Letter: "Everyone should feel welcome in downtown Pittsfield"
The Berkshire Eagle, August 23, 2021
To the editor: I experienced a sense of deja vu while reading Felix Carroll’s article ("Pittsfield's North Street retailers want answers. Mayor Tyer says, 'It's a work in progress,'" Eagle, Aug. 21).
To be sure, a safe and vibrant downtown area is the lifeblood of a healthy community; and, over the years, Pittsfield, to its credit, has made great strides in revitalizing North Street. However, for some reason, it consistently falls short of meeting retailers’ basic needs (parking, safety, cleanliness) by leaving these issues woefully under-addressed and by leaving stakeholders out of the planning and decision-making processes.
All of the above aside, the article brought one new very disturbing and shameful issue to light. That is that the owners of Township Four Floristry and Home are planning to leave the area out of concern for their own safety. Apparently, they made this decision after their storefront was egged and reportedly because of the barrage of homophobic slurs directed at them.
The last time I checked, egging windows was considered vandalism. Vandalism was considered a crime. And targeting someone because of their race, religion or sexual orientation was considered a hate crime in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
I have no idea if the egging incident meets the legal definition of a hate crime. However, given the vandalism of their property coupled with the reported homophobic slurs, make no mistake, business owners Jed Thompson and Nathan Hanford are being driven out of the city by hate. Yes, hate. Let us call it by its ugly name.
The milquetoast response from the mayor quoted in the article left me unimpressed and embarrassed for the city. First of all, the mayor and her administration ought to send a clear message that vandalism and crimes of hate will not be tolerated in the city. Secondly, the mayor would do well to make it her business to know how residents of Pittsfield who are targeted by hate feel. Thirdly, the mayor should initiate a community education program that addresses issues of bias and prejudice. She could begin by updating her own knowledge base. For example, homosexuality is not a "lifestyle." That notion is so 1970s.
It would be great to see Mayor Linda Tyer, Police Chief Michael Wynn and Berkshire District Attorney Harrington stand together and denounce all hate-motivated activity. Heck, they could even invite Attorney General Maura Healey who, married to a woman, takes these issues very seriously.
Mary L. Ferraro, Pittsfield
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August 26, 2021
Mayor Linda Tyer is sitting on tens of millions of dollars in stimulus and slush funds - also known as "Kapan$ki Ka$h". Does anyone believe that the proverbial Kapanski family is anything but a proverbial doormat to the incestuous group of ruling elites in Pittsfield politics? Mayor Linda Tyer recently told the Eagle that it is not in her record setting municipal budget to have cops patrol North Street and the Ring of Poverty that encircles the inner city. That is NOT even rational! Mayor Linda Tyer has been raising municipal taxes, fees, public debts and other liabilities by record high levels for over 5.5 years now, and she is sitting on huge stacks of tens of millions of dollars in COLD CASH. Pittsfield politics has always been totally predictable with high municipal taxes and record setting budgets that always increase by 5% per fiscal year, while Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski either complies with the city's ruling elites legal right to steal from them or face RETRIBUTION, such as losing their jobs for exercising free speech. Mayor Linda Tyer blocks my email letters that criticize her failed leadership in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She only wants to hear from people who praise her out-of-touch management style by telling her Pittsfield is a vibrant and dynamic fairy tale that none of the Pittsfield politicians even buy into themselves. Linda & Barry live in a millionaires-only gated community far away from inner city Pittsfield. Jimmy Ruberto lives in Naples, Florida and also has a condo in upscale Lenox. It has been and always will be snake oil sales pitches, propaganda, and a mockery of democracy in Pittsfield politics!
Jonathan A. Melle
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Our Opinion: "We all have a stake in the health of North Street"
The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, August 27, 2021
All of us have a vested interest in what’s going on in downtown Pittsfield. It was heartening to see that many residents agreed when The Eagle joined Mayor Linda Tyer for an informative walk through the heart of the city. A plethora of business owners, workers and passersby took this chance to express their concerns about the state of North Street to the mayor. Those worries suggest how much progress there is yet to make for downtown, but there is also a bright side — it means that they care and that Pittsfield, indeed all of Berkshire County, realizes we all have a stake in the health of North Street.
Those who spoke with the mayor and The Eagle voiced optimism and frustration, and both are certainly valid. The spirit of North Street is walking a tightrope of sorts, between the bustling bygone days of the General Electric era toward a future that will hopefully bring revitalization. It’s a path on which many post-industrial communities find themselves, and the novel coronavirus has hindered that journey. More than a year of COVID restrictions disproportionately put the squeeze on storefronts, restaurants and small businesses in general, and Berkshire communities like Pittsfield felt that pinch.
In turn, the pandemic accelerated some of downtown stakeholders’ chief irritants: tepid foot traffic, lagging upkeep, crime and vandalism. While Mayor Tyer sought to accentuate the optimistic points in North Street’s favor during her walk, she also acknowledged these and other challenges. Some business owners have critiqued the mayor’s office for being less than receptive to their concerns in the past. Credit where it’s due to Mayor Tyer for meeting her downtown constituents where they are while opening herself up to some direct criticism. We hope to see more of that substantive engagement.
