Podcasts about Cold Spring

Welcome back to Resume Assassin's summer series, Career Stories, where we explore the inspiring lives of hidden figures and quiet disruptors who have made a lasting impact on the world. In this episode, we shine a spotlight on Emily Warren Roebling, a woman whose quiet resilience and brilliance literally changed the New York City skyline. Despite never holding an official title or formal engineering degree, Emily stepped into a role of monumental importance, demonstrating leadership, determination, and ingenuity in a heavily male-dominated field.Her story begins in the quaint town of Cold Spring, New York, where her education and upbringing fostered a curious and ambitious mind. From her early days, Emily showed she was not content to sit on the sidelines—her love for learning and her resilience would set the stage for her remarkable contributions. When tragedy struck her family during the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, Emily's role evolved from supportive wife to de facto chief engineer, all while navigating societal expectations that would have otherwise dismissed her from such a pivotal role.Today, Emily Roebling's legacy is a testament to the power of perseverance, resourcefulness, and courage, especially for women breaking barriers long before the concept of women's empowerment gained mainstream traction. Her story reminds us that sometimes leadership looks like quietly carrying the weight when no one else is willing, and that true influence often happens behind the scenes. So stay tuned as we dive deeper into Emily's inspiring journey, and explore what her story can teach us about resilience, advocacy, and making a lasting impact, no matter the circumstances.---------------Update your Resume & LinkedIn Profile:Schedule a 15-minute call with Mary: https://calendly.com/resumeassassin/meet1:1 with Mary: www.resumeassassin.comAI-Enhanced: www.resumesidekick.io---------------Connect with Mary: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-southern/

Cold Spring fan hooked for decades The blockbuster Jaws was released 50 years ago today (June 20), and although Cold Spring resident Courtney Clark wasn't born until a decade later, it didn't stop her from becoming a megafan of the ocean thriller. "I've watched it at least 100 times," she says. Based on a novel by Peter Benchley and directed by Stephen Spielberg, Jaws is set in the fictional New England island community of Amity, where a great white appears at peak tourist season, terrorizing residents and visitors. After the predator has claimed three victims, Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and shark hunter Capt. Quint (Robert Shaw) head out in the fishing boat Orca to confront the menace. The hunt does not go well. Clark first watched Jaws when she was 10, in Pleasantville, when her family rented the video. "My mom finally decided I was old enough," she recalls. "I was scared, but I didn't appreciate all the nuances I've come to love about the film." Within a year, Clark saw it again, in a friend's darker, scarier basement. By her mid-teens, she was hooked, watching it about three times a year. That habit continues four decades later. "I watch it as much as my husband Dan will tolerate," she says with a laugh. Clark says her favorite line in the 124-minute film is when Quint, aboard Orca, offers a toast to Hooper and Brody: "Here's to swimming with bow-legged women." She can recite much of the movie's dialogue from memory, except for Quint's "Indianapolis" speech. In the monologue, one of the movie's most gripping scenes, Quint recounts in grizzly detail the story of the USS Indianapolis, which was torpedoed by the Japanese near the Philippines in July 1945 during World War II and sank in 12 minutes. Only 316 of 890 sailors survived in the shark-infested waters. Clark feels the movie, which cost $9 million (about $54 million today) to make and grossed $478 million worldwide ($2.9 billion), stands the test of time, even after half a century. "It's always as exciting as the first time I watched it," she says. "Even though I know every scene and what's coming, it's still shocking. I still find details I hadn't noticed before. "I love its style, the '70s, the outfits; it's a little slice of life of that time," she says. "It's so perfectly made; every shot is like a work of art." Her favorite scene is when the shark attacks young Alex Kintner in a rubber raft near the beach. "The camera pans, you see people walking by, and it keeps going back and forth between Brody's face and the water. The feel of that scene is amazing." Her scariest scene: When they find fisherman Ben Gardner's boat, badly damaged by the shark. Hooper goes into the water, and Gardner's head pops out from a hole in the side of the boat. Her favorite character: "Brody, Quint and Hooper are all incredible, but I relate most to Hooper; I appreciate that he's a marine biologist." Events behind the scenes also captured Clark's imagination. "The making of Jaws is as iconic as the film," she said, adding that The Jaws Log, by Carl Gottlieb, the film's screenwriter, details what went on during filming, most of which was on Martha's Vineyard. Clark finds it especially amusing that producers toyed with trying to train a shark to play the central character, rather than building a mechanical double. Gottlieb's book describes how residents coped with a movie crew disrupting life on the island and how the filmmakers dealt with a fake shark that rarely functioned as planned. Ironically, those difficulties may have contributed to the movie's success. There were so many problems with the shark, nicknamed "Bruce" after Spielberg's lawyer, that it appears on screen for only four minutes. "The fact that they had such limited footage makes it much more suspenseful when you actually see the shark," Clark says. Unlike many critics and fans, she enjoyed all three sequels: Jaws 2, Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge, with Michael...

