Pittsfield Smoke Shop Denied Tobacco License Under New Regs

Shire City Glass and Fine Tobacco had to remove tobacco from its shelves because it didn't have a city permit.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A downtown smoke shop has had to remove half its inventory after the city's Health Department became aware that it had been operating for several months without sufficient permitting.

According to Director Gina Armstrong, the department became aware of the establishment, Shire City Glass and Fine Tobacco, and a visit by an inspector in early November confirmed the presence of tobacco products at the new North Street store, which opened in June.

"We recognized that they weren't on our list of establishments that have licenses at the current time," Armstrong told the Board of Health. "Then our inspector verified that about 50 percent of the product in the store was tobacco."

While its proprietor holds a state license to sell tobacco, he indicated that attorneys hired to assist with opening the business had not made him aware of the need for additional local permitting.

Now no such permit is currently available, due to new regulations put in place by the board this summer, capping the number licenses to sell tobacco products to those already issued, and any business wishing to will need to wait for an existing permit holder's business to change hands.

"It's pretty open and shut," said Chairman Roberta Orsi. "We've made the regulation."

Board members agreed that the change in regulation had been widely publicized in local media, and lack of awareness of the new rule did not justify making an exception.

"We did not have an application put in at the time, but we were unaware of it," Shire Glass proprietor Shaun Graham told iBerkshires.

"I would advise them to formalize their request for one, when one becomes available, and then put them in the queue," suggested board member Jay Green. 

Under the provisions of the license cap set in place as part of the new anti-smoking regulations, which became effective Sept. 15, the permit of any business that closes or otherwise fails to renew within 30 days of its expiration will be permanently retired.  

However, applicants "who purchase a business that holds a current  tobacco product sales permit at the time of the sale may apply, within 60 days of such sale, if the buyer intends to sell tobacco products," may obtain one, but only if that location is more than 500 feet from any elementary or secondary school.

"They were very respectful and professional," said Graham of Health Department staff. "It's very unfortunate that there wasn't anything more they could do to help out a local business, when there are so many other chain and franchises in the city selling these products."

He said Shire Glass will apply for a permit, though he acknowledged "it's unlikely that we'll be able to get one."

"For right now, we've already removed all tobacco and we're selling other products that we can legally sell," Graham said. "We're staying in compliance, and moving on from there."

Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing. 

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said. 

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today." 

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback. 

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director. 

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care.  Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires. 

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs. 

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said. 

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.