It was also encouraging to hear some of those constituents float ideas for how to better organize community goals and communicate about them better between all sectors. For instance, Billy Keane, managing broker of Jan Perry Realty, suggested a summit to address what he sees as a “distinct breakdown in communication between our municipal leadership and our business leadership and, frankly, our creative leadership.” This is a great idea, because the swirl of dreams and ideas for downtown’s future might be similar, but they are not necessarily identical. Take the recent North Street redesign that has prompted much discussion in the community, including in The Eagle’s letters to the editor section. The need for more foot traffic downtown has been a common refrain, but the redesign, which sought to make North Street more “walkable” and accessible, with bike lanes, parklets and other upgrades, has received mixed reviews. Some have praised the benefit to pedestrians and cyclists, while others are critical of the overall design and the effect on motor vehicle traffic and parking.
Mayor Tyer has said that the new configuration for North Street is still “in its infancy,” and hopefully this lively community conversation will inform how it proceeds. But it underscores the fact that, while nearly everyone agrees some changes are needed downtown, change almost always chafes at least a few people and the kind of change needed is not always unanimously agreed upon. Take, for example, downtown merchants’ remarks about the placement and effects of social services resources in the area. Many agree that more widely available services — whether for those struggling with homelessness, addiction or unemployment — would go a long way to improving downtown’s social atmosphere. Yet many also worry about their placement’s effects on surrounding businesses.
To be sure, not all of these questions about North Street’s evolution are easy to answer. There are some issues, however, that are simple to address if not simple to solve. As a community, we should be ashamed that the owners of Township Floristry and Home were subjected to homophobic slurs and had their storefront egged. Now, that small local business has been driven from its North Street home. “It is not safe for us here,” read a post on the business’ Instagram that asked for leads on retail space outside of Pittsfield. It’s an unfortunate example of the need to create spaces that are thriving but also inclusive — not just for its effect on the local economy but the cost to our common social fabric and moral decency.
Still, the unique grit of Pittsfield and the greater Berkshire community imbues North Street with a valuable asset in this journey toward a rejuvenated future: “What the city does have is just this enduring hope,” Bjorn Somlo, owner of The Lantern Bar & Grill.
We, too, have hope for our downtown. We also see the challenges, but we are heartened that there is a robust community response willing to flag those obstacles in the effort to overcome them. We hope to see more of this boots-on-the-ground engagement from the mayor’s office with business owners and other community stakeholders, and we hope that those stakeholders keep speaking up for the heart of our community. It might be a narrow tightrope that North Street is walking, but perhaps this way we can still move forward.
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August 27, 2021
Hello Berkshire Eagle Editors,
North Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley". North Street is home to the Juvenile Courthouse. Juveniles are vandalizing North Street storefronts. The homeless are pooping on North Street. Earlier this year, a man was shot dead in broad daylight on North Street. No wonder why North Street has little foot traffic!
During a brief time every Summer, North Street has live plays and other tourism venues. However, decades of failed, redundant and costly downtown revitalization efforts proved futile. The common residents of Pittsfield cannot afford to drop a couple of hundred of dollars on a night out in downtown Pittsfield. News Flash: Pittsfield is an expensive place to live for local residents. Moreover, North Street is surrounded by a Ring of Poverty in inner city Pittsfield.
I grew up in Pittsfield and lived in the beautiful Berkshires for over the first 28.5 years of my life (I am now 46 years old). While it still breaks my heart to read about Pittsfield's downward spiral, I know all to well that Pittsfield has severe economic inequality because there are scarce living wage jobs there. The wealthy few Pittsfield residents, including some of the state and local ruling elites in Pittsfield, live in outer Pittsfield, while the working class and underclass mostly live in inner city Pittsfield. Mayor Linda Tyer lives like a SNOB in her millionaires-only gated community near the Hancock border with her multimillion-dollar Accountant husband Barry Clairmont. I hope I explained my take on why North Street is struggling, especially during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
In Truth!
Jonathan A. Melle
Post Script:
August 28, 2021
I respect Linda Tyer. We never had any kind of relationship; I don't even know her on a personal level. I have no romantic interest in her. I hope Barry & Linda have a happy life together. My criticisms are political only. I believe Mayor Linda Tyer is WRONG to block my emails. Politicians should hear from people who wish to tell them off, not just their loyal supporters. If I was a politician, I would listen to all political views within reason. Lastly, Linda is a SNOB! She is very disconnected from the majority of people who live in Pittsfield, Massachusetts by living in her wealthy gated community of multimillionaires.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Letter: "Pittsfield's downtown struggles show mayor's leadership struggles"
The Berkshire Eagle, September 6, 2021
To the editor: The city seems to be once again heading for troubling times, especially in its downtown.
The mayor, who many claim makes few if any trips into businesses and never seems to take the pulse from downtown merchants, took a walk and it was front-page news in this paper. ("Pittsfield's North Street retailers want answers. Mayor Tyer says, 'It's a work in progress,'" Eagle, Aug. 21.) She heard many negative things about what has been happening, and the answers were bland and generic and, from what some have told me, uninterested and lacking in empathy.
But the answer that got me was that a hate crime, actually many hate crimes occur against one business, and the mayor claims she did not know they had occurred. In a city as small as ours, I cannot fathom that when a business is being attacked on a routine basis that no one is informing her of this. She isn’t offering stepped-up patrols, assistance in cleaning up the human waste being left behind, a mobile surveillance unit to catch the perpetrator on film — nothing. Just "I didn’t know." It’s either a lie or it is a massive failure on her part to be engaged with a part of the community we spend a lot of resources to make healthy.