Wet weather spoils plans, but heat is on the way Today (June 20) is the first day of summer, but if you feel like you've been stuck inside more often than not during the last seven soggy weeks of spring, it's because you probably have. Jesse Stacken, a weather monitor who is part of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), has recorded rainfall at his Beacon home 31 out of 50 days since the beginning of May. He's seen measurable precipitation 14 of the last 15 weekends, dating to March 16. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 3.72 inches of rain is normal for May in Beacon. Stacken measured 10.29 inches, "so we doubled it and then some," he said. Normal rainfall for June is 4.47 inches; Stacken's gauge had seen 3.54 inches through Thursday, including a Wednesday downpour that dumped nearly an inch in 45 minutes. In Philipstown, CoCoRaHS monitors Joe Hirsch and Heidi Wendel have measured 24.12 inches of precipitation from Jan. 1 through Thursday, including 8.66 inches in May and 3.23 in June. During the same year-to-date period last year, the Nelsonville residents had seen 26.78 inches, with 4.33 inches falling in May 2024 and 1 inch in June through the 19th. The rain has flooded fields and set production back at Common Ground Farm in Wappingers Falls. In addition to losing about 200 feet of kale - a third of what had been planted - and tomatoes to flooding, Rhys Bethke, Common Ground's farm manager, said it was difficult this spring using a tractor on wet, compacted soil. "If you can't get the fields prepared in time, you don't have crops in time," Bethke said. Fungal and bacterial infections have also been more common because they thrive in wet conditions. Foot traffic, particularly on the weekends, has been down on Main Street in Cold Spring, said Fran Farnorotto, the owner of The Gift Hut. "There are a lot of things that are impacting sales," she said, "weather being one of the issues." Ben Noll, a meteorologist who grew up in Orange County and now lives in New Zealand, tracks weather for The Washington Post. He noted via email this week that rainfall in the Hudson Valley has been close to average in 2025. January through April saw below-average precipitation, but May was the "big, wet standout." June could end up having above-average rainfall, as well, he said. And while it's felt cool lately, temperatures in April, May and June were slightly warmer than the long-term (1991 to 2020) average. But because the climate is changing quickly, Noll said, people have grown accustomed to above-average temperatures. When conditions are more "old normal" than "new normal," it may feel cooler than it really is. "The polar vortex, which is responsible for keeping cold air locked up in the Arctic, has been more disturbed than normal this year, allowing strands of cold air to surge southward in the central and eastern United States with greater regularity," Noll said, adding that the same pattern led temperatures to reach near 80 degrees in Iceland in May, a record for that country. "That pattern is finished now and we're about to see a big, warmer and more humid change in our weather." Indeed, we are. Temperatures are expected to reach 98 degrees on Monday and Tuesday. Rombout Middle School in Beacon will dismiss students at 11:15 a.m. both days; the district's four elementary schools will dismiss at 12:10 p.m. The Regents week schedule at Beacon High School, which is air-conditioned, is unchanged. Here's why extreme heat is coming. The jet stream is about to be pushed north of the U.S., Noll said, creating a "heat dome" effect. "This essentially lumps our weather into the same basket as Florida, Texas and the rest of the South," he said. Noll's outlook for the rest of summer is hot and humid, especially at night, "because of extremely warm ocean temperatures in the western Atlantic and Gulf." He predicts that downpours will never be far away, although "I expect there to be plenty ...

Minnesota was rocked over the weekend by the politically targeted shootings of two state lawmakers. State Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former DFL House Speaker, was fatally shot along with her husband, Mark. DFL State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, are still recovering after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. Political leaders and many Minnesotans are still trying to make sense of it all. In the hours after the suspect in those shootings was arrested, MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst, Minnesota Now host Nina Moini and politics reporter Clay Masters spoke with three of the state's top political leaders. Guests: Gov. Tim Walz is a former Democratic vice presidential candidate and second-term DFL governor of Minnesota.House speaker Lisa Demuth is a Republican from Cold Spring.Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is a DFLer, a former state representative and a candidate for the U.S. senate.Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.   

Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Richard Sever, Assistant Director, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Richard earned his PhD in molecular biology and has been with Cold Spring Harbor for over 17 years. He recently became Chief Science and Strategy Officer at Open Archive, which oversees bioRxiv and medRxiv. Richard says he has always been fascinated with figuring out how things work, and that led him to a career in science. He realized that he didn't want a career in academic research but enjoyed science communication instead. Richard moved into scientific publishing, enjoying the range of topics and collaboration with authors, and eventually chose Cold Spring to work with because of the high caliber research and mission driven innovation there.  Richard and his colleague John Inglis founded bioRxiv, a biology preprint server, with hopes to improve how science is evaluated and shared.   The video of this podcast can be found here: https://youtu.be/9dOa9gJy1Y0 Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardsever/ Twitter: Keywords: #ColdSpringHarbor #BioRxiv #MedRxiv #STEMCareers #ResearchInnovation #OpenScience #ScientificPublishing #SciComm #ScienceCommunication #preprints #career #collaboration #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

