PCTV and iBerkshires to Host Pittsfield Debates

07:52AM / Wednesday, October 25, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Television, in partnership with iBerkshires.com, will present televised debates featuring candidates for the Pittsfield municipal election, in all contested races over two nights next week.

The debates will begin on Monday, Oct. 30 at Berkshire Community College in the K-111 auditorium beginning at 5:00 p.m. The first debate will feature Ward 2 candidates Brittany Bandani and Alexander Blumin. The Ward 3 debate will begin at 6:15 p.m. with candidates Matthew Wrinn and Bill Tyer. At 7:00 p.m., the seven at-large city council candidates will face off in a 90-minute debate. The candidates for the at-large race are incumbents Pete White and Earl Persip as well as challengers Craig Benoit, Kathy Amuso, Daniel Miraglia, Alisa Costa, and Lucas Marion.

On Wednesday, Nov. 1, another series of debates will happen at Berkshire Community College in the Boland Theater beginning at 5:00 p.m. The first debate will feature Ward 6 candidates Craig Gaetani and incumbent Dina Lampiasi. The Ward 7 debate will begin at 6:15 p.m. with candidates Rhonda Serre and incumbent Anthony Maffuccio. At 7:00 p.m. the mayoral debate will feature John Krol and Peter Marchetti.

The series of debates will be moderated by representatives of iBerkshires and Pittsfield Community Television. The events are open to the public and will be broadcast live on PCTV CityLink Channel 1303 in Pittsfield, on the PCTV Select App available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, iOS, and Google Play, and on the Pittsfield Community Television Facebook page.

PCTV and iBerkshires are also soliciting questions from the public. You can submit your question for the candidates to election@pittsfieldtv.org, and the panelists may choose to use the questions in the debates.

Pittsfield's municipal election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Polls open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m.

Tags: #PittsfieldElection, debate, PCTV,

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Pittsfield Schools Consider Enhanced Bus Surveillance

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:58PM / Tuesday, October 20, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Pittsfield Public Schools are considering a couple of companies for enhanced bus safety surveillance after a spring pilot.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland reported that they have met with BusPatrol and Gatekeeper Systems, which offer automated stop-arm enforcement and video surveillance.

It is illegal for drivers to pass a school bus when the red warning lights are flashing, and the stop-sign arm is extended. This protects children exiting and entering the school bus.

A stop-arm camera pilot program was conducted in May.

"We currently have a four-camera system on the interior of the bus, so Gatekeeper is sort of better as far as functionality. It's a little more of an upfront investment," Howland told the School Committee last week.

"BusPatrol works where you basically have an installation of the cameras, and then as tickets are issued to people, you sort of regain your investment, so it's two different sort of cost profiles."

Gatekeeper would cost about $100,000 to purchase, while BusPatrol has no upfront cost and a monthly charge.

PPS is interested in putting cameras in all of its buses, about 30. Howland said that Gatekeeper has a little more robust system that fits into our current system, and Mayor Peter Marchetti reported that the company with no upfront cost helps secure a grant for implementation: $1,200 per camera and $250 a month per bus.

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