SPRINGFIELD - WGBY's Volunteer Wine and Dine Committee will be honored Oct. 3 at the PBS Development Conference in Palm Desert, Calif., with the National Friends of Public Broadcasting 2007 Volunteer in Fund-Raising Award.
Being acknowledged for their efforts and support of WGBY's Wine & Dine Auction, Wine Tasting, and Wine Lover's Dinner are James J. Holsing, Longmeadow; Paul E. Provost, Wilbraham; Michael Ferry, Northampton; Scott Huff, East Longmeadow; Jeffrey A. Rahn, Longmeadow; Gary Sandman, Southwick; Peter Vangsness, East Longmeadow; Rosemary Laporte, Easthampton, and Tony Zampiceni, East Longmeadow.
The WGBY Wine Tasting is the largest in western New England offering more than 400 wines and dozens of specialty foods. The WGBY Wine Lover's Dinner boats seven courses, and up to 14 fine wines, and the annual WGBY Wine & Dine Auction offers a diverse array of wines from around the world along with unique dining and entertainment opportunities across western New England over three televised nights each April.
WGBY will host its 2008 Wine Lover's Dinner on Feb. 28, followed by the Wine Tasting on Feb. 29.
"One of the unusual things about our Wine & Dine Auction, in particular, is the fact that we have this core group of volunteers that does so much of the solicitation and behind the scenes logistics," said Charley Rose, director of corporate support and special events for WGBY.
"From planning to soliciting, scheduling and presenting they do an extraordinary job, and help us raise approximately $100,000 each year," said WGBY special events coordinator Susan Lofthouse.
National Friends of Public Broadcasting, established in 1970, seeks to assist in developing support at the local level, and through this to develop an informed constituency for public broadcasting that will serve both the station and the community.
For more than 35 years, WGBY www.wgby.org has connected the people of the region with programs and services that are designed to inform, inspire, entertain and promote lifelong learning. From the non-broadcast Education Services used in classrooms and by child-care providers throughout the region to our portfolio of locally produced programs, WGBY is committed to the community. WGBY is a non-profit organization with more than 80 percent of its revenue provided by local sources and the support of its viewers.
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Pittsfield Council Passes $232.7M Budget
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a $232.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
It is a modest, almost 2.9 percent increase from FY26.
"I do want to give the community kind of a heads up as we move forward on budgets. What we see coming out of the federal government that's trickling down to the states, it's going to be harder and harder for us as a community to meet our needs under the Proposition 2 1/2," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said.
"We're going to have challenges, as we've seen communities across the state trying to override the Proposition 2 1/2, because we have dwindling amounts of money coming from the state and federal government."
She pointed out that, at the same time, utility bills are going up for both residents and the city, as are the costs of pavement and other items.
The amended budget of $232,777,720, down from the $232,782,090 originally proposed, includes cuts to the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the restoration of funds for councilors to attend the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference.
The Pittsfield Public Schools' $86,855,061 budget includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. With $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues, it totals $87,200,061 and is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million.
The district's budget will fund 13 schools, as Morningside Community School will retire in the fall, and includes the middle school restructuring.
Councilors also approved the use of $2 million in certified free cash to reduce the tax rate, and appropriated $450,551 for parking-related expenditures.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
