Shacktown Residents File Suit Against Pittsfield Over Cell Tower

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Residents of the Shacktown neighborhood have filed litigation against the city after its cease and desist order for the Verizon cell tower at 877 South St. was rescinded.

On Thursday, a civil action suit was filed in Berkshire Superior Court against Mayor Linda Tyer, City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta, Pittsfield Cellular Telephone Co. (Verizon Wireless) and the Board of Health.

It is an appeal of the board's June decision to rescind the order after the telecommunications company filed a case against the city of Pittsfield in federal court and is a request for declaratory relief.

The document alleges that the decision to rescind the order was in excess of, or in derogation of the Board's authority or jurisdiction; that it was tainted and rendered unlawful by the illicit actions of the mayor, city solicitor and/or others under the mayor’s influence and control; and is not supported by substantial evidence.

There are four counts: an appeal of the decision, the mayor’s refusal to enforce board order, and city solicitor conflicts of interest and improper coercion, and declaratory judgment.

Attorney Scott McCollough emphasized that the complainants had to name the Board of Health in the suit, but added that they are not really complaining about anything that the board but rather "legal complaints about what they were forced to do."

Courtney Gilardi, lead in the suit, said none of the the parties wanted it get to litigation but they want to find a solution for their neighborhood. The goal of the suit is to get back to where the board was urging Verizon to come to the table.

"This Board of Health has been phenomenal, and especially under [Chair Bobbie Orsi's] leadership," she explained.

"They have taken this seriously, they have treated us with dignity and respect, and they have done their due diligence with their investigation and their findings and their conclusions and the board really deserves to have all the practical resources and the legal support that they need to find meaningful solutions for Shacktown."

Citizens Civil Complaint Ag... by iBerkshires.com

orted symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, insomnia, palpitations, fatigue, rashes, tinnitus, memory loss, and concentration issues.

BCC Trustees Vote to Hire Hara Charlier as Next President

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:23AM / Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Catheryn Chacon Ortega, the alumni appointment, liked how Hara Charlier easily connected with students faculty; Melissa Myers, alumni representative, also noted how comfortable Charlier was with various groups. Charlier, right, was called after the vote and accepted pending negotiations and state approval. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It wasn't hard for BCC's Board of Trustees to elect a new president from Minnesota on Monday.

One by one, during a special meeting at Berkshire Community College, board members expressed their conviction that Hara Charlier was the best candidate to lead after Ellen Kennedy retires. They unanimously recommended Charlier as the next president of BCC to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

"We're not trying to hire a replacement for Dr. Kennedy; We are trying to hire our next leader," Chair Julia Bowen said.

Charlier, currently the president of Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minn., was one of four finalists identified by the Presidential Search Committee who visited the campus. She was not on site, but was called after the vote.

Catheryn Chacon Ortega was impressed by how Charlier connected with students and faculty, as well as her passion and breadth of experience.  

"As the appointed alumni, I put myself in the students' shoes when I was thinking about this, and I think I feel very represented by her, like if I come back as a student here, I think she will be a person that will be open doors to me, to my community, to the immigrant community, to everybody," she said.

Danielle Gonzalez feels Charlier has a "very" clear commitment to the community part of community college, and a deep experience of serving underserved populations, "really just with great enthusiasm."

"I think that in addition to having really deep community college leadership experience, she was able to articulate a very thorough understanding of the issues of the college of Berkshire County, of what those opportunities might look like, and how she would connect what her experience has been with how she could drive the school forward," said Julie Hughes, a newer member of the board.