berkshire County, KB Toys has stopped accepting gift cards at most of its stores. But our Ryan Burgess explains where you can still redeem your cards.
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As of Jan. 1, KB stopped accepting gift cards at most of its 461 stores, including in Pittsfield and the outlet store in Lee. You can still use your cards in New York, but you'll have to act fast.
KB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December. But as we reported last month, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo secured a deal with the company that allows gift cards to be redeemed at the New York stores. So for now, you can still use a KB Toys gift card in New York, Connecticut and Vermont, according to the company's website.
But if you do have a gift card, you have to use it by Monday, Jan. 12, 2009.
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"KB Toys gift card update"
In Berkshire County, KB Toys has stopped accepting gift cards at most of its stores. But our Ryan Burgess explains where you can still redeem your cards.
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http://capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/131279/kb-toys-gift-card-update/Default.aspx
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"Government must get U.S. working"
The Berkshire Eagle - Letters, Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Yesterday (Jan. 10) I joined the ranks of unemployed Americans. After 18 1/2 years of working at KB Toys, I no longer have a job. Like millions of other unemployed Americans, I face the arduous task of finding new employment in a job-starved market.
The current state of our economy is not truly reflected in the government's term recession. The current state of our economy is better represented by the term depression. Without sufficient job opportunities, millions of Americans will continue to lose their ability to support their growing families. Unemployment will run out and states like Massachusetts will be faced with huge deficits because they are paying unemployment benefits and losing the financial pool from which the benefits are drawn.
The voting public has sadly remained silent for too long.
Elected officials haven't heard our outcry concerning the outsourcing of American jobs through written letters, e-mails or personal phone calls. The time for voicing our objection has come. Americans must take up their pens, draft some letters, e-mails and pick up their phones and tell their representatives that they demand they do more to persuade American-owned corporations to bring jobs back to America. Don't let corporate greed continue to cripple our American economy.
Ask our elected officials to come up with some incentives to make investment in American jobs more financially attractive. Bonds bearing attractive interest rates could be drafted for those investors who bring back American jobs. Work diligently with labor unions to work out fair wage packages that include health care benefits for employees. Reward companies who offer health care benefits by offering them tax breaks. I'm sure there are numerous other ways that financial experts can sweeten the offer without crippling our economy.
The beauty of living in a democracy is that we do have a voice in how government shapes its policies. Unfortunately, our voices have been silent for too long. Please join me and write to your elected officials today.
Don't put off writing those letters, sending those e-mails or making those phone calls. Your efforts and willingness to take positive action will make a huge difference. It may be easy for elected officials to ignore a single letter, e-mail or phone call but it's not so easy to ignore millions of them especially if they wish to maintain their elected seats. Remember, they rely upon our votes and contributions for the privilege of maintaining their seats.
BEVERLY J. TOBIN
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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1/14/2009
Re: Open letter to Rinaldo...
Dear Rinaldo,
What is going to happen to our native hometown now that "Sabic" laid off 40 employees last month and "KB Toys" is due to lay off all of its 225 full-time employees in May?
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ANSWER: It will have a very deleterious effect on Pittsfield which is already in a very bad situation.
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What do you think about the misdirection Pittsfield's political leaders have been in since you ran for local political office in 2003 and again 2005?
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REPLY: Clearly focusing almost exclusively on North Street (downtown development) and tourism was a mistake. Streets were very empty on North Street for Christmas. Apart from the overall strategy being weak since Pittsfield is not likely to see large tourism dollars and the jobs pay little, these types of businesses are at the front line of discretionary spending and the first to be hacked in a recession.
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Many of your ideas were ignored, while "The Berkshire Eagle" gave you bad press, and now many of your reality-based predictions about Pittsfield's tanked economy have come true!
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Jon, my ideas for brining high tech, industry, or other high paying jobs are nothing new and nothing unusual. They have worked elsewhere in the country and could work here also.
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Do you believe Mayor Jimmy Ruberto deserves another term this year? What about the City Council? PEDA? etc.?
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Jonathan Levine has finally started writing about PEDA's failures. I have tried to avoid "throw the bums out" angles instead of rebuilding Pittsfield. Things now may have slided so much we are at point past redemption.
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Please respond; thank you.
Best regards,
Jonathan
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1/15/2009
Dear Rinaldo:
I read your response and I am impressed with your political knowledge and foresight for our native hometown: Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
You are right that Sabic and the bankrupting-KB collectively laying off hundreds of local workers is going to make a bad situation worse for the city and community.
Interestingly, I have not heard of even one solution by the Mayor, Jimmy Ruberto, the City Council, State Representatives & Senator, Congressman Olver, et al. Are there any proposed solutions to this economic tragedy?
You are exactly right that all of the "cultural" investments in North Street was a terrible decision with deleterious economic consequences. Job loss in Pittsfield has only increased since Mayor Jimmy Ruberto took office 5-years ago. Tourist $'s are seasonal and diminish in a depressed economy. The city (local taxpayers) wasted millions of public dollars with net job loss to boot!
Your past proposals for high tech, industry and other high paying jobs would have been a much better investment of the taxpayers' economic development funds than falsely making North Street a cultural entity that it is not and never will be. It is ashame no one (except a few people like me) listened to you when you ran for local political office in 2003 and again in 2005.
I am impressed with Jonathan Levine, Publisher of the Pittsfield Gazette, too, for his good work and thoughts on Pittsfield Politics. I am glad to read that he is finally beginning to write about PEDA. I remember when it was proposed as BEDA, but not one other Berkshire County municipality would sign onto Pittsfield's failed plan. "Luciforo" & Larkin passed PEDA into law anyway with doomed to failure outcomes. When BEDA became PEDA back in 1997, that was the first sign of the beginning of the end. PEDA became law so GE's Jack Welch could make his fraudulent Consent Decree legal. That was the real point of PEDA: To make GE/Jack Welch happy by avoiding a Superfund site.
Finally, I agree with you, Rinaldo, Pittsfield's tanked economy is past the point of redemption. If only people had listened to your past ideas! If only The Berkshire Eagle did not praised WHEN and scapegoated you. If only the local, state and Congressional Pols actually cared about the people, their constituents' health and economic well being, and the community they are supposed to be respresenting in City Hall, Beacon Hill's State House, and on Capitol Hill. Many people have failed Pittsfield, but you have not. Please keep up your good work in politics, Rinaldo!
Sincerely,
Jonathan
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TR9O954F1UVJJ9CTS
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"Sabic's parent hit hard"
By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Friday, January 23, 2009
PITTSFIELD — Sabic Basic Industries Corp., the parent company of Sabic Innovative Plastics, on Tuesday reported a 95 percent drop in net profits in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the same time period of 2007.
The Middle East's largest listed company reported a net profit of 311 million in Saudi Arabian Riyals, the country's currency, in the fourth quarter of 2008, as compared to 6.87 billion SAR in 2007's fourth quarter, according to information on Sabic's Web site.
Sabic's gross profit dropped 74 percent to 3.51 billion SAR in the fourth quarter of 2008 from 13.35 billion SAR in 2007. Operating profit fell from 11.11 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 1.61 billion SAR last year, a drop of 86 percent.
The company's net profit for 2008, however, dropped by only 19 percent, from 27 billion SAR at the end of 2007 to 22 million SAR last year.
Sabic Innovative Plastics, formed in 2007 when the firm purchased GE Plastics for $11.6 billion, maintains its world headquarters in Pittsfield. On Thursday, Sabic Plastics spokeswoman Jodi Kennedy referred all comments to the firm's headquarters in Saudi Arabia. Othman Al-Humaidi, Sabic's General Manager for Corporate Communications, did not respond to an e-mail message seeking comment.
