Berkshire LGBTQ+ Leaders Launch Monthly Networking Event

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire LGBTQ+ business owners, professionals, and community leaders are coming together to launch the new LGBTQ Business & Leaders Networking Monthly Networking Event on the third Wednesday each month, beginning March 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

Inaugural meeting will be hosted at WANDER Berkshires, 34 Depot St., Suite 101, Pittsfield, and include a panel discussion with a local business owner, a community leader, and a representative from the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce. There will also be an opportunity for participants to speak about their businesses and meet other business owners.

The monthly networking event is designed to foster connection, collaboration, and creative dialogue among local LGBTQ+ business owners, professionals, and community leaders. In partnership with the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Q-MoB, WANDER Berkshires, and media sponsor Berkshire Magazine, the series offers a platform to reflect on the rich history, vibrant present, and promising future of LGBTQ+ business in the Berkshires, as well as to support one another and find ways to meet the challenges that the LGBTQ community now faces. Each gathering will feature insights from esteemed LGBTQ leaders in the region. In this first gathering, the discussion will focus on the theme of "Berkshire LGBTQ Business:  Past, Present, and Future." Panelists include:

• Past: Jason Vivori, co-founder of the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition, a long-time community organizer, and Collections Manager for the Berkshire Museum, will share stories of the influential LGBTQ+ businesses and leaders who helped shape our community.

• Present: Jay Santangelo, founder of WANDER Berkshires—a dynamic coffee house, creative meeting space, and community darkroom—will provide insights on current innovative gatherings and community building.

• Future: Angie Montalvo-Greene, Member Engagement Director for the Massachusetts LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, will outline new programs aimed at empowering local LGBTQ business leaders.

"In this time of tumultuous change, it's vital that our local LGBTQ+ community leaders come together to support one another and work in solidarity with our many allied businesses, government agencies, and organizations," said Q-MoB Executive Director Bart Church.

The LGBTQ Business, Professional, & Community Leaders Networking Event series will continue at these local LGBTQ-owned Berkshire businesses in April & May:

• 4/16/25, 5:30-7:30pm, at Brazzucas Market, 75 North St, Pittsfield, MA 01201, and on 

• 5/21/25, 5:30-7:30 pm at Heart's Pace Teahouse, 15 Eagle St, North Adams, MA 01247

"It is more essential than ever for our community to come together, support one another, and build strong networks with allied businesses and organizations," says Jay Santangelo, founder of WANDER Berkshires. "This series is an invitation for us to unite, share ideas, and work collaboratively towards a resilient and empowered future." 

For more information and to register, please click HERE. Registration is free.

Pittsfield School Officials Refer PHS Report to State Records Supervisor

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:59AM / Friday, May 02, 2025

Mayor Peter Marchetti asks that the committee not discuss the report in executive session, as he felt it did not fall under OML exemptions.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state now controls what can and can't be released on the Pittsfield High School investigation.

On Wednesday, the School Committee voted to refer the investigative report to Manza Arthur, supervisor of records with the secretary of state's office, and ask her to return a proper redacted report to release to the public.

The Pittsfield Public Schools have been ordered to release non-exempt parts of Bulkley Richardson & Gelinas' investigation into alleged staff wrongdoing by May 8 after community advocate Ciara Batory filed a public records request.

"Although people will say this isn't true, it is not the case that the School Committee is trying to stop anybody from knowing whether it's safe to have their kids go to school, but there is a concern about just how far that assurance has to go," Chair William Cameron said during Wednesday's meeting.

"And we'd like to be in well, in fact, we will act in accordance with the law as it's ultimately determined to be, but I don't believe that the letter we got is a satisfactory basis for our proceeding."

The School Department initially denied Batory's public records request on April 1, and following an appeal to the secretary of the commonwealth's Public Records Division, Arthur ruled on April 24 that the district failed to justify withholding the report in full and ordered that any non-exempt portions of the report be provided.

"That is not a suggestion. That is not an option. You are legally required to release the report. Yet the families affected and this entire community are still being denied the truth they deserve. Let me be very clear: withholding that report, after a direct order from the state, is not just unethical, it is unlawful. Every day you delay, every excuse you give, further destroys the public's trust in this school system," Batory said during open microphone.

"It does something else: it discredits the many teachers and staff who work hard every day to support and protect their students who care deeply, but are too afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation. Your silence sends a message that doing the right thing in this district comes at a cost. That protecting the system is more important than protecting the people in it."