Pittsfield School Officials Affirm Decision on Braves' Replacement

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, September 24, 2020Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee affirmed its decision to replace the Taconic mascot on Wednesday.

A vote on Wednesday was taken to clarify the procedure in accepting and then filing a petition two weeks ago from a group of citizens who are against changing the name from the Braves.

"I think we are wading here into a parliamentary morass," committee member William Cameron said. "The point of the vote has been lost sight of as we struggle to find words to satisfy those people who won't be satisfied by anything but rescinding the vote."

School officials voted in August to eliminate the name, but the item was placed on the agenda again in September after a group of alumni and residents communicated that they were unclear that a vote would take place. They wanted a chance to speak to the matter.

During this meeting in September, this group also put forth a petition asking the School Committee to hold off on the name change.

The committee did not budge and voted to accept the petition, placing it on file and grounding the effort.

This caused confusion because the petitioners were under the impression that by accepting the petition, the School Committee had reversed its decision.

"It certainly does need to be clarified," petitioner James Massery said during public comment. "It was my interpretation ... that the name of Taconic Braves was actually accepted by a unanimous yes vote at the last meeting."

Chairwoman Katherine Yon said the petitioners contacted her on the matter as well as City Council members and the city solicitor. So, she contacted the district's attorney who reaffirmed that the School Committee correctly voted on the petition by filing it.

But to be absolutely clear, Yon suggested they vote to reject the petition and place it on file.

Mayor Linda Tyer said she was not comfortable with this vote and did not like the sense of rejecting a petition. She felt the committee made the correct vote and didn't have to take further action.

"I am not comfortable with rejecting this petition. People need to be able to appeal to their government," Tyer said. "I think the vote you took a few weeks ago was appropriate ... we acknowledged that they were heard."

The mayor said the School Committee could accept the petition as a "receipt," showing that it has acknowledged it, then file it. This would achieve essentially what they already voted on earlier this month.

The vote to do this was unanimous.

Tags: Taconic High,

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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.

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