The company attributed the sharp drop in its 2008 fourth quarter results to the decline in demand for petrochemical products and metals due to the economic recession, and the credit crunch that has made it difficult for consumers to obtains financing from banks and other financial institutions.
"This led to an acceleration in the pace of declining petrochemical prices," said Sabic Chairman Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan Al-Saud in a statement. "The decline in demand for petrochemical products, particularly specialty plastics, arising from the crisis afflicting the global automotive industry and building and construction sectors, has had a strong impact on the performance of Sabic affiliates outside Saudi Arabia.
"This same decline has been felt by similar companies operating in the same industry," he said. "These affiliates are restructuring their businesses to improve performance through a reduction in costs, but in such a manner that does not affect their major activities."
In October, Sabic announced that it would cut production up to 20 percent at all of its engineering plastics production sites worldwide.
Last month, Sabic's Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Mohammed al Mady, speaking at a petrochemicals conference in Dubai, said the company cut chemical production at plants in Europe by an unspecified amount, and had delayed construction of a fertilizer plant and steel factory.
Sabic Basic Industries is one of the world's leading manufacturers of chemicals, fertilizers, plastics and metals, which it supplies to other companies. The firm began to implement a new worldwide business plan last March, then began to layoff employees when the economic recession hit.
The layoffs resulted in 40 of Sabic Innovative Plastic's 300 Pittsfield employees losing their jobs. Staff reductions in Sabic's global operations saw 1,000 of the company's 10,500 worldwide employees lose their jobs through layoffs or attrition last year.
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"Top KB execs stand to profit"
By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Saturday, January 24, 2009
PITTSFIELD — Laid-off employees at KB Toys have not received severance packages, but seven top executives stand to share up to $286,000 for successfully completing the firm's liquidation.
Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin J. Carey has approved a motion filed by KB's attorneys establishing a "key executive incentive plan."
The plan will allow the company's seven senior executives to receive "bonus payments" upon the completion of five separate tasks involved with liquidating the company's assets, according to court documents.
When the 86-year-old Pittsfield-based national toy retailer filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 11, it did so with the intention of liquidating the firm. KB has more than 25,000 creditors to whom it owes more than $190 million.
KB has begun laying of its 225 full-time employees at the firm's headquarters at 100 West St.; all will be gone by May. Slightly less than 100 remained on the job this week.
Former employees have said they received no severance packages when they were laid off, although it is possible they may receive some compensation as the Chapter 11 process continues.
According to KB's Senior Vice President for Human Resources Gerald P. Murray, since KB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, items such as severance packages are determined through the court process, and are out of the company's control.
The seven executives eligible for the payments are President and CEO Andy Bailen; Senior Vice President for Information Technology/Supply Chain Frank Andryauskas; Vice President/Controller Raymond I. Borst IV; Vice President/General Counsel Scott Hochfelder; Treasurer Charles J. Stengl; Senior Vice President and General Manager/Creative Innovative and Sourcing Vincent Iannacito; and Murray, according to court documents.
The tasks include the recovery, disbursement and collection of KB's inventory and other assets by certain dates; the selling of inventory outside the firm's retail network by Jan. 31; and the closing of the firm's wholesale distribution centers by that same date. A sixth task does not include a bonus payment.
The bonus plan provides incentives for the senior executives to complete the company's obligations in full. Those include making sure debtors' operations are managed, expenses are minimized and revenues are maximized through its going-out-of-business and assets sales.
"The fundamental purpose of any Chapter 11 case is to maximize the value of a debtor's estate," the court motion states.
The amount of the incentive payment available to the senior executives depends on the specific task and whether the "target" for each task has been achieved.
If they complete 100 percent of the five tasks, the seven executives will receive shares from a $286,000 pool, according to court documents. If they complete 75 percent of the tasks, the executives will split $187,275. The maximum amount of incentive bonus money available to each of the executives ranges from $25,000 for Murray to $70,000 for Borst.
The attorneys who filed the motion, Joel A. Waite of Wilmington, Del., and Mitchell Applebaum of Boston, did not return telephone calls from The Eagle seeking comment.
Bailen declined comment on Friday when reached on his cell phone.
According to court documents, the establishment of an executive incentive plan is allowed under two sections of the federal bankruptcy code. But one former KB employee, who declined to be identified, said the formation of such a plan was upsetting because when the layoffs were first announced the company's executives stressed that everyone was in the same situation.
"It leaves a bad taste in your mouth when they say you're in the same boat as we are, and we all have to go out and get jobs," the former employee said. "It's kind of like when the automakers went for that money from the bailout and they flew on their private jets to do it."
"I think it's kind of disappointing," said Suzan O'Neil-Hogue of Pittsfield, who lost her job the day after KB filed for bankruptcy protection, "because we're all average Joes trying to compete for jobs and we're not getting incentives as well."
Attorney Jack E. Houghton Jr. of Pittsfield, the Chapter 7 trustee for Berkshire County in bankruptcy litigation, said it is not unusual for companies to provide employees with incentives to help them through the liquidation process.
"Maybe you have a key individual whose services are absolutely necessary to roll the company through Chapter 11," Houghton said. "You can't just advertise for somebody like that."
"They're in bankruptcy now," Houghton said. "This isn't business as usual."
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To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6224.
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TTVBT7RI6BFTJ0IG0
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"Bonuses for burying KB", The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Yes, someone has to attend to the messy details of sending KB Toys off into oblivion, but should they receive bonus money for it? That the seven executives in question are not performing these duties as part of whatever compensation they were already receiving is yet another insult to the KB employees tossed into the street when the Pittsfield-based company filed for bankruptcy just before Christmas.
A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a motion filed by KB attorneys establishing a "key executive incentive plan" enabling President and CEO Andrew Bailen and six other executives to split up to $286,000 based on how successfully they perform what amounts to funeral duties in the weeks ahead. The tasks — among them collecting and disbursing KB's inventory and closing the firm's wholesale distribution network — are important, but these presumably well-paid executives who have presided over KB's demise should not receive extra compensation for carrying them out.
The bonuses will be paid even though none of the 225 full-time employees who will be laid off by May have received severance packages. They may or may not as the Chapter 11 process unfolds, but the executives will be taken care of first either way. Neither of the two attorneys who filed successfully on behalf of the executives nor Mr. Bailen have any comment on the matter, just as no one from the 86-year-old company has said anything officially about the bankruptcy filing and its ramifications or explained to the city what specific plans it has, if any, for its West Street building.
In microcosm, the KB fiasco speaks to why corporate America is held in such low regard today. It has earned it.
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TGNS5TUNMTK6EEA7P
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"Pay for KB execs is all too typical"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, Wednesday, January 28, 2009
It is extremely unnerving to read that the top executives at KB Toys have requested incentive pay for completing their bankruptcy process while laid-off workers will receive little or no severance pay.
Merrill Lynch's top managers demonstrated a similar arrogance recently by issuing large bonuses to their executives while at the same time applying for a tax-payer funded bailout. The practice of excessive pay for executives in general but specifically "to complete the company's obligations in full" is a troubling and all too common one. It is an approach that demonstrates little allegiance to the workers and communities that have made these corporations profitable for years.
Barack Obama has come into office stressing that an economically sound business strategy must include an awareness of the needs of stakeholders and of the community at large. Hopefully, his new leadership, as well as the glaring fact of the current financial crisis, will spur corporate leaders to re-evaluate their responsibilities and to create more civil, human, and productive workplaces in the future.
PETER LAZES
West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
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1/28/2009
Re: KB Executives followed their political leaders!
