Dalton Town Hall Reopens, COVID Cases Drop

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — Town Hall is once again open to the public after about two months of closure because of the winter COVID-19 surge. The change is due to a decrease in Dalton's case counts.

Health Agent Agnes Witkowski reported the doors opened last Tuesday when there were seven COVID-19 cases during the previous week. The threshold for reopening Town Hall is 25 cases or fewer in seven days.

"Our latest information is eight for the last seven days," Witkowski wrote in an email to iBerkshires, adding that this number doesn't include at-home tests.

In mid-December, the offices closed to the public until further notice because of an uptick of the virus. The 25-case cutoff was established as a measure for closure based on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's original guidance for schools.

In early January, the Board of Health reaffirmed this standard.  At the time, the case count was more than 102 with 68 cases occurring in the prior week.

According to state data, the town saw 473 new cases in the two weeks ending Feb. 19, for a total of 1,133 cases. The numbers have dropped off dramatically in the past week, with the entire county recording only 231 cases between Feb. 17 and 24.

During the closure, Dalton's Selectmen as well as boards and commissions met virtually. According to the town's calendar, some meetings are back to being in person.

For masking, the town is following the state Department of Public Health's guidance updated on Feb. 15 that states that unvaccinated people should continue to wear face coverings indoors in public places and that fully vaccinated people should wear a mask indoors if they have a weakened immune system, are at increased risk for severe disease because of age or an underlying medical condition, or if a person in the household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease.


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Show-Cause Hearing for Pittsfield Bar Continued Again

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Bei Tempi will have a show-cause hearing for its liquor license in May after police brought forward pictures that appear to show underage patrons drinking.  

On Monday, the Licensing Board continued a hearing for Zuke's Soups and Variety LLC, doing business as Bei Tempi, to May 18. This is the second month it was continued. In the last year, the bar has been accused of underage service by two different parents.  

Earlier this year, Police Capt. Matthew Hill received a call from an upset parent about her 19-year-old daughter patronizing Iztac Mexican Restaurant at night and being served. 

Those photos resulted in a two-week liquor license suspension for Iztac, and the same mother submitted an almost identical complaint about Bei Tempi with photos, one of them with the owner "clearly visible" in the background, Hill said. 

The owners, Richard and Elizabeth Zucco, did not show up in March, and the hearing was continued again this month. 

"This show-cause hearing was scheduled for March 23 of 2026 and the licensee did not appear at that hearing, although I understand that notice went out by way of email," Chair Thomas Campoli reported after the bar's second no-show, adding that the Zuccos' lawyer communicated they had a "planned prepaid trip" that conflicted with the meeting. 

Last year, a different mother approached the Licensing Board asking for accountability after her underage child was allegedly served at Bei Tempi. After drinking at a graduation party, she said her 18-year-old son became further intoxicated at the establishment before returning home late and becoming combative, resulting in an arrest by police. 

In March, the pictures of alleged underage drinking at Iztac were printed and presented to the Licensing Board with faces blurred; the reporting party wished to remain anonymous along with her daughter and friend, and she was unable to attend the hearing. 

Hill ran the patrons' names through police records to confirm they were not 21. This is the same underage daughter who is said to have drunk at Bei Tempi, and her mother has provided photos. 

The Health Department ordered Iztac to close on March 13 after finding "pests" in the establishment.  On Monday, a notice stating that it was closed to the public to protect public health and safety was no longer on the door but the Health Department confirmed that the closure was still in effect. 

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