Letter: Kamala Harris' Visit Was for the Money

To the Editor:

I hope the Harris campaign thanked iBerkshires for the free advertising you gave them about her visit to Pittsfield for a lavish fundraiser at the Colonial Theatre. Make no mistake, Kamala didn't come to the Berkshires because she cares about what average people are struggling with in the 413 area code — she came because privileged followers donated $1.4 million.

I am under no illusion that she will keep us out of World War III, curtail the impending climate catastrophe, raise the national minimum wage, significantly reduce crushing student debt, or fight to get us Medicare for All. She takes big money from superPACs including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and such donors will heavily influence her policies. Martin Luther King said that people should be judged "for the content of their character," and this should apply today to Kamala Harris, who superficially might seem like a good leader for our troubled country. Let's not forget that as Attorney General of California she prosecuted the impoverished parents of truant children while not prosecuting investment banker Steve Mnuchin for his role in the 2007-8 financial crisis.

The election of 2024 is not just a contest between the two corporately controlled political parties. I strongly reject both the Democrats and Republicans, neither of which work to significantly improve the lives of average Americans. Both are corrupt and support needless wars and a genocide in Palestine. Trump has been convicted for his payments to a porn star, but every high level member of the Biden/Harris administration should also be prosecuted for being partners in the Palestinian Genocide. And it is not anti-Semitic to say that Israel is an apartheid, racist, settler colonial state whose foundation was based on land theft and forced displacement of an indigenous population. Many American Jews like me share the conviction that anti-Zionism is not a form of anti-Semitism, and that the phrase "never again" must mean never again to anyone.

There is another choice that should be reported by our media, assuming that balanced reporting is the goal. Jill Stein is seeking the Green Party nomination, she doesn't take big donor money or have a superPAC supporting her, she is pro-labor, pro-climate, pro-peace, and anti-genocide. It's time to put the lives of ordinary people over corporate profits by voting for her for president.

Henry Rose
Dalton, Mass.

Truck Crashes Into Pittsfield's Samel's Deli

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
10:55AM / Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Elm Street will be partially closed as cleanup continues. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wednesday morning was busy for Pittsfield first responders, as a pickup truck crashed into Samel's Deli & Catering and a fire broke out on First Street.

Around 9:45 a.m., the police reported that the street in front of Samel's Deli & Catering would be closed or down to one lane as a result of a two-car collision that sent the truck careening into the deli.

The department posted two photos on Facebook, one depicting the silver truck with New York license plates crashed through the glass of the front entrance and another of a white Honda CR-V with significant damage to the front end.

"A vehicle was coming out of one of the alleyways here and struck this truck, which continued into the building," Police Officer Craig Jones explained when iBerkshires arrived on the scene.

Jones reported that there was one injury but whether it was someone in the vehicles or in the deli. A crossing signal near Samel's front entrance was also taken out by the truck.

Around this time, crews worked to clear debris in front of the restaurant as the truck was towed away. That section of the road reopened around 11 a.m.

The police, firefighters and an ambulance responded to the accident and police intend to release a statement on the incident.

Around 6:15 a.m., the Fire Department reported that it had responded to a possible structure fire at 233-235 First St. Windows on all three floors of the multi-family building are now broken or boarded up and the cause is under investigation by the Fire Investigation Unit and investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office.