Re: "Pay for KB execs is all too typical" (By Peter Lazes, The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, Wednesday, January 28, 2009--below--): Last month, U.S. Congress received a substantial pay raise; and, this month Beacon Hill's State Legislature received a large pay raise, too. The letter writer myopically criticizes the corporate executives for receiving incentive or bonus pay, while he overlooks that they are only following in the footsteps of their political leaders both in Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.! Moreover, President Barack Obama's first priority is to give the corporate and ruling elites our great-grandchildren's tax dollars! The bottom line is that the poor and middle class families are regulated by the state for the benefit of the corporate and ruling elites. Better said: The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer! That is America in the 21st Century: No more middle class families, jobs outsourced to China, record homelessness, record uninsured, and the list goes on. If George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, et al, were alive today, they would declare independence from the Corporate and Ruling Elites!
In Dissent!,
Jonathan Melle
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KB Toys once paid nearly $200,000 per year for municipal parking spaces; more recently the firm paid some $100,000
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"KB liquidation creates ripple effect"
The Pittsfield Gazette, Jonathan Levine, Editor/Publisher
08.JAN.2009
The ongoing liquidation of KB Toys — and elimination of an estimated 250 positions at the firm’s West Street headquarters — will have a dramatic domino effect throughout the community.
“It’s huge,” said at-large councilor Peter Marchetti, a banker. “These job losses mean mortgage issues, less people buying things and a trickle down effect on almost everything else.”
While the sudden elimination of the primarily white-collar jobs creates obvious personal crises, community observers say that the impact will hit other businesses, ranging from fewer cups of coffee sold by nearby eateries to the projected loss of another $100,000 of annual municipal parking revenue.
“It’s obviously going to have a ripple effect all around,” said John Farr, owner of Farr’s Deli West, the eatery nearest KB’s offices.
Like other restaurant owners, Farr saw a decline in KB business even before December’s bombshell announcement.
“I feel very badly for these people,” he said. “They’re good people and good patrons... hopefully, the building will not be vacant for long and they’ll find jobs.”
Yvonne Pearson, executive director of Downtown Inc., concurs that center-city eateries will particularly miss the strong KB presence.
“Regarding downtown, I don’t think the dust has settled yet,” she said. “We will not know the full impact until weeks or months after they’re gone. I don’t think it’s going to really impact retail but that is over 200 people who might go for coffee and a muffin and to lunch.”
Some KB employees — particularly those with specialized skills — may find good replacement jobs in the region, but the overall prognosis is bleak.
“It’s going to be challenging to find comparable employment opportunities,” said Heather Boulger, executive director of the Berkshire Regional Employment Board.
The good news for job seekers is that “for the past year or year and a half, we’ve had higher-than-average job vacancy rates here in the Berkshires.”
The bad news is that “making the same rate of pay is going to be difficult.” Furthermore, concerns about the economy may limit other firms’ willingness to hire.
“It’s an opportunity for companies that have been looking for these professional and technical types of skills,” said Boulger.
The KB job layoffs — which will likely occur in waves, following December’s initial terminations — come at a time when more and more Berkshire workers are losing jobs.
“The economy has been very challenging in Berkshire County,” said Boulger. “In the past month several companies have laid off combined more than 600 employees... There have been a lot of companies laying off two here, five here, fifteen here, eighteen here. It’s been a lot to absorb.”
The real estate impact will largely depend upon whether families stay in the area, said Stan Wojtkowski of the Berkshire Agency.
“A lot of those folks have a spouse with another job and ties to the community and may want to stay,” he said.
Wojtkowski does not think “it will be a big major impact beyond what we face now,” specifically foreclosures and the general economy.
“If people have properties that are desirable and are in good condition and priced correctly, they shouldn’t have problems selling this spring,” he said. However for families that purchased homes at the peak a couple years ago, current prices may be disappointing.
The KB shutdown will also impact many businesses that supplied or served the headquarters.
“We get affected on a pretty large level,” said Scott Kirchner, co-owner of Mad Macs, a computer firm specializing in Apple products. “We’ve always done a lot of business with KB Toys.”
Kirchner termed KB one “one of our largest accounts,” with Mad Macs providing “a variety of services from maintenance to specialty projects in their design and graphics department.”
At one point KB was one of a handful of accounts that represented half of Mad Macs’ revenues. As the firm has grown, it has picked up a more diverse clientele, mitigating the loss of KB Toys. Still, there are not great prospects to replace such a large account.
“It doesn’t put us out of business, but definitely we’re going to feel the sting of it,” said Kirchner. “And it’s very sad for these people and for the community.”
Municipal government will also take a revenue hit from the KB closure.
Based on past experience, tax collector Marilyn Sheehan expects that the city will ultimately receive all property taxes, but she says that as the bankruptcy process advances, the city will likely receive late payments.
The assessors office values KB’s West Street land and building as worth $5.4 million. The annual tax bill for the site is approximately $156,000.
The city will be researching the legal status of the building’s ownership — more than two dozen KB affiliates are part of the bankruptcy filing, but it’s not clear if the entity that owns the site is included — and Sheehan said legal counsel will be involved.
A more immediate fiscal hit is occurring in the public works department, which rents spaces in the McKay parking garage to KB.
“It’s progressively gone down,” said commissioner Bruce Collingwood.
Four years ago, KB rented 357 McKay spaces at a cost of $38 per month. the firm’s current pact covers 203 garage spaces as well as seven cheaper rooftop spaces. KB informed city officials that another 59 spaces would not be needed after December.
The monthly bill to KB for parking spaces currently is just shy of $8,000 — about half of its peak — and is expected to dwindle as the firm continues toward elimination.
“It’s definitely a revenue hit,” said Collingwood.
While certain cheaper surface lots have waiting lists, interest in pricier garage spaces is stagnant and the commissioner does not expect to fill most of the KB spaces unless another firm moves into the West Street building.
The financial hit will also extend to non-profit organizations that traditionally receive KB support.
At Downtown, Inc., KB Toys has been “one of our 12 major donors,” said Pearson.
The impact will go beyond the budget. Pearson said that KB has provided untold in-kind services over the years, from toys for the organization’s kids’ party to printing of materials.
“They’ve created banners; they’ve helped with printing; they’ve done whatever we needed,” she said.
KB has also provided volunteers. The organization’s current president is a KB employee.
Pearson notes that KB has also helped many civic organizations, financially and through other programs.
“It’s going to have impact on a lot of the community,” she said.
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"No corporate greed at KB Toys"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, Saturday, January 31, 2009
I would like to disabuse Berkshire Eagle readers of any misconceptions they may have derived from the paper's recent articles about KB Toys and its executives. It is misleading to characterize the KB tragedy as one of corporate greed. Sadly, there is more than enough hardship and heartache in the KB story to go around. KB executives are not exempt.
The seven individuals identified in Saturday's Eagle article collectively share just shy of 100 years of experience at KB. They include people who began their career as company stock boys and those whose homes, property taxes and children's education were financed by their jobs at KB. They are dedicated employees who, in addition to their ordinary responsibilities, worked in the stores during the holiday season, unloaded inventory from trucks, and fought round the clock to try to save the company that has meant so much for so long in Berkshire County. And, like all of the hard-working KB employees, these executives will lose their jobs and health insurance and will not receive severance packages.
The bankruptcy court previously approved two other plans that provided bonuses and retention pay to hundreds of non-executive employees at KB. These other plans provide for payments to employees in the home office, KB stores and KB distribution centers. Conversely, the executive plan referenced in the Eagle's articles, is not a bonus or retention plan. Rather, the plan is strictly performance-based-participants receive compensation if, and only if, they successfully achieve certain measurable targets directly tied to maximizing the value of the debtor's estate and minimizing the company's wind-down expenditures. To qualify for this payment, each individual was required to waive any severance claims. This plan was approved by the Creditors' Committee and the Court as necessary to maximize value for KB's creditors.
