Pittsfield Seeks Public Input for Draft CDBG Annual Action Plan

11:16AM / Thursday, April 25, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City of Pittsfield's Department of Community Development has released the draft Annual Action Plan outlining how federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds will be used to address housing and community development needs in Pittsfield for the city's 2025 fiscal year.

The Community Development Office, in conjunction with the City Council's subcommittee on Community and Economic Development, will hold a public hearing on May 21 at 6:00 p.m. on the proposed CDBG program budget and draft 2025 Annual Action Plan. The public hearing will be held at City Hall, 70 Allen Street, in the Council Chambers.

The hearing is part of a 30-day public review process that is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that provides an opportunity for public input on the draft plan. Through what HUD terms an entitlement grant, HUD provides the city with CDBG funding on an annual basis. The 30-day public review and comment period runs from Tuesday, April 23, 2024 until 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

The draft 2025 Annual Action Plan proposed budget of $2.2 million consists of $1.3 million in estimated new CDBG funds and $140,000 in expected program income and reprogrammed funds as well as an estimated $470,567 in carryover funds.

Community Development has proposed using CDBG money during the upcoming 2025 fiscal year for projects that include public facilities, removal of architectural barriers, public services, housing rehabilitation, economic development, clearance, planning activities, and administrative costs.

Copies of the draft 2025 Annual Action Plan are available for public review in the Community Development office, and on the city's website: www.cityofpittsfield.org/departments/community_development/community_development_and_housing/index.php

If residents are unable to attend the public hearing, they may submit their written comments to Community Development at any time during the 30-day comment period via email at njoyner@cityofpittsfield.org or by mail to the Department of Community Development, 70 Allen St., Room 205, Pittsfield, MA, 01201.

Persons with special needs should contact Community Development at (413) 499-9368 or TTY 413-499-9340 prior to the public hearing and every effort will be made to accommodate their requests.

Tags: CDBG,

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Tina Packer, Founder of Shakespeare & Company, Dies at 87

Staff Reports 06:51PM / Saturday, January 10, 2026

LENOX, Mass. — The doyenne of Shakespeare's plays, Tina Packer, died Friday at the age of 87.

Shakespeare & Company, which Packer co-founded in 1978, made the announcement Saturday on its Facebook page.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Packer, Shakespeare & Company's founding artistic director and acclaimed director, actor, writer, and teacher," the company said on its post and in a press release.

Packer, who retired a the theater company's artistic director in 2009, had directed all of Shakespeare's plays, some several times, acted in eight of them, and taught the whole canon at more than 30 colleges, including Harvard. She continued to direct, teach, and advocate for the company until her passing.

At Columbia University, she taught in the master of business administration program for four years, resulting in the publication of "Power Plays: Shakespeare's Lessons in Leadership and Management with Deming Professor John Whitney" for Simon and Schuster. For Scholastic, she wrote "Tales from Shakespeare," a children's book and recipient of the Parent's Gold Medal Award.

Most recently her book "Women of Will" was published by Knopf and she had been performing "Women of Will" with Nigel Gore, in New York, Mexico, England, The Hague, China, and across the United States. She's the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the Commonwealth Award.

"Our hearts are heavy with the passing of Tina Packer, a fiery force of nature with an indomitable spirit," said Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. "Tina affected everyone she encountered with her warmth, generosity, wit, and insatiable curiosity. She delighted in people's stories, and reached into their hearts with tender humanity. The world was her stage, and she furthered the Berkshires as a destination for the imagination.

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