Send us a textWhen you're in the business of metal buildings, the tools you use define not just your efficiency, but the quality of your finished product. That's why we were thrilled to welcome Wendell from Cold Spring Enterprises to share the fascinating journey of his family's three-generation manufacturing business and their game-changing VersaBend system.Starting from a converted chicken house in Abbeville, South Carolina in 1977, Cold Spring has grown into a respected manufacturer whose VersaBend machines are powering production at approximately 130 metal building shops nationwide. What makes this system special? It handles four different tube sizes with one die, creates full radius bends for cleaner aesthetics, and processes a full bundle of 25 tubes in under 30 minutes – that's about a minute per bow. At $19,500, the compact machine represents an investment that quickly pays for itself through increased productivity and consistent quality.Wendell shared an exciting preview of their upcoming Swedger machine, expected to launch in early 2025. This innovative tool will swedge tube ends so they fit directly into one another, eliminating the need for separate sleeve pieces and creating stronger connections while saving valuable assembly time. Beyond equipment, Cold Spring also manufactures thousands of the brackets, clips, and hardware components that are essential to metal building construction.Our conversation highlighted a crucial point for both manufacturers and dealers: understanding the components and construction methods that differentiate quality buildings is essential for success in this industry. As Jared noted, "Time is money," and tools like the VersaBend and upcoming Swedger allow metal building professionals to work smarter rather than harder.Ready to elevate your metal building production? Contact Cold Spring Enterprises at 864-446-3645 or visit coldspringmetal.com to learn how their American-made equipment and components can transform your business.For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.This episodes Sponsors:Studio Sponsor: J Money LLCShed Geek MarketingRealwork Labs

250 Years Ago (June 1775) British troops in New York City were evacuated to transports anchored in the harbor. A small group of Sons of Liberty confiscated five wagonloads of royal weapons. Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler of New York and George Washington, the newly appointed commander of the army, left Philadelphia for New York City. Addressing fears of military rule, Washington reassured the New York Provincial Congress that, after the establishment of liberty, he would return to private life. On June 26, Washington and Schuyler crossed King's Bridge into Westchester County. The next day, slowed by well-wishers, they made it only as far as New Rochelle, where Schuyler headed to Albany and Washington toward Boston. 150 Years Ago (June 1875) John Cox, the flagman at Garrison's station, was suspicious of banks and paper money. On a Thursday night, while John was at work, five masked men pushed through the door and bound Mrs. Cox and the couple's two sons, ages 14 and 20. After ransacking the house, they left with a box of silver and gold coins valued at $1,100 [about $32,000 today]. Two tramps at the station were arrested after the Cox family said they resembled the suspects - one with a dark complexion, an ugly face and a bad eye and another who was "more honest-looking." Signor Sebastian, a circus performer, broke his leg at a Friday performance in Cold Spring when he was thrown from a horse while riding bareback seated in a chair. He was taken to the Pacific Hotel and, a few days later, returned by train to his home in New York City. A few weeks later, a baggage-car fire on a sidetrack in Connecticut destroyed all the troupe's baggage and musical instruments. Shortly after midnight, Thomas McAndrew, the watchman at the lower railroad switches, heard a noise and found two men standing at a broken door on a freight car on the sidetrack. When the larger man put his hand into his pocket and threatened to shoot, McAndrew dropped him with a shot to the neck. The man - who said his name was McKinseynally - was taken to Town Hall, where Dr. Murdock removed the bullet. Three people held solid-silver life passes for the Hudson River Railroad: John Jervis, the first chief engineer, his wife and Gouverneur Kemble of Cold Spring, the founder of West Point Foundry and an early supporter of the railroad. Commodore Foote and his sister, Eliza, "celebrated Lilliputians," performed at Town Hall. The Indiana natives claimed to be the smallest people in the world and were as well-known in their time as Tom Thumb. A six-horse team delivered a 7,530-pound load of bedplate to Sunk Mine for its steam-powered machines. The Methodist Episcopal Church held its annual Strawberry, Ice Cream and Floral Festival. The Recorder noted that a new state law made it illegal, punishable with a fine of up to $10 [$290], to mutilate shade trees near schools, churches, public buildings or highways. "It is well known that people from the farming districts are the principal offenders," the editor wrote. "They come into town to do some business and seek a comfortable shade for their teams. All right, so far; but how about the shade next year if the horses girdle the trees while standing thereat?" A reader complained to The Recorder that people were taking water by the barrel from the Main Street pumps to irrigate their strawberries and gardens. After the first baseball game of the season on Vinegar Hill between a club from West Point and the Kellogg team (which the latter won, 22-19), the Newburgh Telegraph said the Army boys lost only because of the "considerable partiality shown by the umpire who, of course, proved to be a resident of Cold Spring." The Recorder retorted that the visitors lost because they did not score enough runs. On a Tuesday at noon, while Isaiah Jaycox of the Highlands was driving at a good speed down Main Street seated atop a cord of wood, a front wheel on his wagon fell off as he passed High Street. Passersby lifted the corner of the wagon with...