In these economic times, people are, understandably, angry and it is human nature to look for someone to blame. In this situation, however, it is unfair for that anger to be laid at the feet of KB Toys or its executives. KB Toys' employees throughout the United States are victims of the larger, global economic recession. In the end, the collapse of a local, 86-year old, company is a story of tragedy, not greed. Nobody won at KB Toys.
JENNIFER SACON
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TIQGBGVRVEJPHB5UD
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"
City fails residents this winter"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, Friday, February 06, 2009
I think it's quite interesting that the city now wants to impose a fine for any snow not removed from the sidewalk. All winter long I have seen many people, throughout the city walking in the street because the city-owned sidewalks have not been cleared by the city. This has posed hazards not only to drivers, but to the many senior citizens that are forced to walk in the street, or take the chance of falling on the built-up snow and ice. Now the city wants to start handing out fines to residents for the same thing the city has been guilty of all winter long. It's kind of funny that when it was announced that this was becoming an issue then all of a sudden you could see the city clearing the sidewalks.
Same thing with plowing. I am surprised that the city does not take very good care of the streets, yet it states that it is more than halfway through the allotted budget for winter maintenance. This subject was brought to my attention about six weeks ago when I attempted to gain access to my father's house, which is apparently on an "unaccepted street." My father is in his 70s and has health issues. I am concerned that if an ambulance ever has to get to his house, it will not be able to due to the very poor conditions.
When I spoke with someone at City Hall the only answer I received was that my father, who like many senior citizens is on a fixed income, would have to pay for a private plow to clear his street. I asked the woman why he should have to pay taxes and money for the clearing of his street and she said, well that's how it goes. I also left a message at the highway dept. (No return call).
All of the citizens know that
the city of Pittsfield is only interested in the tourists that come here for a few months out of the year. This is backwards and someone has to fix it. You cannot ignore the year-round residents just to be able to take care of the tourists. The city really needs to get its act together and start taking care of its own.
MELISSA HYDE
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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David and Linda Gilardi of 18 Sixth St. are preparing to sue the city, saying it is responsible for damage done to their stone wall following a late January snowstorm.
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"Couple preparing to sue Pittsfield"
By Dick Lindsay, Berkshire Eagle Staff, 6/22/2009
PITTSFIELD -- A Pittsfield couple is preparing to sue the city this week, claiming it is responsible for the damage done by a snowplow to their stone wall following a late January snowstorm.
David and Linda Gilardi of 18 Sixth St. say the legal action is a last resort after spending the past five months trying to convince city officials to approve spending more than $2,400 to fix the wall to the left of their driveway.
"At this point, I don't have any choice but to do a lawsuit," said Linda Gilardi in a telephone interview from her home near Burbank Park.
Gilardi described how a neighbor across the street witnessed a driver from CS Trucking -- a subcontractor hired by Pittsfield -- plow snow into the stone wall between 9:30 and 10 a.m. on Jan. 29. The couple learned of the incident later in the day and immediately filed a claim with the city that was forwarded to the MIIA, the insurance arm of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, which represents cities and towns in the Bay State.
The MIIA rejected the claim on Feb. 9, according to a letter provided to The Eagle, telling the Gilardis the city's Department of Public Works & Utilities determined a different snowplow driver clearing a neighbors driveway caused the damage.
Two months later, Linda Gilardi said she finally got city officials to admit the subcontractor was at fault, but the MIIA still denied her claim. In an e-mail to Gilardi, Public Works Commissioner Bruce I. Collingwood suggested she file a claim against CS Trucking and the city "will support your effort with this claim against the contractor."
Yet Gilardi said the state Division of Insurance told her that course of action is not allowed and must seek payment from Pittsfield.
Gilardi agreed, saying, "My relationship is with the city, not the subcontractor," and city officials should instruct the MIIA to approve her initial claim.
"We have no control," countered the city's attorney, Richard M. Dohoney. "It's their decision."
Dohoney noted the "vast majority" of property damage claims against Pittsfield are denied because "they usually are not the city's fault."
Gilardi said Ward 6 Councilor Daniel L. Bianchi has tried to intervene on her behalf, but to no avail. Although Gilardi praises Bianchi for his efforts, she's frustrated with what she calls "the typical attitude of government and insurance companies."
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To reach Dick Lindsay: rlindsay@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6233.
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Jeffrey Besse, co-owner of LTI Smart Glass Inc., a Lenox Dale-based firm that produces glass and polycarbonate laminates, holds a panel of smart glass, one of the company’s products. (Ben Garver / Berkshire Eagle Staff)
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"Diverse economy: Business community sets sights on a revitalized Pittsfield"
By Trevor Jones, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Monday, July 6, 2009
PITTSFIELD -- Kelly Wright remembers the city's downtown when she was younger, picking out clothes at England Brothers, or spending Thursday nights driving up and down North Street to check out the crowds of people outside.
"I grew up in Pittsfield. I remember a thriving downtown," said Wright, 38.
But she also remembers when those businesses left, and when the people left with them. So when Wright got laid off from her Borders Bookstore manager's job last year and began looking for locations to open her own business, one place seemed like the ideal spot -- North Street.
Wright is celebrating her one-year anniversary this month as co-owner of Chapters Bookstore, and hopes to be part of a revitalized downtown that could bring those crowds back.
"I think of Northampton, I think of people who park and walk around all the streets, see the shops," Wright said. "Pittsfield could be like that, and I think it's on its way to being that."
Wright isn't alone in her thinking. She is one of several entrepreneurs, business leaders and city officials banking on a revitalized Pittsfield -- a cultural and urban center that grows hand-in-hand with creative and information-based smaller businesses.
"Our future depends on a diverse economy that draws upon our presence in the heart of the Berkshires," said Deanna L. Ruffer, director of the city's department of community development.
Ruffer said the city needs to attract businesses, or support the growth of local businesses, that will function in a variety of fields while attracting people who like the area's natural and cultural resources but want to live in an urban setting.
Some of those potential businesses could come from a growing shift toward intellectual property as a selling point, instead of products on a shelf.
"I think the shift is toward the creation of value based on creative capital," said Keith E. Girouard, senior business adviser for the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network's Berkshire Regional Office.
Girouard said these businesses will become a growing part of the small-business landscape, relying on technology and information to be flexible, creative and agile.
Ruffer points to LTI Smart Glass Inc., a Lenox Dale-based producer of glass and polycarbonate laminates, as one of the companies the city has sought to attract. LTI will expand into a 90,000-square-foot facility on Federico Drive and could receive as much as $350,000 in aid through the GE Economic Development Fund.
"The Berkshires are a great place to live and to work," said LTI co-owner Jeff Besse. "And Pittsfield is the center of the county with a lot of resources available within a short distance."
Being able to adapt to changing customer needs is paramount to LTI's success, Besse said.
"You have to be quick and nimble. You have to react extremely quickly to changing markets," he said.
Besse said the city's highway access, people resources and Internet infrastructure, along with efforts by city officials to attract their business, solidified their desire to expand to Pittsfield.
"When we looked at other states, there was significant funding available to go to South Carolina or wherever," Besse said. "However, we wanted to be here, so it was nice that [the city] could level the field for us a little bit."
A new approach
City officials' new approach, formally articulated with the March release of the city's first master plan since 1993, doesn't rely on a single major company to bring jobs back, but instead relies on a revitalized city to attract people to live and start businesses here.
That is a sharp contrast for a city that once had a single company, General Electric, employing nearly half the city's working-aged population, and a city that remains a home to large companies such as General Dynamics and Sabic Innovative Plastics.