That one statement undid any efforts by the Red-Carpet Team, Downtown Inc. or any landlords in an effort to recruit business to this city. That statement implies the police are not being asked to double down on these quality-of-life issues in general, or on the perpetrators of a hate crime in particular. There have been vigils and marches supporting the Four Freedoms, diversity and other things to show we are a welcoming community. That stuff is window dressing. Showing our colors as a community is how we address actual incidents and how we respond, and the response from the corner office on Allen Street shows that the mayor is disinterested and disengaged.
I voted for a modern charter that granted a four-year term to the mayor. Now I see that was an error. Running for office is what keeps politicians engaged. Let’s hope she learns how to be a leader in these next two years. We need solutions and we need actions — and we need results. Downtown is not safe. If it were safe, it would have good people on it instead of those who drive good people (and businesses) away.
Dave Pill, Pittsfield
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September 6, 2021
Mr. Pill is obviously NOT living in Linda Tyer and Barry Clairmont's millionaires-only gated community near the Hancock border. Mr. Pill is obviously not scheming with Matt Kerwood to sit on over $20 million in direct aid Biden Buck$, and piling Kapan$ki Ka$h into Matt Kerwood's multimillion dollar $lu$h Fund$ that should belong in the pockets of the proverbial Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski. Mr. Pill is obviously not helping Peter Marchetti win reelection so that Peter Marchetti can dish out retribution to any City Councilor(s) who opposes Mayor Linda Tyer's out-of-touch, costly, and failed leadership in Pittsfield politics. Mr. Pill is obviously not supporting Pittsfield's "Level 5" School Committee. To answer your statement that there's an election this year of 2021 in Pittsfield politics, and your question where are you, Mr. Pill, I would say that Mr. Pill is somewhere other than with Linda, Barry, Matt Kerwood, Peter Marchetti, and the "Level 5" School Committee. Kudos to Mr. Pill for speaking out against Mayor Linda Tyer's failed leadership.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Letter: "As mayor, I'm proud to support Freeman Center fundraising efforts"
The Berkshire Eagle, September 18, 2021
To the editor: Each year, the Elizabeth Freeman Center serves more than 3,000 adults and children in Berkshire County. At the height of the pandemic in 2020 and continuing through this year, EFC saw a monumental increase in calls to its 24/7 hotline as well as police department referrals.
This year, there will be multiple socially distanced planned walks under the new theme, “Rise Together for Safety and Justice” in Pittsfield and other communities throughout the county beginning Sept. 19 and continuing through Sept. 27.
As mayor of the city of Pittsfield, it is my absolute honor and privilege to extend my full support toward Rise Together. While the name and theme has changed, Rise Together continues the significant work of EFC’s former event, Walk-a-Mile, which attracted thousands to the heart of our downtown and raised funds to support those in need.
Our collective assistance and solidarity will go a long way in helping our fellow neighbors. I hope you’ll join me in supporting the Rise Together walks. For more information on how to get involved, please visit elizabethfreemancenter.org.
Linda M. Tyer, Pittsfield
The writer is the mayor of Pittsfield.
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October 21, 2021
Linda Tyer proved to be yet another phony baloney Pittsfield politician. Sarcasm: Big surprise there. She is obviously in Pittsfield politics for her own personal gain, and she hit the proverbial lottery jackpot by marrying her "three times is a charm" wealthy husband Barry Clairmont who is a CPA where they live together in their millionaires only gated community in far west Pittsfield within feet of the Hancock border. Linda Tyer's financial management public record includes record high municipal budgets, fees, public debts and other liabilities, Matt Kerwood's multimillion dollar Slush Funds, and sitting on tens of millions in Biden Bucks and then having the temerity to shut out the public from knowing the process of how the Biden Bucks will be spent. Mayor Linda Tyer's mark on public education in Pittsfield is to work with her rubber stamp School Committee who defends its Level 5 inner city public schools. Mayor Linda Tyer's mark on economic development in Pittsfield is to work with her rubber stamp City Council to give out-of-town millionaires huge tax breaks, calling North Street "A work in progress", and taxing the proverbial Kapanski family out of their homes. I thought Jimmy Ruberto turned out to be a big failure for Pittsfield Massachusetts, but Mayor Linda Tyer is by far the biggest failure in Pittsfield politics corrupt and inequitable municipal government that consistently makes everyone turn their head in disgust.
Jonathan A. Melle
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October 24, 2021
Someone posted on Planet Valenti blog to me: "According to today’s far left progressives standards you would qualify as being labeled a Nazi and a White Nationalist member."
I dislike and disagree with extremism on both/all sides. Nobody is right about politics and government all of the time. We need diversity of thought and actions in politics and government within reason, of course. I believe that Donald Trump and his inner circle are, indeed, Nazis who are leading a racist White Nationalist movement that would change politics, government and American Democracy as we know it. I will never support Donald Trump and his Nazi-like racist White Nationalist political movement because it stands against Human Rights, Democracy, the Rule of Law instead of the rule of men/women, socioeconomic opportunity and social mobility for all American Citizens.
I understand that Donald Trump makes valid points that the Swamp is broken, about America's midwestern rust belt, Democrat-run cities, and far left extremism that are all real threats to American Democracy, but Donald Trump needs to look at himself in the proverbial mirror with his own far right political leadership. That is what extremists do: They point their judgmental finger at and blame the other side to build up their own base to obtain and retain political power. In a nutshell, that is why extremism is WRONG on both sides.