Philipstown organization gets a triple boost Seamus Carroll and his wife, Marie Wieck, began shopping at Foodtown in Cold Spring when it opened in 2003 following a fire that had destroyed the previous supermarket at the location, the Grand Union. Like other customers, they started accumulating 10 points in Foodtown loyalty awards for every dollar spent. The points could be redeemed for grocery gift cards. Three months ago, the couple became the first Foodtown customers to reach 1 million points, according to the store manager, Mike Wilson. Carroll said they decided to push for 1 million in 2008, when they hit 100,000. "It became a family joke," he said, noting he would scold his daughters if they cashed in points to get discounts at the checkout. "I told them we were saving for 1 million; they laughed at that." When they hit the mark earlier this year, Carroll sent a photo of the receipt to his daughters, who live in England and China, respectively. They responded with smiley faces, he said. This week, Carroll and Wieck donated their points to the Philipstown Food Pantry, which operates on Saturday mornings at the First Presbyterian Church in Cold Spring. The pantry redeemed the points for $1,150 in Foodtown gift cards. The supermarket donated another $350 in cards for an even $1,500. "We thought this would be a way to leverage the gift cards, prompting others to donate," Carroll said. "It's a reminder that you can give points to the food pantry [at the customer service desk]; I'm sure people forget this option." The food pantry will receive another unexpected gift on Saturday (June 14) when Donna Anderson delivers a $1,017 donation from Philipstown Senior Citizens of Putnam County, which disbanded at the end of 2024. Food Insecurity Widespread Even amid wealth, many people struggle to make ends meet. An annual report by the United Way known as ALICE (for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) "is an alarm bell for what we see every Saturday" at the Philipstown Food Pantry, said Kiko Lattu, its coordinator. In May, the pantry provided food and other necessities to an average of 71 households each week. The United Way argues that the federal poverty level does not accurately reflect the number of people struggling financially to meet basic needs. Using census and other federal data, it calculated for its latest report, released in May, that 38 percent of Cold Spring/Philipstown and 35 percent of Garrison households don't earn enough to cover the costs of essentials such as housing, food, transportation, health care, child care and a basic phone plan. "Even more troubling, 51 percent of seniors and about two-thirds of single-parent households in Putnam County are likely struggling," Lattu said. In Putnam County, the United Way calculated that a single adult needs at least $54,180 annually to meet basic needs, or $135,660 for a family of two adults with two children in child care. In Beacon, the United Way calculated that 42 percent of the city's 8,367 households struggle to meet a basic survival budget for Dutchess County of $40,296 for a single adult with $114,996 for a family of two adults and two children in child care. By contrast, the federal poverty level is $14,580 for an individual and $30,000 for a family of four. Anderson, who served as president for the final two years, said the club was formed in 1974 and at one time had more than 100 members. But by last year, the remaining members voted to dissolve the club and donate its fund balance to the pantry because many seniors suffer from food insecurity. Anderson was a vocal advocate for establishing a county senior center at the redeveloped Butterfield Hospital site. After the Philipstown Friendship Center opened there in 2018, she said the need for a seniors' group diminished. On June 1, a Nelsonville family - Karen and Ryan Peters and their daughters, Callie and Sadie - set up a table outside Foodtown to solicit donations for the pantry. In less than three ho...

Accuse president of meddling with scholarships Nearly all the members of a board overseeing the prestigious Fulbright scholarships resigned Wednesday (June 11) in protest of what they call the Trump administration's meddling with the selection of award recipients for the international exchange program. A Philipstown resident, Sophia Ptacek, earlier this year lost her Fulbright fellowship to spend nine months working on industrial decarbonization and air pollution reduction for a Colombian government ministry. "I'm holding on to hope that it could still happen," said Ptacek, who grew up in Garrison and Cold Spring and attended the Poughkeepsie Day School. "But I am in limbo. It's sad." Ptacek last year completed a dual master's program at Yale University in environmental management and public health. She also was selected for a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, part of a U.S. State Department international exchange and education program suspended by the White House in February. Ptacek wanted to help reduce air pollution in Colombia. "There's quite a lot of manufacturing and heavy industry, and as a result, a lot of air pollution that has public health impacts for communities near these plants," she said. The Fulbright board resignations were first reported by The New York Times. A statement published online by members said the administration usurped the board's authority by denying awards to "a substantial number of people" who already had been chosen to study and teach in the U.S. and abroad. Another 1,200 foreign award recipients who were already approved to come to the U.S. are undergoing an unauthorized review process that could lead to their rejection, the board members said. "To continue to serve after the administration has consistently ignored the board's request that they follow the law would risk legitimizing actions we believe are unlawful and damage the integrity of this storied program and America's credibility abroad," the statement reads. Congress established the Fulbright program nearly 80 years ago to promote international exchange and American diplomacy. The highly selective program awards about 9,000 scholarships annually in the U.S. and in more than 160 other countries to students, scholars, and professionals in a range of fields. All but one of the 12 board members resigned, according to Carmen Estrada-Schaye, who is the only remaining board member. "I was appointed by the president of the United States and I intend to fill out my term," Estrada-Schaye said. Award recipients are selected in a yearlong process by the State Department and other countries' embassies. The board has had final approval. The recipients who had their awards canceled are in fields including biology, engineering, agriculture, music, medical sciences, and history, the board members said. All the board members who resigned were selected under former President Joe Biden. The State Department, which runs the scholarship program, said they were partisan political appointees. "It's ridiculous to believe that these members would continue to have final say over the application process, especially when it comes to determining academic suitability and alignment with President Trump's Executive Orders," the department said. "The claim that the Fulbright Hayes Act affords exclusive and final say over Fulbright Applications to the Fulbright board is false. This is nothing but a political stunt attempting to undermine President Trump."