"The more reliant the community is on one large employer, the more likely there will be challenges down the road if that company decides to leave," said David M. Rooney, president of the Berkshire Economic Development Corp.
And while the city remains open to larger companies returning, there isn't the same urgency that there was in the 1980s and ‘90s, when numerous city, state and federal leaders sought to find another manufacturer to take over the vacant GE factories.
"People have a new vision and a new identity for the town," Ruffer said. "Forget about what kind of company we want. Do we have the kind of land and the kind of buildings [companies] want?"
Pittsfield Mayor James M. Ruberto agrees the city needs to pursue more entrepreneurial and small businesses, from technological or specialized industries to service and support industries.
"I think all of that reflects the true reality of the day," Ruberto said. "It certainly is the launch point for Pittsfield's future and truly represents a departure from the last master plan 16 years ago that spoke to, ‘Let's find another large manufacturing company,' which is no longer a viable alternative."
That means looking at ways to change zoning or install infrastructure that can be flexible for a variety of industries, Ruffer said.
The city began pushing for more small businesses in 1989 with the introduction of Berkshire Enterprises, an agency that helps displaced workers create their own businesses, many of which exist today.
"It would be the largest new employer in the county if you combined all those businesses [started through Berkshire Enterprises]," Steve Fogel, program director of Berkshire Enterprises, said of the group's impact.
But things have changed in the ways that people start new businesses. Fogel remembers when most potential entrepreneurs had to be trained in basic computer skills, but now those skills are an integral part of how businesses get started and get their messages out.
Girouard agrees, saying new technologies can make a huge difference for small businesses.
"Technology is one of the things that small businesses can adopt and utilize," he said. "It's a lever that can be used toward bigger and better things."
And with growing specialized and niche markets, those companies can reach out to potential customers anywhere through various communication platforms and social networking sites.
"Everybody wants something specific to them," Fogel said. "If you can identify your customer and target [your product] to them, you can make money."
Looking to the west
Another major opportunity for small businesses lies on the other side of the New York border, where the Albany Capital District is home to a burgeoning semiconductor and nanotechnology market. And that market will continue to grow as GlobalFoundries Inc., a subsidiary of Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, prepares to build a $4.2 billion microchip processing plant at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta, N.Y.
Much like the dozens of plastic companies that sprang up from GE's presence, many see this as a chance for ancillary start-up companies to find a home in Berkshire County again.
"With a program of that scale and size and sophistication, what that represents is innovation," Girouard said, adding that still is too early to know which business opportunities could arise from AMD's presence.
And while Albany's Capital District and the Berkshires haven't always been overtly connected, it's a market that many think should be tapped into.
"People look at state lines and they stop, and it doesn't make any sense," Fogel said. "There's going to be creative opportunities -- I just don't know what they're going to be."
With the advent of modern communication technology, those companies could host global operations from Pittsfield.
That may not be the case for a service-based or housing-based industry, Besse said, but for an industrial company such as LTI, the Internet has given them that freedom.
"We really have no reason to be in Berkshire County from a customer standpoint; our customers are around North America and around the globe," Besse said. "We communicate with them via the Internet or teleconferencing. Where we are doesn't really matter in our business."
But if businesses can be run from anywhere, how do you ensure this is where they want to be?
Part of that process is under way, city officials say, with the addition of cultural attractions such as the renovated Colonial Theatre and the Barrington Stage Company. Some see the new six-theater Beacon Cinema as the next step in making the downtown a place where people want to spend the day.
Nine years in development, the cinema project is part of a $22.4 million renovation of the 91-year-old Kinnell-Kresge building on North Street. The theaters, with stadium seating, are scheduled to open Dec. 14, and the building will feature office and retail space as well.
‘Leverage your strengths'
"Nothing is a silver bullet," said Yvonne Pearson, executive director of Downtown Inc. "It has to be a combination of things, but we really believe [the cinema] is going to be a catalyst to bring in the niche businesses."
Pearson envisions more restaurants and unique shops opening as people have more reasons to visit the downtown area, which in turns creates greater foot traffic and the extended business hours that are synonymous with vibrant urban settings.
"When you look at a county like Berkshire County, which is so rich in arts, culture and creative talent, you want to leverage your strengths," said Rooney, who believes the cultural attributes and being the only true urban setting in the area can be a boon to the city's redevelopment.
A revitalized downtown is a key aspect to attracting or keeping businesses on the city's wish list, Ruberto said.
"The investments in the venues is an important quality-of-life ingredient that is absolutely demanded by a young, educated workforce, and that's what we intend to see for the future of Pittsfield," he said.
And while most people wouldn't think a recession was the best time to be optimistic about new businesses, recessions historically are a time when greater numbers of entrepreneurs set out on their own.
The two biggest reasons, Girouard said, are because they either have been displaced from their job or they feel uneasy about the future of their current employers.
"People might be asking, ‘Do I want to be part of somebody else's enterprise or do I want to consider striking out on my own?' " he said.
For Kelly Wright, the co-owner of Chapters, it was all about starting a business despite its uncertain future.
"I think the best time to do it is when you're scared," she said.
Wright decided to open her store after the closing of the Borders outlet that she managed in Lee. After years of wanting her own business, the short time without a job gave her the impetus to make it happen.
And while she acknowledges that it hasn't been easy to open a store amid a recession, she hopes she and others can serve as an example.
"As scary as it was, it was worth it," Wright said. "You have to look out for your community, because if nobody does, it just gets worse and worse."
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To reach Trevor Jones: tjones@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 528-3660
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"Workshop dead"
The Pittsfield Gazette, Editorial, PUBLISHER'S NOTEBOOK by Jonathan Levine, 30.APRIL.2009
Ample spin and sparse soul-searching accompanied the city council’s discussion Tuesday about WorkshopLive’s failure.
The firm — touted by Mayor James Ruberto as likely to create a couple hundred jobs in the city — currently reports seven employees (though it’s still listed on the city’s official web page as one of Pittsfield’s 14 “major employers”).
In late 2004, Ruberto and his jobs czar, Bill Hines Sr., pushed city grants for the start-up internet firm.
The city council approved an allocation of taxpayer dollars from the General Electric economic development fund. The firm could receive up to $750,000 based upon hitting benchmarks.
The first $50,000 was released after one WorkshopLive executive established a residence in the Berkshires. The firm received two additional $50,000 taxpayer payments for hitting initial employment thresholds.
On Tuesday, the council formally voted to terminate additional incentives for WorkshopLive, a largely meaningless move since no more funds could be released unless the company added dozens of employees — having needed to hit 60 full-time employees last year.
However Tuesday’s reconsideration provided an opportunity to review the debacle and the philosophical questions never answered about the city’s dubious foray into a role as a venture capital entity.
The initial WorkshopLive allocations followed
a typical model for the current administration, marked by flag-waving, inadequate public information and scant business sense.In October 24, 2004, when Dan Bianchi chafed at the several-sentence document councilors were initially asked to approve releasing funds, an extremely angry Ruberto yelped, “I can’t imagine offering more information.”
He eventually did provide more information, including a benchmark system that wowed councilors (imagine not giving away the public money in one lump sum!). The business plan still seemed iffy and the vaunted benchmarks failed to justify any public money.
This correspondent in November 2004 wrote: “The real philosophical conundrum is the overriding logic behind this type of allocation. Should the city in effect be acting as venture capitalist for a private business? What payback does the city get for its risk? If the firm is successful, why do other investors get repaid but not taxpayers? What makes this particular investment more worthy than any other?”