In closing, I wish to explain my political theory that we are all goofballs. Whether we live in a city, a suburb, or rural town; whether we are rich, middle class or poor; whether we are White, Black, Jewish, Irish, Italian, Polish, or a mix, and the so on; whether we have a college degree or not; and so on, we are all goofballs that roam the Earth for an average of 85 years. As fellow goofballs, we should all put aside our differences and enjoy life under the universal umbrella of us all being goofballs.
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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November 28, 2021
I will define racism. It is when a person and/or group believes that they are racially superior to other persons or groups who in turn are believed to be inferior based on their race. I have written about conflict and violence before on this blog [Planet Valenti]. The 1st form of conflict/violence is personal (verbal/physical assaults), which can be stopped. The 2nd form of conflict/violence is structural (jobless, homeless, poverty), which can be stopped. The 3rd form of conflict/violence is cultural (racism, sexism, religious/political extremism), which cannot be stopped and has been used as a weapon for thousands of years of human history. The main reason why I hate extremists is that they use cultural conflict and violence to have legitimacy and power over people. The only way to limit cultural conflict/violence on all sides is for good people of all races, genders and backgrounds to practice and teach tolerance and Human Rights for All people and Peoples. No one person or group is better or worse than any other one person or group. We have to stop using violence - personal, structural, and cultural - as a weapon of conflict to get what we want. Instead, we should use reason, Human Rights, tolerance and compassion to get what we want.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Dear Honorable Linda Tyer,
I wish to publicly praise the Lovely Linda Tyer for supporting the Vigil for Democracy this evening of January 6th, 2022, from 5 to 6 p.m. at Park Square to protest the Donald Trump-led insurrection on Capitol Hill last year on January 6th, 2021. Mayor Linda Tyer shows great leadership by supporting the people of Pittsfield Massachusetts who are standing up against Trump's HATE and for our American Democracy!
Thank you,
Jonathan A. Melle
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January 6, 2022
Hello Patrick Fennell,
I have let Mayor Linda Tyer know how I feel about Pittsfield's violent crime problem, Level 5 public schools, overreliance on Social Services, teen pregnancies and high welfare caseloads, severe economic inequality, corrupt insider Pittsfield politics, the PEDA debacle with millions is debts, her administration's secretive and expensive municipal finances, and so on. I am sure that she knows all of this much better than I do from my perch in Southern New Hampshire. In short, I let her know when I support her and when I disagree with her leadership in my native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. I don't believe that Linda Tyer is all that bad, despite Pittsfield being in the proverbial ditch.
I will never support Donald Trump in politics because he is a Nazi who is that leader of the racist and evil alt-right White Nationalist political movement in the USA. Trump was wrong about Charlottesville Virginia. Trump was wrong about the January 6th, 2021, insurrection on Capitol Hill. Trump is wrong to disparage minority and underclass cities by pointing out their socioeconomic problems. I would much rather have Linda Tyer in the White House than Donald Trump!
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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January 7, 2022
I thought the Vigil for Democracy on Park Square in Pittsfield Massachusetts on Thursday, 1/6/2022, from 5 pm to 6 pm was something positive for a change in Pittsfield politics. Who could possibly argue that Democracy is not important? I am very disappointed with blogger Dan Valenti for criticizing the right for people to stand against the fascism that Donald Trump and his violent followers stand for. Rather, I am on Mayor Linda Tyer's side on this issue. I support the Lovely Linda's commitments to Democracy and Human Rights.
Despite what Mr. Fritz and others write about me, I respect their right to support Donald Trump in politics, but it is something I will never do myself. Furthermore, I am NOT a Marxist because I know that there is no economic system that has ever worked in human history. Marxism means that the workers are also the owners of the farms and factories, but the flaw is that no one would work without an authoritarian state forcing people to work. Socialism means that the state profits from the means of production through high taxes on the wealthy who still get to own the farms and factories but for a large price. The flaw is that Socialist states are always robbing Peter to pay Paul. Capitalism means that the owners of the farms and factories are regulated by the limited laws of the state, but the owners get to keep most of the profits through limited government. Each economic system is flawed, especially capitalism because the social safety net incentivizes our country's huge underclass to be dependent on the state, which means systemic severe economic inequality. My solution is to combine the Socialist and Capitalist contradictory economic systems so that everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve a rewarding life for themselves and their families, but that would only work in theory. The reality is that the Financial Elites, the Ruling Elites, and the Corporate Elites in every economic system have most to all of the money and power, while the rest of us hope to survive.
All I know for sure is that the Government mostly does DISSERVICES to the people the Elites are supposed to represent and serve. No matter what happens, the Elites always win while the rest of us have to pound sand.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Letter: "Misleading headline on Estrella story"
The Berkshire Eagle, May 11, 2022
To the editor: We live in a fractious time where many people distrust institutions, including the press.
A recent Eagle headline is an example of from where that distrusts stems. Monday’s paper had the front-page headline: “2 years before deadly police encounter, Estrella was arrested on firearms charges.” What the article actually says is that police believe that Mr. Estrella was threatened into taking the rap for the gun, most likely owned by a Mr. Moody.
Someone glancing at this front page headline could come away thinking that Mr. Estrella was a thug who got what was coming to him. The content of the article tells a very different story.
Our free press is a fragile institution. Please do better next time.
Andrea Sholler, Stockbridge
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July 2, 2022
Go to the Boston Herald homepage to see photos of Nazis marching around downtown Boston today, Saturday, July 2nd, 2022. Why? Our country should outlaw Nazis with similar laws in place in Germany and beyond. Communists and Nazis have killed hundreds of millions of innocent people and Peoples. The U.S.A. should outlaw Communists and Nazis. Extremists are a threat to human life everywhere.