Minneapolis City Council opposition to Law Enforcement on full display as never before. Mayor Jacob Frey pretends to speak to Somalis in their native language. The Trump-Musk feud. Who do you root for? Patrick Reusse with his weekly sports report. Johnny Heidt with guitar news. Heard On The Show:Minnesota Legislature to go into special session on Monday to finish work on budgetChemical spill at Pilgrim's Chicken in Cold Spring sends 26 people to the hospitalD-Day veterans return to Normandy to mark 81st anniversary of landingsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New Cold Spring store honors spirit of late shopkeeper Brown letters taped to the door of Segundo Beso boutique in Cold Spring read, "Be More Doucette," a nod to Stephanie Doucette, who championed keeping industry footprints "as light as a kiss." The Spanish name of the new store, which fills a space at 65 Main St. formerly occupied by Doucette New York before Doucette died suddenly in May 2024 at age 52, translates as "second kiss" - a reference to what Doucette described as her mission to "rescue forgotten fabrics." Melinda Huff, a friend and collaborator of Doucette's, plans to maintain that mantra by saving offloaded spools of fabric marred by machinery errors and other imperfections from landfills. The store also stocks designs by other like-minded creators. "It's my personal mission to keep Stephanie's spirit alive at Segundo Beso, not just by giving new life to discarded fabric and material, but also paying forward her disarming kindness and honesty," Huff says. In a back workshop filled with tape measures, sewing machines and other accoutrements of the trade, Huff and her partners make alterations, experiment with prototypes and create custom outfits. The changing area's curtain is a canopy of sewn-together blue jeans. Seeking to broaden local relationships, she jumped at the chance to partner with the Garrison Art Center on a juried group exhibit, Urban Jungle, which includes 13 pieces, including six sculptures, displayed throughout the store. Many businesses in Beacon and Philipstown display work by local artists, but this one offers more gravitas: Last week's opening attracted a crowd that spilled onto the sidewalk and filled up the benches outside. The partnership emerged after Catherine Graham, executive director of the art center, attended a marketing workshop sponsored by the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce and met matchmaker Michael Dardano. "For years, I've been trying to get nonprofits and private businesses together, and this came about pretty fast," says Dardano, who runs BuzzPotential, a social media and marketing firm in Westchester. The exhibit includes items that evoke a jungle groove, like the manipulated photo "Spring Growth" by Sandra Belitza-Vasquez, and "Wandering Flowers" by Vivien Collens, a series of five sculptures that brighten a picture window. Many artistic items lean into a gritty city vibe, like the touched-up photo "Red Firebox - Bklyn" by Mitchell Brozinsky, which captures a graffitied streetscape in Greenpoint long before the Yuppies moved in. The mossy yellow grunge on the building and the gray sidewalk looks like it could be scraped off. Philipstown resident Jane Soodalter's close-up photo of rusted machinery presents the illusion of rough texture rising from the surface. A wall-mounted, mixed-media piece by Maxine Feldman suggests an urban street grid. The sculpture "Modern Ruins" by Lisa Knaus, who teaches at the Garrison Art Center, sits in a precarious location, ripe for getting knocked over or being mistaken for goods on sale. (The store carries accessories beyond clothes.) Covered with melted glass that looks like bright glaze or colorful paint, the brick and other components are attractive. Knaus makes clay objects and dislikes throwing things away. After her car windshield shattered, she found a use for the shiny pile. The work fits with the store's exposed brick decor, but for Knaus, the material contains symbolic meaning. "I'm really into bricks," she says. "For me, using the glass is a bling-like way to connect with the history of civilization." Segundo Beso, at 65 Main St. in Cold Spring, is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday to Monday. See segundobeso.com. Urban Jungle continues through July 13.