And two weeks later: “Even if the company flourishes, city government’s financial overtures to the firm will remain provocative. Mayor James Ruberto and the city council staked out (and never really justified) new philosophical ground.”
This week, community development director Deanna Ruffer lauded WorkshopLive for hitting early goals. But the core questions remain unanswered.
Even now, WorkshopLive retains assets that could grow in value, but taxpayers will never reap any benefit.
Other than officials trying to look like they were doing something, why did Pittsfield give this company any precious taxpayer money?
What made WorkshopLive more valuable to Pittsfield than all the small businesses that during the same period have faced record-setting tax increases?• On Tuesday, councilor Matt Kerwood cited the termination of the WorkshopLive incentives as an example of the city’s careful monitoring of taxpayer giveaways and the “trust” that the citizens can have in Pittsfield’s economic development initiatives.
Since
WorkshopLive has already pocketed $150,000 of city money (as well as other governmental largesse) but boasts a whopping seven jobs, that’s absurd. It’s even more ridiculous since the firm couldn’t possibly claim any more of the money regardless of the council’s symbolic action.
By contrast, Ruberto and the entire council have remained deafeningly silent about
the no-tax status the owners of the Spice building continue to enjoy. They laid off or fired the entire staffs of their eateries this past year but
continue to enjoy among the most generous tax breaks in city history.
The annual report on tax breaks through the fiscal year that ended June 30 has never been made public — and no city councilor has publicly requested it. The vaunted annual reporting has been conveniently put off for 11 months without a whimper.
The city entered into an irresponsible contract with the Spice owners, giving them unprecedented perks, but made no effort to enforce that jobs-based pact upon dismissal of all the employees. Kerwood’s suggestion that city officials deserve any “trust” based on this record is mystifying.
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"[Berkshire] Region jobless rate on the rise: The local unemployment rate sees its biggest hike since last December, when KBToys filed for bankruptcy protection."
By Angel Roy, Special to The Berkshire Eagle, Wednesday, July 22, 2009
PITTSFIELD -- The Berkshire County unemployment rate experienced its biggest increase since December last month when it jumped half a percentage point to 8.1 percent.
It was the first jump in county unemployment since February, when the rate increased from 8.3 to 8.6 percent. The unemployment rate remained at 8.6 percent in March, then declined significantly in April and slightly in May.
In December, layoffs precipitated by KB Toys decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just before Christmas caused the local unemployment rate to jump from 5.5 to 6.6 percent.
While the area's unemployment rate has gone up, it is still lower than the state (8.6 percent) and national (9.5 percent) rates, both of which rose slightly in June.
The number of unemployed in Berkshire County increased in June from 5,484 to 5,992, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.
The increase occurred because a number of area companies, including Berkshire Health Systems, initiated layoffs last month, said Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board. Berkshire Health Systems cut the equivalent of 65 full-time positions in June.
"Those numbers are reflected in this data," Boulger said.
"Although the rate is up for the month of June, there are actually more people working and more jobs in June than in May so that is good, positive news," Boulger said.
Boulger said that she had been surprised that the rate in the county did not rise during April and May.
"I am hearing from a lot of companies that there is not a lot of confidence in the economy right now," Boulger said, adding that the lack of confidence has resulted in open positions going unfilled.
The BerkshireWorks Career Center on North Street has seen a 20 percent increase in job seekers from May to June due to the rise in the local unemployment rate.
"I am not going to say that people are not finding jobs because they are," said Michael Herrick, the career center's director. "There are just not many jobs available because more people are looking."
Since May, the number of those employed in Berkshire County has grown from 66,378 workers to 68,167. The Berkshire County labor force has also increased from 71,862 workers to 74,159.
Employment in education and health care was the only one of seven employment sectors in Berkshire County that decreased in June. Employment in that job sector dropped by 1/10th of a percentage point, which Boulger said may have been a result of last month's layoffs.
With the summer season now in full swing, Boulger said she hopes people will come to the Berkshires because the economy led them to take vacations closer to home. An increase in summer visitors will help keep local venues thriving she said.
"In Berkshire County the summer is when a lot of companies have jobs available to employ a greater number of people in leisure, hospitality and recreation," Boulger said. "Those types of industries do well in the Berkshires during the summer."
She's not sure if Berkshire County's unemployment rate could reach double digits
"I do not have a crystal ball," Boulger said. "We are trying to do anything possible to make sure that employers have the workers they need and that jobseekers have the skills they need to enter employment.
"I hope by using that combination we will not see double digit unemployment rates," she said.
Herrick doesn't expect to see a decrease at the BerkshireWorks Career Center soon.
"There are still more and more people being laid off," Herrick said. "More people than are being re-employed."
Unemployment in the Pittsfield metropolitan statistical area increased from 7.8 percent to 8.3 percent in June, and jumped from 8.8 to 9.5 percent in North Adams. The Great Barrington labor market area experienced a slight increase from 6.0 to 6.3 percent.
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July 25, 2009
Re: Ruberto's realities!
Pittsfield is worse off than ever before. Its local economy is in the tank! Thousands have, are and will die of cancer as a result of the toxic waste PCBs polluting the land & water around the city. Teen pregnancies double the statewide average. Job loss and welfare caseloads are both skyrocketing ever higher. KB Toys liquidated into bankruptcy, GE Plastics sold its business unit to Sabic, which recently laid off 40 employees. Berkshire Health Systems - home of Berkshire Medical Center - laid off 65 employees. North Street businesses like "Spice" failed and there are many vacant storefronts. The Pittsfield Public Schools are ranked in the bottom 10% in the comonwealth for low performance standards on test scores, large numbers of high school drop-outs and high truancy rates. Pittsfield is ran by insider, Good Old Boy Pols like Mayor Jimmy Ruberto, Registrar of Deeds & possibly future would be US Congressman Andrea F Nuciforo II (aka Luciforo), Peter J "Lobbyist" Larkin's hand picked successor State Representative Chris Speranzo, Berkshire Sheriff Carmen Massimiano II, and others in a close knit group that only represent their own self-interests instead of the greater needs of the community. What I mean is Pittsfield's ruling elite's focus is: "You are either in our you are out!" If you don't fall in line with our political agenda, you don't have a voice in city and state government. That leaves a great majority of residents without a voice in their community that poisons their bodies with toxic waste, gives them poorly performing substandard public schools, and business and residents leaving town in huge numbers! All the praise for Mayor Jimmy Ruberto is pure propaganda by the insiders who are benefiting from his tenure in political office. The rest of us are silenced and relegated to Blog postings.
In Truth!
Jonathan Melle
Native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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"KB Toys logo may live on"
By Scott Stafford, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Saturday, August 8, 2009
KB Toys may have a future as a brand name for a new toy company.
The KB Toys name, logo and Web addresses were sold at a bankruptcy auction for $2.1 million Thursday to a retail operation that now has several options in possibly relaunching the brand name.
Pittsfield-based KB Toys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December, and laid off its 225 full-time employees in the following weeks. All 561 KB retail outlets across the country were closed by the end of February, and a liquidation sale was held at company headquarters in March.
The KB Toys name, however, could be seen again as a toy retail chain, a toy section in grocery stores or department stores, an Internet commerce site, or a combination of these, according to John Morris, a bidder at the auction, held in New York City.
Morris, president of Morris Management, said Friday that a retail company named CE Stores was the winning bidder for KB's intellectual property. There were 10 registered bidders, eight of whom participated.
The money raised in the bankruptcy-court-supervised auction will go toward paying off some of the $190 million owed to more than 25,000 of KB's creditors.
Morris noted that a company would buy an already established brand to save time and money in creating a new brand.
KB Toys is second only to Toys R Us in consumer recognition among toy stores, and building an equivalent brand relationship with potential customers under a new brand could take years and millions of dollars.
