SolarFi, Pittsfield partner, bring multi-use Privé pods to community
Pittsfield — The city of Pittsfield has announced a partnership with Berkshire Bank, Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and nonprofit green energy company SolarFi, to bring SolarFi’s PrivĂ© pods to the community. Beginning Thursday, Oct. 1, SolarFi will install six of its PrivĂ© pods throughout the downtown area.
The Privé pods range in size, from 6 feet by 4 feet to 8 feet by 8 feet, and they accommodate anywhere from two to 10 people. Park Square and Hotel on North will each house three pods, which are anticipated to be available for public use after 4 p.m. Thursday, October 1.
The Privé pods feature graphic panels curated by the Berkshire Museum that depict a collection of historical images of Pittsfield. The public is invited to explore the Privé pods at the park this weekend. The Privé pods at Hotel on North will be used for additional outdoor seating for the Eat on North restaurant.
–E.E.
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Berkshire Humane Society announces for October Adoption Extravaganza
Pittsfield — Berkshire Humane Society is offering $50 off the adoption fee of every pet in the shelter for the month of October, made possible with an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Subaru Loves Pets grant. With the grant, BHS is celebrating a long-standing partnership with Haddad Subaru of Pittsfield, which has underwritten the adoption fee of a shelter dog, the Subaru Dog of the Week, every week for 10 years.
BHS will also recognize partnership with the ASPCA Saturday, Oct. 10, when, for the first time, a shipment of shelter dogs from the South will touch down at the Pittsfield airport. A plane carrying about 30 dogs from an overcrowded animal shelter in Alabama will land, and BHS staff and volunteers will transport the dogs to either the main shelter on Barker Road or a satellite facility at the former municipal shelter at the Downing Industrial Park. Once medically cleared, the dogs will be available for adoption to approved homes.
The month-long celebration will culminate Saturday, Oct. 31, with BHS’ Choose Your Subaru Raffle drawing at 1 p.m. at the main shelter. Tickets are available for $40 each or three for $100 and can be bought over the phone by calling (413) 447-7878 x131; or in Pittsfield at Berkshire Humane Society or Haddad Subaru, Purradise or Catwalk in Great Barrington, Catwalk and Chez Pet in Lenox, and Bartlett’s Orchard in Richmond.
–E.E.
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Salisbury Bank joins ABA to launch #BanksNeverAskThat
Lakeville, Conn. — Salisbury Bank has joined the American Bankers Association and banks across the nation to launching an industry-wide campaign to educate consumers about phishing scams. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that consumers lost $1.48 billion to phishing schemes in 2018 and the ongoing pandemic has only increased the threat. To combat phishing, the #BanksNeverAskThat campaign uses humor and other content to empower consumers to identify bogus bank communications asking for sensitive information like their passwords and Social Security numbers.
The campaign is being launched Thursday, Oct. 1, to mark the beginning of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Throughout the month, Salisbury Bank will share short videos, animated GIFs and consumer tips on social media and in its branch locations designed to highlight common phishing schemes. The campaign’s short videos offer ridiculous questions that banks would never ask and direct consumers to BanksNeverAskThat.com for more information. At that website, consumers will find the #BanksNeverAskThat quiz, videos, phishing red flags, tips and FAQs.
–E.E.
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CHP Barrington OB/GYN relocating to Fairview Hospital campus
Great Barrington — Community Health Programs’ Barrington OB/GYN has relocated to the Fairview Hospital campus as of Sept. 29. The move accommodates growth in the women’s health practice, which offers comprehensive obstetrics and gynecology provided by physicians, nurse practitioners and certified nurse-midwives.
The practice, which was located at the East Mountain Medical complex on South Main Street, has moved to 27 Lewis Ave. The new location is on the ground floor of the Fairview medical office building across the parking lot from the hospital, with diagnostic facilities and the Fairview Hospital Family Birthplace.
–E.E.
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1Berkshire commences its youth leadership class of 2021
Pittsfield — 1Berkshire recently began formal sessions for the 11th class of its Berkshire Youth Leadership Program. This group high school juniors from all over the Berkshires assembled for the first time in late July on Zoom, held a project design session in August, and began the formal portion of the program in mid-September with a session focused on social justice and equity.
Over the next seven months, these 32 students will reunite monthly on Zoom to participate in workshops, learn from speakers, and to develop and execute their selected projects.
The members of the 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program class of 2021 are: Isaac LeBlanc of Berkshire Waldorf High School; Madilynn Brothers, Zachary Davignon, Alexa Macdonald, Elli Miles, Madeline Nesbit, Norah Newlands and Thomas Peterson of Drury High School; Julianne Harwood, Solia Herndon-Schmid and Cecilia Kittross of Lenox Memorial Middle and High School; Sienna Trask of Miss Hall’s School; Micah Ketchen and Grace Makuc of Mount Everett Regional School; Jonah Hane, Catherine McAllister and Alexis Toomey of Mount Greylock Regional School; Isabella Ameen, Jordynn Bazinet, Lauren Callahan, Madison Crouse, Jonathan Douhan, Sydney Ferris, Alex Henner, Madelyn Malumphy, Tess McCluskey, Leila Paredes, Alyssa Potvin, Zachary Pupo and Isolena Ungewitter of Pittsfield High School; Bronwyn Dix of the Potter’s School; and Jocelyn Sommers of Wahconah Regional High School.
–E.E.