Donald Trump is the leader of the Nazi White Nationalist political movement in the U.S.A. Donald Trump is similar to Adolf Hitler. MAGA = NAZI!
We need to stand for Human Rights for ALL people and Peoples and STOP with today's cultural conflict and violence that has polarized our country and world. If we do NOT STOP Communists and Nazis alike than we are all as good as dead.
As much as I criticize Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, I always admired her support for Human Rights and Democracy going back 20 years. I wish someone such as Linda Tyer were U.S. President who would stand up against HATE and VIOLENCE in the U.S.A. and world.
Jonathan A. Melle
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July 2, 2022
Hello Patrick Fennell,
It is true that Joe Biden has a racist public record in the Swamp. It is true that Joe Biden and his alleged crime family have made many millions of dollars through his politically corrupt connections both in the Swamp and overseas in adversarial countries such as Russia and China. It is true that Joe Biden is going to visit Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince MBS on July 15th, 2022, which the foreign news media wrote that it showed Joe Biden as morally bankrupt, especially after he criticized Donald Trump in 2020 for his close ties with Saudi Arabia and MBS. You have made valid points about Joe Biden and the Democratic Party's long history of racism.
Two wrongs do NOT make a right. Donald Trump also has a long history of racism, as well as sexism. To deny it is to deny that the Earth has mostly oceans, is round, and is not the center of our Solar System. Donald Trump is the leader of the racist White Nationalist movement in the U.S.A. The HATE groups are Nazi groups who marched at Charlottesville Virginia, stormed Capitol Hill on January 6th, 2021, and marched in downtown Boston today, July 2nd, 2022. Donald Trump's public record is one of supporting Nazi Hate Groups instead of supporting Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Democracy.
I now dislike both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. I wish we had a good and decent U.S. President. I hope neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump will run for U.S. President in 2024. I also hope that all of the 80-year-old Members of U.S. Congress will all retire soon. They have made themselves wealthy at the public trough, while we are paying 41-year high U.S. inflation. They are all failures!
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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July 2, 2022
I wish to write THANK YOU to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
“To the white supremacists who ran through downtown today: When we march, we don’t hide our faces,” Mayor Michelle Wu tweeted. “Your hate is as cowardly as it is disgusting, and it goes against all that Boston stands for.”
I stand with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu against HATE. I admire Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer for her longtime support for Human Rights and Democracy. THANK YOU!
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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July 3, 2022
Hello Patrick Fennell,
Donald Trump has a long history of racism and sexism. There is no doubt about it. I believe you have been gaslighted. I believe you are trying to gaslight people. Donald Trump is the leader of the racist White Nationalist political movement in the U.S.A.; MAGA = NAZI. Donald Trump's appeal to white rural voters is that he promotes conservative causes of the 1920s and 1950s, which was prior to WW2 and the Civil Rights Act, respectively. Who rose to power in Germany in the 1920s? Answer: Adolf Hitler. What is the 1950s known for in the Swamp? Answer: Joseph McCarthyism.
I agree with your valid points about Joe Biden's long history of racism in the Swamp. I agree with your valid points about Hunter Biden's many scandals. I agree with your valid points that the Democrats in the Swamp have cashed in on the legal corruption there. I agree with your valid points that the Democrats' phony words belie the violence and crime in minority-populated inner cities.
The Democrats use minority voters to win elections, but after they are elected, the Democrats never help the low to moderate income families climb the social mobility ladder into the middle class. I agree with you about Democrats treating Veterans - such as you and me - like second class citizens. The VA's mismanagement of Veteran healthcare has led to many deaths of our fellow Veterans, including in Holyoke Soldiers Home during the outbreak of Covid-19.
Please answer my question to you: Do you really believe that I am not upset by the Swamp?
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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September 10, 2022
Hello, Editor(s) of the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle):
The editorial, below, in the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) about the mass resignation by the members of the Pittsfield Police Advisory Board was due to the bald-faced lie that Mayor Linda Tyer supported in the Pittsfield Police Department Use of Force report that determined that the young man named Miguel Estrella was not a person in distress under the law prior to and during the city police officer(s) opening fire on the suspect that resulted in his death.
Mayor Linda Tyer has failed in her legal duties by supporting the city's police department's outright lie(s). The city administration upheld the lie about the suspect's distressed state under the law in order to cover their legal liabilities should insurance claim(s) and/or lawsuit(s) present themselves, which is always one of the worst forms of bad bureaucracy due to failed leadership.
Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington's determination upholding the city's flawed position on the matter was in error due to the fact that Miguel Estrella was, indeed, a person in distress under the law. The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) should be writing and publishing editorials calling for a state and/or federal investigation into the Pittsfield Police Department's fraudulent Use of Force report(s) that stated that Miguel Estrella was not a person in distress under the law.
From the news articles I read about the case, Miguel Estrella was a young man who had a well-known history of mental illness and substance abuse issues. On the night of the incident, Miguel Estrella was having a mental health episode(s), he was intoxicated and/or high, he was self-harming himself by cutting himself with a knife, the police were called and showed up twice, he charged the police officers with a knife, and then he was shot in the chest by the police officer(s) and then he died.
Jonathan Alan Melle
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Our Opinion: "Some key considerations for the necessary task of rebuilding Pittsfield Police Advisory and Review Board"
The Berkshire Eagle, September 10, 2022
In the wake of a wave of resignations from the Pittsfield Police Advisory and Review Board, Mayor Linda Tyer said she will “reset and reconsider how this board functions” before refilling the board’s seats.