"They paid a good price for it, and there are all kinds of things they can do with the KB brand because it is so well known," Morris said.
Former KB Toys president Andrew Bailen declined to comment Friday on the sale or any possible future for the brand.
Meanwhile, KB Toys' former headquarters, at 100 West St. in Pittsfield, remains vacant and dark, with no known plans for its immediate future.
The former KB store in Prime Outlets in Lee now houses an Under Armour store. The former KB Toys at the Allendale plaza in Pittsfield remains vacant. The old KB space at the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough housed a Steve & Barry's clothing store for a short time, and now is a Fun Works children's activity center.
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"65 jobs to be slashed at Berkshire Health Systems: The layoffs at BHS mark the second time in three months that it will cut its workforce, which affects union and non-union workers."
By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Tuesday, September 1, 2009
PITTSFIELD -- Berkshire Health Systems, the parent company of Berkshire Medical Center, will cut the equivalent of 65 full-time positions next month as it continues to contend with the economy and deepening, significant cuts in federal and state health care reimbursements.
Monday's announcement was the second time in three months that Berkshire Health Systems, one of the county's largest employers, said it would cut its workforce: It also shed the equivalent of 65 full-time positions in June. That cut, which took effect July 3, included 46 employees at Berkshire Medical Center and 19 management positions.
The latest workforce reduction will include union and non-union positions within Berkshire Health Systems and Berkshire Medical Center, but a more thorough breakdown of the affected employees was not given in the company's statement released Monday afternoon. The nonprofit company declined to comment beyond what was included in its statement, said spokesman Michael Leary.
The unionized employees will be officially notified under the terms of their collective bargaining agreements. All of the affected employees will receive notifications this month, and the reductions will take place in early October.
After that, Berkshire Health Systems will have the equivalent of more than 2,600 full-time equivalent workers. Combined, the two rounds of staff cuts represent less than 5 percent of the company's workforce.
The affected employees will receive severance pay, benefit continuation, career counseling, resume preparation, interviewing skills and job networking.
The latest cuts "will in no way" affect BMC's commitment or ability to deliver the highest quality of care and patient safety, according to the statement. Citing a comprehensive range of services and dedicated providers, BMC "remains well-positioned to weather the deteriorating economic climate of health care," the statement said.
At the time of the employee reduction earlier this summer, Berkshire Health Systems had hoped that financial challenges facing all hospitals across the country would begin to stabilize.
"That stabilization has not materialized," according to the statement.
Despite numerous successful programs that have helped BHS and BMC reduce costs in many areas, the hospital is experiencing a continuing decline in revenue and, as is the case with most hospitals, severe financial uncertainty in the future, according to the statement.
Medicare and Medicaid account for more than 70 percent of the patient volume for BMC and BHS, and those reimbursement ratios do not cover the cost of care, according to BHS. Dramatic shortfalls in state revenue in 2008-2009 required Gov. Deval L. Patrick to make emergency cuts in state payments for health care services, including the elimination of $3 million in payments to BMC. In 2010, the reduction in federal and state reimbursements to BMC and BHS physician practices could exceed $15 million, according to BHS.
Besides the significant government shortfalls, BHS said many patients that face challenging economic circumstances have postponed or decided against elective non-emergency care, which has lowered the patient volume at BMC.
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To reach Tony Dobrowolski: TDobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com - (413) 496-6224
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"Where are jobs that pay well?"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, 9/5/2009 -/- Sunday, September 6, 2009
While reading the article on the front section of today's Berkshire Eagle, "Mayoral election heats up," I couldn't help but wonder what Mayor Ruberto meant by "more jobs have come to the city"? With all due respect, Mr. Mayor, on behalf of all my friends and their colleagues laid off from KB, Berkshire Health Systems, Canyon Ranch etc. where are all these jobs? I'm not talking about the $10 an hour jobs that can't even support a single person, never mind a family. I'm talking about jobs that are equivalent or close to the jobs they have lost.
Please don't insult all these people who are desperately trying to find decent employment to support themselves and their families.
DONNA M. VIDOLI
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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"City failed to follow law at ballpark"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters to the Editor, Thursday, September 10, 2009
In response to the Sept. 7 editorial, "Waterlogged Park," The Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) asked that the work at Wahconah Park follow the law in process and on the ground. The city of Pittsfield applied to the Pittsfield Conservation Commission to amend the wetlands permit that Jim Bouton and Chip Elitzer received in 2004.
The Pittsfield Conservation Commission approved the amendment. An amendment, per the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, is for small changes, and BEAT did not believe the city's amendment was a small change. Nor did we believe that the amendment adequately protected the wetlands and the Housatonic River. We appealed to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The city withdrew its amendment.
Then, rather than putting part of the original 2004 Bouton/ Elitzer approved plan out to bid, the city paid for a new plan and put that out to bid.
The plans that the city put out to bid for the work at Wahconah Park, in our opinion, differed significantly from the plans approved by the Pittsfield Conservation Commission. When this was brought to the Conservation Commission's attention, the commission refused to look at the two sets of plans, even though I had copies of both at the hearing.
The Pittsfield conservation agent said the differences were not significant. The conservation agent is a paid city employee as well as a voting member of the commission, although he now recuses himself from voting on Pittsfield projects. The commission declined to look for itself until the project was done.
All we ask is that the city follow the law -- in process and on the ground. We do not believe that the city did that.
To reduce the flooding at Wahconah Park, BEAT has suggested to the city, the DEP, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that some of the contaminated material at the "King Street landfill" be removed, rather than capped in place. (The King Street landfill is a filled-in wetland across the river from the ball park.) We have asked for two years now, that the city and the DEP hold public meetings about the King Street landfill. Although the DEP has agreed verbally, no meetings have been held.
I guess we are asking not only that the city follow the law, but that there is an open public process as well. Perhaps that would prevent "misunderstanding by the public."
JANE WINN
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
The writer is executive director, Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT).
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"Mayor failed city workers, retirees"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, Saturday, September 19, 2009
It is inconceivable to me that any city employee or retiree would vote for Jim Ruberto for mayor. Especially since we have experienced the true efforts of our "money-saving" new health insurance which the mayor and his lackeys have so touted.
I am sure no one is happy with the $10 monthly increase in our portion of the premiums, and also the co-pays for doctors and prescriptions that have greatly increased. For example, one of my prescriptions that used to require a $20 co-pay now requires $50. Mayor Barrett in North Adams did not go along with GIC. Maybe he knows something that we don't.
We were also promised that retirees would be grandfathered and only pay 10 percent of the premium, instead of 15 percent, which includes 5 percent since July 1. This was to be accomplished by a bill in the state Legislature. So far, the bill has not passed. It will probably go the way of the bill which has been in introduced annually since 1997 and never approved making government employees equal to all other employees by giving them the same Social Security benefits whether it's retirement benefits or widow's benefits. Widows who worked for the government and whose spouses collected Social Security now receive no benefits. We are one of only nine states with this unjust law.
This decision to change insurance may have saved some money on the tax rate, but it seems like dirty pool to improve the life of one class of people by making a lower income class miserable. Many city retirees cannot afford a home when they retire. I cannot get too excited about former out-of-towners who live Pittsfield because of expensive restaurants and the Colonial Theatre. These expensive venues only produce low-paying service jobs.
I am convinced that Pittsfield's best choice for mayor is Dan Bianchi. He is an honest, well-informed, experienced, hard-working, beautiful person.
