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Pittsfield Firefighters Champs in Annual Pizza Contest

Competitors chow down in the individual competition at Baba Louie's annual Pizza Eating Competition. See more photos, and Third Thursday images, here.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Five dollars for all the pizza you can eat and the proceeds go to charity? What could be better than that?

Well, it comes with a catch — you've got 12 minutes to eat it. Baba Louie's in Pittsfield hosted its 4th annual Pizza Eating Competition to benefit Moments House of Pittsfield — a charity supporting cancer patients and survivors as well as their families.

There were two main events — the first was the average everyday people who popped in from Third Thursday on North Street to chow down — and the second? The Pittsfield Fire Department welcomed new challengers, The Haddad Motors group. Scott O'Connell, the sales manager for Haddad's, came in to challenge confident boasting, "We're going to eat slices like we sell cars!"

As Nick Zarvis of Baba Louie's presided over the event with the assistance of DJ's from Live 95.9, the rules were set and the competitors readied themselves to chow down on the "Mean Margherita" pizza.

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 

 

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

 

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 

 

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 

 

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 

 

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.