Attorney Jeffrey T. Collins Appointed to State Ethics Commission

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BOSTON — Jeffrey T. Collins, a partner at Boston-based law firm Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP, has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to the State Ethics Commission. Commissioner Collins succeeds former Commission member Wilbur P. Edwards Jr.
 
Prior to joining Morgan, Brown & Joy, Commissioner Collins worked for 18 years at the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts, where he was an Assistant Attorney General and served as Deputy Chief of the Government Bureau's Trial Division. Before joining the Attorney General's Office, he was Legal Counsel and Senior Policy Analyst for the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. Commissioner Collins served for two decades as an intelligence analyst and officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and is a veteran of the Iraq War.
 
Commissioner Collins earned a B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. degree from University of New Hampshire School of Law. He teaches at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, has served as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School, and has taught at the National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute.
 
The State Ethics Commission is a non-partisan, independent state agency which administers, provides advice and training concerning, and civilly enforces the conflict of interest and financial disclosure laws. There are five Commissioners: three, including the Commission Chair, are appointed by the Governor, one is appointed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and one is appointed by the Attorney General. No more than two of the Commissioners appointed by the Governor, and no more than three Commissioners overall, may be from the same political party.
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15 People Displaced in Pittsfield Home Fires

Staff Reports

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fifteen people were displaced after 2-alarm home fires this weekend on Springside Avenue and Elaine Drive. 

On Friday evening, the Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 209 Springside Ave., which took a four-hour battle to extinguish and resulted in a partial roof collapse. The next day, on Saturday evening, crews knocked down a fire at 121 Elaine Drive in about an hour. 

The garage and part of the single-family home on Elaine Drive were gutted to the frame, along with a vehicle parked in the driveway. On Springside Avenue, the top level and porch of the multifamily were burned through.  

A GoFundMe has been started for the family of the Elaine Drive home, which includes several young children.  The fundraiser, with a $5,500 goal, explains they lost their home and all of their belongings. (iBerkshires.com does not confirm or endorse fundraisers; they are provided as information only.)

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, and both incidents are under investigation.  One dog was rescued on Springside Avenue. 

On Oct. 10, around 6:15 p.m., PFD responded to the Springside Avenue home for a reported structure fire and saw a 2 1/2-story wood frame multifamily with a heavy blaze showing from the second-floor front porch, extending out. 

The building suffered a partial roof collapse, which prolonged extinguishment. The fire was brought under control after about four hours.

“An aggressive offensive attack was mounted by first arriving crews stretching hose lines into the building as well as primary searches that proved negative. Ladders were placed around the structure to provide access as well as escape if needed. An off-duty Fire Captain had also been on scene early in the incident to help evacuate the structure and rescue a dog,” PFD wrote in a press release. 

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