That seems a wise move, given the fact that these high-profile exits heaped more heat than light onto a controversial community issue that was already quite heated: the death of Miguel Estrella.
All but one of the board’s members quit after expressing frustration with the city solicitor’s determination that the advisory board did not have the authority to review the Pittsfield Police Department’s force investigation report in the Estrella case. We see two distinct if related issues here that need addressing if the board is to get back on track — and one of them seems easier to resolve than the other.
The spat between discontented board members and other city officials seemed to be spurred by clashing understandings of the board’s authority, duties and limits. In detailing the reasons for her departure, former board Chair Ellen Maxon said she was not only “disappointed” but “shocked” to hear from the city solicitor’s office that the advisory board did not have the authority to review the PPD’s internal force investigation. When panel members realized they’d have no oversight on use of force investigations, she said, “People were like ‘Why are we doing this then?’”
A deeper question is why this mutual misunderstanding festered until a tragedy brought it to the surface and higher tensions made it harder to resolve. For her part, Mayor Tyer said she understands the outgoing board members’ frustrations, but they should have known the contours and borders of the panel’s powers.
Did this costly confusion stem from the mayor’s office failing to properly relay the board’s mission when reconstituting it in 2019 or board members’ failure to grasp their own mandate? Or was it some combination thereof? We can’t and won’t speculate as to what the answer is, but it underscores the need for the mayor to prioritize clear communication on those key points in bringing the board back to life.
That’s the relatively simple part, although it’s a requisite for tackling the stickier debate raised by this spat: What should be the authority and limits of such a board? Incidents within and outside of Berkshire County have prompted difficult but necessary conversations about how to bring reform, transparency and oversight to the public departments meant to protect and serve us. The moral necessity of this mission does not negate its complicating factors, from the strictures of civil service and police union contracts to the inevitable intrusion of politics.
The board’s request to review the force investigation report on the police shooting of Mr. Estrella apparently prompted a discussion between Mayor Tyer, Police Chief Michael Wynn and City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta on whether to update the board’s ordinance, including its ability to review those kinds of reports.
The mayor said she hoped to work with advisory board members on identifying real ways to improve the ordinance, though she said it’s “disappointing” that their resignations now undercut that. To be sure, the former board members are well within their rights to follow their consciences on their decision to leave their posts on the advisory board. It’s worth noting, though, that if you’re agitating for a stronger hand on the wheel, leaving doesn’t do that — it simply removes your hand from the wheel entirely.
We believe a police advisory board is a necessity for cities like Pittsfield. For that reason, we want to see it succeed, even as its mission is a complex and pressurized one. Right now, that requires looking forward and not backward to reconstitute the board.
The first forward step must be discussing and designing the appropriate parameters for the Police Advisory and Review Board. As this recent setback demonstrates, far better communication will be needed to effect that goal.
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September 17, 2022
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
I read the comments on your blog about Mayor Linda Tyer and a majority of the Pittsfield City Councilors voting down Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick's petition to address the homelessness pandemic in the city. My thoughts on Pittsfield's growing homeless population and underclass is that the state and local Ruling Elites are totally DISCONNECTED from the people they represent in government.
Mayor Linda Tyer, who lives in a mansion in a Gated Community, should understand that Pittsfield's most valuable resource are the people who live in the city. To that end, she should stop being so unapproachable and start working with the people who live in Pittsfield. Mayor Linda Tyer's administration has multimillion dollar slush funds plus Biden Buck$. Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier and her fellow corrupt career politicians in Boston are still sitting on billions upon billions of surplus state government funds - the biggest amount of money in the over 400-year history of Massachusetts. Given Linda's millions and Tricia's billions, it would be easy to fund and address the issues of homelessness and poverty. It looks to me like Linda and Tricia are too lazy to get off of their fat asses to do anything except doing nothing.
For years, I have read about how our native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is one of the most economically unequal metro areas in the state and nation. There are little to no living wage jobs for the average worker there. When I was a young man living in the Pittsfield area two decades ago, I felt that I had better odds of winning the state lottery jackpot than finding a full-time living wage job there. Those are horrible odds! 20 years later, Pittsfield's distressed economy tanked even further into the proverbial ditch.
I am fortunate to receive my VA benefits so that I don't have to be an at-risk homeless Veteran. During the years that I fought the VA for my Veterans benefits, the VA acted like there were plenty of full-time living wage jobs out there for someone such as myself, Jon Melle. In 2002, the economic recession was the worst one since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Then came 2008, and the economic recession replaced 2002's economic recession as the worst one since the Great Depression in the 1930s. In 2023, there may be yet another brutal recession that could rank right up there with the ones in 2002 and 2008. Yet, in the eyes of the government bureaucracies, someone such as myself should be easily gainfully employed in a full-time living wage job after 50 years of the Financial, Corporate and Ruling Elites systemic decimation of our nation's middle class.
In closing, the government and the Fourth Estate - the news media and blogs - should look at the corrupt career politicians' failed leadership over the past 50 years. Pittsfield politics is no different than Boston and the Swamp and beyond in that the Ruling Elites are totally DISCONNECTED from the people they serve in the government. No wonder why Pittsfield's homeless population and underclass is growing larger as the years pass us by!