Kevin McConville was seeking second term Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville is ending his campaign for a second term because of health issues, the Sheriff's Office said on Thursday (June 5). A Republican, McConville was elected in 2021, defeating incumbent Sheriff Robert Langley Jr. with 57 percent of the vote. The sheriff, who lives in Philipstown, had filed to run in November on the Republican and Conservative party lines for another 4-year term. He began his career in law enforcement as a Cold Spring police officer and rose to become chief of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority police force. He ran unsuccessfully for Putnam sheriff in 2009 as a Democrat and in 2013 as a Republican. Andres Gil, who chairs the Putnam County Republican Committee, said on Thursday that he learned of the decision the day before and that it left him "heartbroken." In a letter sent to the committee members, he said McConville and his family were the primary concern. "We are grateful for his leadership, his accomplishments and, most importantly, his friendship," Gil wrote. "Anyone who has ever met Sheriff McConville knows that he is truly a remarkable human being who will give you the shirt off his back when in need." In terms of a replacement, the Republican Committee's leaders are "exploring all available options as we are identifying and reviewing the process to substitute a qualified Republican candidate" for the November ballot, said Gil. "It is going to take us a little bit of time to make sure that we are dotting our i's and crossing our t's," he said. McConville is scheduled to receive the Conservative of the Year Award on Thursday (June 12) from the Putnam County Conservative Party, which did not immediately respond to an email about its plans, if any, for a new candidate for its ballot line. There is no Democratic candidate, but Larry Burke, a Cold Spring police officer and formerly the officer-in-charge, is running as an independent on the Serve & Protect party line. A general objection to his nominating petition was filed on May 30 with the Putnam County Board of Elections by Cindy Trimble, a member of the Philipstown Republican Committee. But no specific objections were filed by a June 5 deadline. Burke, 59, has worked in law enforcement for 37 years, including 26 years with the New York City Police Department. He joined the Cold Spring department in 2013 and served as officer-in-charge for seven years, until 2024. Burke has also been a volunteer firefighter with the North Highlands Fire Co. for 12 years.

District would pay $30K to $42K per vehicle annually As it waits to learn whether it will receive grants to purchase four electric buses, the Haldane school district is considering whether it should lease instead. Under state law, all new school buses must be zero-emission starting in 2027. Districts must be fully electric by 2035. Haldane is considering a partnership with Highland Electric Fleets, a Massachusetts company that leases electric school buses. Emily Parish, a manager with the firm, traveled to Cold Spring on Tuesday (June 3) to make a presentation to the school board about its "turnkey fleet electrification services." Electric buses typically cost $400,000 each, or three times a bus that burns diesel. Parish said Haldane would pay between $30,000 and $42,000 a year to lease each bus, depending on the amount of grant money the district receives from state and federal sources. In addition to the buses, Parish said that Highland Electric would provide charging stations, electrical capacity, electricity, bus management software, driver training and maintenance assistance. The buses would be driven by district employees and housed on campus. The vehicles would be provided under a "capital lease," which under state law is capped at eight years. (Legislation has been introduced to extend the limit to 12 years, which is the typical lifespan of a school bus.) Haldane voters would have to approve the contracts. "For a small district like Haldane to attempt the transition independently would be very difficult," said Carl Albano, the interim superintendent. "They have the knowledge, and it minimizes risk." Adam MacNeil, Haldane's director of facilities and transportation, said that, given the district's inexperience with electric buses, partnering with a firm like Highland Electric "allows us to focus on other things." "We have never outsourced our transportation," noted Board President Peggy Clements during the meeting, calling it a source of pride. "The district has done a very good job of buying buses and maintaining" buses. She added that the transition to a lease agreement "is another kind of risk." Highland Electric has assisted Haldane with grant applications, including a bid to obtain $170,000 for each bus from the federal Environmental Protection Administration. The district can also apply for state grants. Parish said she was optimistic the EPA would continue its bus grants despite the cost-cutting and turmoil in Washington D.C. "Hopefully we get some news in the next couple of weeks," she said. Highland Electric said it has contracts with 130 districts across the country to manage some 900 buses, although it does not yet have any agreements in New York. Parish said her firm is also pitching the Scarsdale district on its services.

