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Organizers of the No Kings rally held last October. The grassroots groups are preparing for their third No Kings rallies on Saturday.

Berkshires Gear Up for No Kings 3

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Thousands of Berkshire County residents are expected to join millions of other Americans on Saturday in the third "No Kings" day of protest. 

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be standouts, speakers, music, and more in eight Berkshire communities and in nearby Bennington, Vt. The nonviolent No Kings movement mobilized last year in opposition to the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration, with more than 7 million people participating throughout thousands of No Kings events on Oct. 18, 2025. 

Activists say the mass mobilization is a key to blocking authoritarianism and upholding the U.S. Constitution.   

"Many of us fear for our democracy," said Standup Berkshires organizer Robin OHerin. "We are gathering in protest because action is the antidote to fear. In this country we elect presidents, and we do not allow them to crown themselves king."

After the last No Kings Day, the president responded on his Truth Social account with an AI-generated video of him in a crown, spewing diarrhea on protesters from a jet, and the White House's official Twitter (X) account posted AI images of Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in crowns. 

"A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events," the landing page for the No Kings North Adams event reads. 

In North Adams, the event will begin at 12:30 p.m. with guest speakers and music in the City Hall parking lot. Seating and parking are limited, with a few accessible spots at City Hall. The standout portion will begin at 1:15 p.m. on the sidewalk, and those who anticipate needing a seat are encouraged to bring one. 

Speakers will include community entrepreneur and youth advocate Jess Sweeney, Berkshire religious leaders arranged by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts student/poet Matt Lewellyn, singer-songwriter Ciarra Fragale, and Berkshire immigrant justice advocate Fernando León. 


The Songs of Peace & Protest community singing group will also perform. 

Greylock Together will be collecting non-food household and hygiene products for community mutual aid to address systemic inequities. Resistance Frog buttons and earrings will be available for $3 and $5, cash only. 

In October, more than 1,000 people were estimated at the rally at North Adams City Hall, where they held signs along the Hadley Overpass and around the intersection at Main Street. 

The Pittsfield event will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Participants will gather across from the Common, march to North Street, and return to the Common to rally and enjoy Berkshire Bateria, the Becket/Washington Rapid Resistance Choir, and the Pittsfield Community Gospel Choir. Participants are encouraged to wear yellow — a global symbol of peaceful resistance.
 
Speakers will Include John Bonifaz, a constitutional attorney and founder and president of national non-profit Free Speech for People; Rose Fiscella, a history student at MCLA and the leader of the grassroots group Frogs for Freedom; and Tara Jacobs, the Governor's Councilor for District 8. 

As part of a weeklong recognition of Trans Day of Visibility, Wander will host a combined crafting and karaoke night and No Kings sign-making workshop in partnership with Berkshire Sanity Posse on Thursday, March 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. 

The No Kings Boston rally at the Boston Common is set for 1 to 4 p.m., and is organized by a coalition of Indivisible Mass Coalition, ACLU of Massachusetts, and Mass 50501.

Indivisible MA noted that "Dozens of other local Indivisible groups and allies — from Pittsfield, Northampton, Lancaster, and Worcester to Framingham, Methuen, Lexington, and towns in southeastern Mass and the Cape" have also scheduled No Kings events. 

Other events: 

  • Adams Town Common, 11 to 12:30 
  • Dalton CRA sidewalk, 12:30 to 1:30
  • Great Barrington Town Hall, noon to 1:30 p.m.
  • Stockbridge Town Offices, 11 to 12:30 
  • West Stockbridge Congregational Church, noon to 1:30
     

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Mexican Eatery's License Clipped for Underage Service

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Licensing Board imposed a two-week liquor license suspension on Iztac Mexican Restaurant after police submitted photographs that appear to show underage patrons drinking. 

Formerly Pancho's Mexican Restaurant, the eatery has been in front of the board for several incidents over the last few years. Pancho's had its liquor license suspended for one week in 2023 and its hours reduced twice

"This is serious, and they have a history, and I think we owe it to this community to do something a little heavier," Chair Thomas Campoli said on Monday after a five-day suspension was proposed by board member Jon Lifvergren. 

Reports of underage drinking and fighting from September 2025 and earlier this year were presented. 

Gabriel Columna purchased the business in 2022. Last year, the board approved a name change from Pancho's Mexican Restaurant to Iztac, still operating under Columnna LLC.  

In January, Capt. Matthew Hill received a call from an upset parent about her 19-year-old daughter patronizing Iztac at night and being served. He is familiar with the parents and family over the course of his time on the force, and the mother reported that her daughter had been served on "multiple" occasions, offering to obtain photos. 

The mother said her daughter has been drinking, and it has become "an issue in the household." In one of the pictures, it appears she had a wristband on. 

Hill agreed, and at the end of January, he was sent five different photos and one video of the daughter and a friend with what appeared to be a mixed drink. The pictures were printed and presented to the board with faces blurred; the reporting party wishes to remain anonymous along with her daughter and friend, and she was unable to attend the hearing. 

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