BARBARA AVANZATO
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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"Pittsfield needs a responsive mayor"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, Saturday, September 19, 2009
I received a piece of mail today that made me chuckle. A large postcard from Mayor James Ruberto asking for my vote inspired that reaction. The card was full of accolades about how much has been done for the city of Pittsfield during his tenure. We know all about the Colonial Theatre, the movie theater that will be opening soon, and other positive things that have happened. Those are the things we can see. What we can't see is the crumbling infrastructure, something that created a very stinky situation at my residence. I don't think there's any need to go into detail.
The experts who worked in the street over the two coldest days of the 2007 winter said that they believed the city should be at least partially responsible for the expense of the damage as the water main was crumbling. After going through the dog and pony show at City Hall, I learned the hard way that this city isn't about to admit to any failure or live up to its responsibilities to its residents.
So I decided to take the matter to the mayor. He is the person in charge after all, and you'd think he would want to know of situations such as this. I called his office several times, but the calls were not returned. I wrote a letter detailing the situation, and that letter was not even acknowledged. A show of common courtesy would have been acceptable.
I've lived in Pittsfield all my life, own a home and pay my taxes. I voted for James Ruberto twice, but he won't be getting my vote again. The candidate who shows that he or she cares about the residents of this city will get my vote. Oh, and that postcard? It will be in the recycling bin with the rest of the junk mail.
HELEN L. AUSTIN
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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"Berkshire County jobless rate rises"
By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009
PITTSFIELD -- Following two months of small declines over the summer, Berkshire County's unemployment rate rose by just over half a percentage point in September.
The jump from 7.8 percent in August to 8.4 percent last month is the biggest increase in the local jobless rate since June, when unemployment rose three-tenths of a percentage point to 8.1 percent, according to figures released Tuesday by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Local unemployment this year is at its highest level since March, when it was 8.6 percent. But the county rate did remain under the state average for the fifth straight month. State unemployment rose from 8.9 percent to 9.3 percent in September.
Tuesday's figures are not seasonally adjusted, which means they take into account short-term employment, such as seasonal construction jobs, or positions in the travel and tourism industry.
In September, the county's labor force dropped by 3,049 workers to 71,746, while the number of employed experienced an almost identical decline, falling by 3,190 employees to 65,751.
The number of unemployed, however, increased last month by 141 workers to 5,995, which is the exact same number as July.
Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire Regional Employment Board, said there is always a slight increase in the county's unemployment rate in September.
Boulger said last month's increase is due more to national and statewide economic factors than they are to any local issues.
"We're talking a 0.6 [percentage-point] jump," she said. "There's always a little bit of a jump [following the summer months] but not that much. I think that Berkshire County is feeling some of the impacts from around the state and the nation."
"I don't think there will be too many dips when the numbers are seasonally adjusted," Boulger said.
Berkshire Health Systems, the county's largest employer, announced in September that it would cut the equivalent of 65 full-time positions, the nonprofit company's second significant work force reduction in three months.
Those job cuts weren't expected to take effect until the beginning of this month. But Boulger said they may have been a factor in Pittsfield's unemployment rate jumping half a percentage point to 9.2 percent last month, the city's highest level of the year.
"The numbers might be a reflection of that," Boulger said. "People laid off from other companies who had temporary positions may have lost those jobs as well."
On the plus side, Boulger said the employment rate in the county's travel and tourism industry has increased by two-tenths of a percentage point from September 2008, while the level of employment in the education and health care, financial services, information technology and transportation/personal care sectors has remained stable over the last 12 months. The county's unemployment rate was 5 percent in September 2008.
In the county's three labor markets, unemployment in the Pittsfield area, which includes 14 mostly Central Berkshire municipalities, increased seven-tenths of a percentage point to 8.7 percent in September. The jobless rate in the North Adams labor market increased from 9.1 to 9.5 percent, while unemployment in Great Barrington rose from 6 percent to 6.4 percent.
"They seem to be pretty consistent with the other labor markets [around the state] as well," Boulger said, referring to those increases.
Unemployment in the city of North Adams increased by six-tenths of a percentage point to 9.7 percent last month.
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"Ruberto has failed city in many areas"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters to the Editor, October 28, 2009
In the majority of the mayoral debates I have seen, Mayor Ruberto has avoided the question asked to be debated and always has reverted back to an earlier issue. At the BCC debate on Oct. 26, the mayor avoided answering the questions asked and would once again go negative on Dan Bianchi.
Mayor Ruberto, it appears, does not listen to just any Pittsfield city citizens or officials, but his chosen elite, which does not benefit the overall future for this city and its families. The mayor mentioned thousands of dollars of grants received and job growth. The grant money, what did this go towards? What are the numbers of job positions increased against many businesses closing and laying off employees? Is it positive or negative?
Ruberto states that our overall residential taxes, though increased in Pittsfield, are down against the overall states taxes. But, Pittsfield's unemployment rate is much higher! Mayor Ruberto has supported the idea of one high school. With many families sending their children to other towns for schooling, the city may just end up with his idea, unless we support our schools and most of all our children of this city.
Arts and culture are very important in rural areas and cities. But, industry, businesses, and employment are also major keys to keep revenues coming in, a solid tax base, and a city moving forward to expand with companies worldwide. To attract a solid economic structure for the future of our children's education, a blueprint is needed for businesses to make this city their home, create jobs, and expand.
Where do you live mayor, in a bullet proof house? Our crime has increased over the years. My neighborhood has no crime watch.
Where are all the job increases in Pittsfield he assured to have for our youth and citizens? I have seen companies close so does this offset and job increases in other companies that may have expanded?
Pittsfield, let's move forward under Dan Bianchi.
MARK DEAN
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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"Nuclea raises $3.4M in equity funding"
By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Monday, November 16, 2009
PITTSFIELD -- Nuclea Biotechnologies LLC has raised $3.4 million in private equity funding that it will use to fund its diagnostic and clinical laboratories at Clark University in Worcester.
"We needed the money to keep growing the clinical lab," said Nuclea CEO Patrick J. Muraca, a Pittsfield native and Clark alumnus. "It's a new vehicle for us, and we want to keep moving the company forward."
The company, which came to Pittsfield in 2006, changed its name from Nuclea Biomarkers to Nuclea Biotechnologies when it moved most of its operations from Pittsfield to Worcester last year. Nuclea still maintains its computer network in Pittsfield. It received a full laboratory license from the state in June to maintain and operate the diagnostic lab.
Nuclea's primary focus is in the area of molecular oncology and pathology, but it has the capability of applying that technology to other diseases. The company is also involved with cancer research and Muraca said the private equity funds will also allow the company to expand its relationships with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore.
Private equity is made up of funds from private companies that are not publicly traded. A company such as Nuclea Biotechnologies will take on this private capital in exchange for an investment in the business.
"It's trading equity in the company for a specific monetary value," Muraca said.
The $3.4 million in private equity that Nuclea raised represents 18 percent of the company's value, he said. Muraca said raising private equity is a better way to grow a company than obtaining venture capital because private equity firms allow owners to retain control of their business.
"Private equity firms won't take control of your company. They're in it for the long haul," he said. "They don't have exit strategies."
In June, Nuclea Biotechnologies filed a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that it had raised $1 million of a planned $3 million round without identifying the investors, according to Mass High Tech, a technology trade publication. Three additional investor groups have come forward since then, including the Private Equity Investors Fund of New York.
Muraca declined to identify the other investors, citing confidentiality agreements. Vieter, who serves on the boards of two drug companies, is now listed as a director of Nuclea Biotechnologies, according to the Web site Mass Device.
Nuclea held a job fair in Pittsfield in July to hire more staff for its diagnostic lab. Muraca said five of the 50 applicants were hired, and that two are employed in Pittsfield and three in Worcester.
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To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com - (413) 496-6224
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