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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Letter: "We should hear more from those enduring homelessness"
The Berkshire Eagle, September 20, 2022
To the editor: Recently, The Eagle has devoted some front-page coverage to the problem of homelessness ("Lack of access to sanitation areas and restrooms causing problems in downtown Pittsfield," Eagle, Sept. 14) and then again in an editorial in its weekend edition ("Our Opinion: Pittsfield's persistent homelessness problem demands the attention of our community's open hearts and minds," Eagle, Sept. 17).
The first story focused on the need for toilet facilities faced by those living without a home to return to, particularly at night. The editorial was broader in scope and inspiring in its expression of concern for the many difficulties faced by homeless individuals. There was also a bit of commentary on the ever-increasing amount of panhandling on the streets, particularly in Pittsfield.
The editorial further mentioned the specific difficulties added to the problem of poverty that come along with issues of mental health, drug abuse and such. I suggest that The Eagle assign one or more reporters to interview those in the community with no place to call home and generate a composite of ideas that homeless people feel would best help improve their situations. I know from conversations with some such individuals that not all answers would be identical, and therefore The Eagle could portray a researched assessment of where the community might best place its efforts to improve the lot of those fellow citizens who will soon face winter weather without a warm and safe place as their habitat.
Don Lathrop, Canaan, N.Y.
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September 27, 2022
I am not looking for attention for its own sake. I experienced unusual events in my life in Berkshire County when I was a young man during and after my dad, Bob's, political activism there since the Spring of 1996 when he began his successful campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner that he began when I was only 20 years old back then.
I know all about Pittsfield politics, which I still follow from my perch in Amherst, New Hampshire, as a middle-aged man who is now 47 years old. I still root for Pittsfield and Berkshire County all of these years later, but I believe the corrupt and greedy political establishment there is only about power and the Almighty Dollar for their own gains. I guess it is the same everywhere. I like that blogger Dan Valenti fights for the little guy who he calls the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family who proudly lives by the rules in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
My last name Melle comes from the small commune of Melle, Piedmont, Italy, but I have never visited there, as my great-great grandfather Michael emigrated to Pittsfield in the 1880s; he passed away in Pittsfield in 1937. I am sad that Italy will soon have a neo-fascist government for the first time since the end of WW2. Italy's national debt is excessively high, and Italy's bonds are almost worthless to investors. The U.S. and Europe are both predicted to be in a brutal recession in 2023, which will rival 2008 and 2002's brutal recessions. I hope that history will NOT repeat itself 100 years apart so that democracy, the rule of law, and Human Rights will all stand strong in the 21st century.
It is time for the Financial, Corporate and Ruling Elites to invest in the people and the communities the common people live in again so that political extremism won't have fertile ground to grow again like the cancer that it has been and continues to be in government both in the U.S.A. and overseas.
Jonathan A. Melle
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Letter: "City should pay more attention to effect of homelessness on Berkshire Athenaeum"
The Berkshire Eagle, September 28, 2022
To the editor: On Saturday at 10:15 a.m. I went to the library to pick up a book.
I parked in the lot on Wendell Avenue and was shocked to see homeless people loitering there, but worse than that was the line of trash bags, bottles and a loose roll of toilet paper along the front and side outside walls of the building. By 10:15 a.m., can't the police move them and all their things somewhere away from such a public building?
I called the mayor's office and was told they are "working on it and trying to think outside the box to solve the problem." The lady I spoke with said they talked to someone at the library about having their custodian try to keep it clean. It should be city workers cleaning it up.
I was also told these people have every right to be there. This is a shameful disgrace in the center of our city that needs more attention from this administration. People I have talked to say they unfortunately avoid the library now because of this. I hope the mayor and police make a better attempt to take care of this disgrace.
Donna Rouette, Pittsfield
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Letter: "As a handicapped person, my trip to Pittsfield City Hall was a tough one"
The Berkshire Eagle, October 22, 2022
To the editor: Being temporarily handicapped due to impending hip replacement surgery, my trip to Pittsfield City Hall was a less-than-favorable experience.
I pulled into a handicapped parking space behind the building, gathered my cane and belongings, only to be told by a passing motorist that the back door is locked from outside and exit only. I’d have climbed the three-tiered staircase had I not been warned.
Back in the car, I found another handicapped space across from the police station on the side street abutting City Hall.
I gathered my belongings once more and noticed the very long handicapped ramp (only one ramp opening) to enter the handicap-indicated door. Once in, the walk to the city clerk's office was a maze of hallways that seemed to go on forever. I got my birth certificate and headed back the same way I entered, still shaking my head.
The original door I was going to enter, behind the building, was a very short walk from the clerk’s office and would have been great had my car still been parked there, out back.
Either way, it was difficult to navigate.
City planners should take another serious look at the fiasco presented to the permanently handicapped citizens of Pittsfield and Berkshire County.
Entrances and exits and handicapped parking spots need a 21st-century redesign.
Christine Jordan, Lenox
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Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
The news article today (Veterans Day, Friday, 11/11/2022):
https://businesswest.com/blog/pittsfield-is-transforming-its-economy/
.... is the very definition of Orwellian!
Site 9 under PEDA has had no takers since its inception during the Summer of 1998, which was a little over 24 years ago and counting, including the nearly 7 years since Linda Tyer has been Mayor of Pittsfield. A few weeks ago, outgoing Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker hand-delivered a $3 million check from state taxpayers to transform Site 9 from a postindustrial wasteland to an economically developed brownfield.