Municipalities to share resources The Putnam Legislature on Tuesday (June 3) approved the county's participation in a blanket agreement calling for its six towns and three villages to share road equipment and personnel. The agreement covers road maintenance, repair and construction, and weather emergencies such as snowstorms and flooding. Participants agree to share vehicles and other equipment and allow access to their highway facilities. According to a draft of the proposal, the goals are efficiency and cost savings. Thomas Feighery, the county public works commissioner, told the Legislature's Physical Services Committee last month that the pact is the first intermunicipal agreement of its kind in the state. "We're pretty excited about it," he said. Richard Othmer Jr., the highway superintendent for Kent, pitched the proposal to the Cold Spring Village Board in April. He said it will eliminate the "ridiculous amount of paperwork" needed for separate agreements with each municipality. "I consider it like NATO," said Othmer, who cited the cooperation between Kent and East Fishkill during major flooding in July 2023. "Let's create one document that we all sign, and we're all for one and one for all." Philipstown has yet to sign the agreement. Kathleen Foley, Cold Spring's mayor, said on Wednesday (June 4) that the village attorney is reviewing the proposed contract but the board supports "signing in principle and, in fact, is happy about this move to share services. It just makes sense." While Nelsonville does not have a highway department and contracts for road maintenance and services like snow and ice removal, its board approved the agreement last month. "The spirit is amazing, and the effort put in to do this is great," said Mayor Chris Winward. Secret purchase Legislators on Tuesday approved a request from the Sheriff's Office to use $531,563 in seized assets to fund an unspecified equipment purchase for its emergency response team. When the Protective Services Committee took up the request last month, Sheriff Kevin McConville asked its members to discuss the purchase in a closed-door session "due to the sensitive nature of the procurement." Before calling for the executive session, committee Chair Paul Jonke said he had an "offline conversation" with McConville and decided that "discussion of the nature of this procurement would imperil the safety of our officers." On Tuesday, Jonke said the equipment "would make our law enforcement personnel safer when they come upon a scene where there's a crisis" but did not offer specifics. Under state Open Meetings Law, legislators can hold closed sessions for matters they determine "will imperil the public safety if disclosed." Election security Legislators approved $56,000 to replace a chain-link gate at the entrance to the Board of Elections' property in Carmel with one that opens and closes automatically. A security assessment of the property, which also hosts a Sheriff's Office facility, flagged the gate as a risk. In addition to being in disrepair, it must be left open during snowstorms for plowing, according to the county. The Board of Elections building was renovated last year with a new roof, landscaping, siding, drainage and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility and signs. D.A. bonuses A portion of a $266,192 grant from the state Department of Criminal Justice Services awarded in 2024 to implement reforms to evidence sharing with defense attorneys will fund bonuses at the district attorney's office because the D.A. says the reforms increased workloads by nearly 30 percent. The Legislature approved $60,000 in bonuses, with each prosecutor receiving $4,000 to $10,000 and the chief of staff getting $5,000. District Attorney Robert Tendy wrote in his 2024 annual report, released in February, that grant money is also used for personnel retention, on-call stipends, equipment, training and travel expenses. About a third of the DCJS grant was shared with local law enforc...

There are four Democratic candidates for two open seats on the Philipstown Town Board - Ben Cheah, John Maasik, Nat Prentice and Ned Rauch. They will compete in a primary on June 24 for the two Democratic lines on the general-election ballot in November. Cheah and Rauch, who were endorsed by the Philipstown Democratic Committee, also filed independent nominating petitions and will appear on the November ballot on the Philipstown Focus party line regardless of the primary outcome. There are no candidates from other parties. We asked each candidate to answer four questions in a total of 500 words or less. The responses are below, presented in alphabetical order by last name. For information on voting and a link to reader endorsements, see below. What in your background makes you the best candidate? Ben Cheah: I believe that a great board member brings passion, dedication, teamwork and expertise - and I'll bring all of that to the Philipstown board. Ten years ago, my wife Megan and I chose to raise our two sons in Philipstown. We love this community and feel lucky to call it home. Both of us have always been active volunteers. I've served on the Philipstown Recreation Commission, Cold Spring Planning Board (current), as Cub Scouts Pack 137 treasurer and on the Putnam County Industrial Development Agency board. Running for Town Board feels like a natural next step - one I'm genuinely passionate about. I'm especially focused on the challenges of rising costs and tightening budgets. I plan to be hands-on with budgeting and long-term planning to help keep costs and taxes under control. I bring to the table an MBA in finance from New York University's Stern School of Business; 25 years of project management and executive experience in the film and TV industry; and a strong creative background in sound design for film, with credits on Men in Black, The Big Lebowski, The Birdcage and The Wire. John Maasik: I've lived in Philipstown for over 20 years: 10 in Cold Spring and 10 in Garrison, where my wife and I raised our two sons. I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours volunteering with community-based organizations, including the Philipstown Recreation Commission, Philipstown Soccer Club, Friends of Philipstown Recreation and Scouting America, in addition to participating in the Haldane turf field effort and the Garrison School Safety Committee. I also helped launch events such as the Castle-to-River Run and Winter Carnival, raising thousands in non-taxpayer dollars and donations for town programs. These efforts have helped me build strong relationships across Cold Spring, Continental Village, Garrison and Nelsonville. Professionally, I've led large teams and managed multimillion-dollar budgets in the private sector, experiences that have shaped my ability to listen carefully, act with integrity and lead without ego. The values that guide me most deeply come from my family's story. My parents were Estonian refugees who fled Soviet occupation after my grandfather was killed by the Russians. My grandmother brought her three children to the U.S. in search of safety, freedom and a new beginning. I was raised with a deep respect for civic responsibility, community and the promise of American democracy. Nat Prentice: Experience, experience, experience. I have had a career in finance and investments. I grew up in Garrison and moved back here 25 years ago. Since moving back, I have attended most of the Town Board's monthly meetings, so I know the commitment that is required to address Philipstown's challenges and opportunities. I helped create the Town's 2007 Comprehensive Plan, and in 2018 I was appointed chair of the Comprehensive Plan Committee that published an update adopted in 2021. Working on the plan meant partnering with a multitude of people from the North Highlands to Continental Village. I know the town's goals and priorities really well. In addition, I work with emergency services (commissioner, Garrison Fire District; me...

