Off Air with Slater

Pam Ellis is a medium based in the Berkshires. In this episode she sits down with me and does a live reading. Later she gets on the phone with my fiancée (we’re both widowed) and connects with her late husband. During that reading she reveals the gender of a miscarriage we hadn’t told anyone about. We also talk about how she works, what she hears, how she got into this, and the difference between psychics and mediums. I push back in a few places. She doesn’t always land everything, but some of it is hard to explain. This is a longer conversation (about 50 minutes). If you’re skeptical of this stuff, you’ll probably still find parts of it interesting. If you’re not, you’ll find other parts interesting. Pam Ellis has done shows around the Berkshires for years. This is the full sit-down.

Michael Obasohan is Pittsfield's chief diversity officer. He is a gay Black man running the city's diversity, equity, and inclusion office in a city that is mostly white. The job has been debated since the office opened in 2021. Some people say the city needs it. Others say it is money that could go somewhere else. His salary is $90,000 a year. The city council recently objected to a name change from "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" to "Equity, Access, and Opportunity". We sat down for about 45 minutes and talked about what DEI actually is, whether the position is necessary, the narratives around it, and what the work looks like here. This is the full conversation.

In this episode I sit down with Ricardo Morales, the Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Pittsfield. Morales, a civil engineer, was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Massachusetts in 2011. Morales, who was hired as the city's engineer in 2018 and then named head of Public Works in 2020, is responsible for the city's infrastructure, water, and other related services. Enjoy our spirited debate about how Pittsfield's streets should be designed. How important are other modes of transportation compared to the car? Plus, we talk about Pittsfield's drinking water and wastewater facilities.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Matt Bishop, Principal of Taconic High School in Pittsfield, MA. Bishop has worked in the Pittsfield school system for nearly 30 years. With 805 students this school year, this is the first year Taconic has become a full vocational high school (CTE). Times have changed, and attending a vocational high school is now something students seek out rather than look down on. In fact, there was a lottery just to get into Taconic. We discuss all 15 programs students can choose from alongside their core classes, student mindsets, hopes and goals, attendance issues, in-person learning, the changing sports programs, students' respect for diversity among their peers, respect for teachers, and student behavior overall.

Mike Fenton is a Springfield city councilor and attorney running for Massachusetts Governor’s Council District 8. That’s the elected body that confirms judges, parole board members, and other appointments from the governor. District 8 is all of Western Mass. (Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire counties) Berkshire County currently has no Superior Court judge who lives here. District court benches are thin too. Fenton says that’s not an accident. He talks about five Superior Court vacancies at once last year, more than 100 pending homicide cases across the four western counties, and why the Berkshire DA, sheriff, and clerk of courts endorsed him over the incumbent, Tara Jacobs of North Adams. We get into: What the Governor’s Council actually does How judges get confirmed (and why some votes go no) Why local judges matter when the cases are local The difference between “bad decisions” and accountability What he’ll look for if voters put him on the council What a parole board looks like with no former prosecutor on there Democratic primary is September 1.

Corey Bishop is one-half of Bishop West Real Estate, a full-service real estate company based in Berkshire County. In this episode, we focus on vacant retail and commercial spaces in Pittsfield and the Berkshires.
Why do investors and developers like Allegrone, David Carver, and Mill Town, the ones actually filling much-needed space, catch flack on social media? We hear about a housing crisis constantly, but Pittsfield has actually lost population over the last 40 years. So where did all that available space go?
We also get into Massachusetts' strict squatters' laws and what they mean for property owners.
Also, The Berkshire Mall has a plan for redevelopment pending change to the Baker Hill Road District. The proposal includes a plan for two major anchor stores in addition to the standing Target. Will this ever happen?