Pittsfield's postindustrial economy is diversified with a hospital and healthcare, defense, manufacturing, IT, tourism, hospitality and the arts jobs. They say that Pittsfield is a destination for people of all ages. Municipal and business leaders claim that it has led to a rebirth of North Street. Mayor Linda Tyer says that she has diversified and strengthened Pittsfield's economy during her tenure. Mayor Linda Tyer says that Pittsfield is in a housing boom. She has started a red-carpet team, but there is an acute shortage of affordable housing for the workforce that she is still working to solve.
My thoughts on this news story are that PEDA is still a very polluted and heavily indebted debacle that should end as soon as possible. The federal government should take it over as a Superfund site. Every year that passes by since PEDA began during the Summer of 1998, PEDA's debts and other liabilities have increased by millions upon millions of dollars. PEDA is totally financially unsustainable. If PEDA continues into the future and goes bankrupt, who will pay for its multimillion-dollar debts and other liabilities? Mayor Linda Tyer should be denouncing PEDA as the debacle it is instead of saying that she is going to put millions of dollars into its economic development as a brownfield. This part of the news story alone is Orwellian!
Pittsfield's postindustrial economy has scarce living wage jobs with a lot of low to moderate wage jobs. On top of it all, the low to moderate wage workers do not have access to affordable housing in Pittsfield. The housing boom that Mayor Linda Tyer speaks of is the result of private equity firms buying up homes throughout the nation to rent to working class families. What will happen when the predicted 2023 economic recession hits? The private equity firms will sell their investments, or the city/banks will foreclose on them, and Pittsfield's housing boom will become a housing bust. Just like the PEDA debacle, Pittsfield's so-called housing boom is unsustainable.
North Street is full of dozens of empty storefronts. The tourism economy in downtown Pittsfield is seasonal, which means that for most of the year, there is no economy at all. Pittsfield's inner-city is full of violent crime, over 1,000 gang members who live there, and poverty. Pittsfield's inner-city public schools are rated Level 5, which is the worst rating by the state. In return for Mayor Linda Tyer's over $200 million Pickleball budget, the taxpayers of Pittsfield receive substandard municipal services.
In closing, I don't think even the late-George Orwell would not pass by this propaganda news story about our native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts!
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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November 12, 2022
I asked Matt "Kufflinks" Kerwood for financial advice. I asked Mayor Linda Tyer's financial genius: If I won the big lottery jackpot worth tens of millions of dollars, should I put more money into one of his multimillion-dollar Slush Fund$ or in the blackhole we all know as the polluted PEDA debacle with its always growing larger multimillion-dollar debts and other liabilities? Matt "Kufflinks" Kerwood told me that if I really want to lose millions of dollars, I should bottle up Nuciforo's pot growing odors that blanket Pittsfield's residential neighborhoods and sell Nuciforo's waste in a bottle on PEDA's Site 9, along with GE's industrial chemicals called PCBs, along with marketing Pittsfield's Level 5 public school district, along with selling people mansions in Mayor Linda Tyer's Gated Community as a bait and switch scheme to sell rooms at the Pittsfield YMCA, and finally, that I could add millions of dollars to the "Free Cash" account in Pittsfield's $200 million Pickleball budget. I told Matt "Kufflinks" Kerwood that when I win the lottery, I will use my winnings so that I may be just like the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski taxpaying family and contribute to his cause of financially screwing over the public. Matt "Kufflinks" Kerwood told me that I wouldn't meet that goal until I allowed him to "Cook the Books" so that I would go from a lottery jackpot winner to having millions of dollars in debts and other liabilities. I asked him, how would someone like Jon Melle (me) be able to pay off millions of dollars in debts and other liabilities? He told me that I would not be able to do so, but that I could go swimming in Silver Lake with no clothes on in the middle of the night. Lastly, I said to Matt "Kufflinks" Kerwood that he has earned his title of "Creative Public Accountant", and that makes the lovely Linda proud.
Jonathan A. Melle
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November 19, 2022
Hello Patrick Fennell,
Communist W.E.B. DuBois praised mass murdering Communist Dictators Joseph Stalin (between 23 million to possibly over 60 million deaths of innocent people) and Mao Zedong (over 81 million deaths of innocent people). What if W.E.B. DuBois had praised Adolf Hitler, too, who killed over 17 million innocent people, including over 6 million Jewish People in the Holocaust?
If one adds up the mass murdering genocides of Stalin, Hitler and Mao, one would see that these evil dictators caused the deaths of possibly over 158 million innocent people. Stalin's mass killings outnumber Hitler's mass killings by at least millions of deaths. Mao's mass killings outnumber both Stalin and Hitler's mass killings combined. How do people today - hopefully with a good conscience - overlook the fact that W.E.B. DuBois praised mass murdering Communist Dictators who killed possibly over 100 million innocent people over Hitler's death count?
The letter writer to the editor of the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) called W.E.B. DuBois quote that is critical of the U.S.A. "prescient". Why doesn't he write about how W.E.B. DuBois praised evil Communist mass murdering dictators, too? What country fought against Fascism and Communism in the 20th Century? Answer: The United States of America! The truth hurts, doesn't it?
Best wishes,
Jonathan A. Melle
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Letter: "Will ignorance destroy us?"
The Berkshire Eagle, November 15, 2022
To the editor: I enjoyed Carole Owens' recent mini-biography of Great Barrington's favorite son, W.E.B. DuBois. ("Carole Owens: What Du Bois, a lover of knowledge, learned in Great Barrington," Eagle, Nov. 10.)
Here is my favorite quote by him, so prescient today: "Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States." Which way will we go?
Sam Barrett, Sheffield
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