A young woman chronicles her battle with anorexia In January 2017, Sandra Slokenbergs wrote in her journal: "I have a sickening feeling my daughter is dying." Her fears were well-founded. A week later, her daughter Lidija, 17, a Haldane junior, was rushed to a hospital, suffering from severe anorexia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder which, if not treated, can cause serious medical conditions associated with starvation. Anorexia is second only to opioid overdoses in deaths tied to mental illness, including by suicide. Its causes are not fully understood but are thought to involve genetics, psychological and social factors and major life transitions. In a newly published book, Hold My Hand, Sandra and Lidija tell their story in detail from each of their perspectives. By age 16, Lidija had experienced more life changes than most. When she was 6 and about to enter the first grade at Haldane, she and her family moved to Latvia. Both sets of her grandparents had emigrated to the U.S.; her parents were born in New York, but Latvian was spoken in their Cold Spring home. During the 10 years they spent in Latvia, Lidija changed schools five times. Although Latvia became independent from Russia in 1990, many schools still followed the rigid Soviet system, with multiple daily tests, teachers calling out students' grades, waiting for permission to sit and an intense level of competition. "I didn't feel I could keep up," she recalled. "I knew I was smart, but I was made to feel stupid a lot of the time." Lidija loved to dance but was told at age 12 by her ballet instructor that she danced "like a bear." She came home crying, feeling "intimidated, ridiculed and never good enough." There were cultural differences, as well. Although Lidija spoke fluent Latvian, it was with an accent. She was "the American," an outsider. The Slokenbergs returned to Cold Spring each summer. Lidija said that was "paradise": swimming in her grandparents' pool, her July 3 birthday parties, camp and ice cream. Although she loved Latvia and had friends there, returning was always difficult. Sandra remembers the end of the summers as full of "anxiety, sadness and dread" for her daughter. Red flags began to appear by the time Lidija was 14. Once, she stood by her bedroom mirror in Latvia sobbing, unable to decide what to wear to a birthday party. Sandra coaxed her to go, but it was a struggle. For a yoga class where everyone wore a T-shirt and leggings, Lidija agonized, rejecting one combination after another. Sandra noticed her daughter's movements had become less natural. She had begun to dislike aspects of her body. "Clearly, self-esteem was seeping out of her," Sandra said. Lidija developed an uncharacteristic interest in Sandra's treadmill and worked out on it obsessively for several weeks. She later admitted hating every minute of it. Ironically, a permanent return to Cold Spring in 2016 fueled what would soon be diagnosed as anorexia. "I was happy because I'd have two years left at Haldane," Lidija said. But other thoughts were troubling. "I felt I had the chance to reinvent myself, to become someone I liked more, someone who was smarter and prettier," she said. "I had been holding in a lot of stress, a perfect time for anorexia to swoop in." Anorexia, she said, makes many false promises: "You'll be happy if you lose a bit of weight. You'll be happy if you control your food more. You'll be happy if you get to the desired weight." Lidija's 16th birthday included a trip to Dairy Queen and an ice cream cake. It would be the last time Lidija ate without feeling the need to greatly restrict food. After eating leftover cake the next morning, she obsessed over the thought that she had already consumed more calories than she should for an entire day. She vowed to take control, to get skinnier, to be prettier. She thought, "Maybe I'll feel better then." Her mother recalled: "I saw her change into someone I didn't recognize." Lidija became obsessive-compulsive...

Take time today to remember those who sacrificed Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday that's supposed to be about mourning the nation's fallen service members, but it's come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Iraq War veteran Edmundo Eugenio Martinez Jr. said the day has lost so much meaning that many Americans "conflate and mix up Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day, July Fourth." Social media posts pay tribute to "everyone" who has served, when Memorial Day is about those who died. For him, it's about honoring 17 U.S. service members he knew who lost their lives. "I was either there when they died or they were soldiers of mine, buddies of mine," said Martinez, 48, an Army veteran who lives in Katy, Texas, west of Houston. "Some of them lost the battle after the war." Steve Merando, who has marched in Cold Spring's Memorial Day parade since he was 10 years old, agreed. "People forget that Memorial Day is supposed to be a memorial to those who were killed in action while serving their country," said Merando, who served with the U.S. Navy Seabees from 1969 to 1973, including in Vietnam and Thailand. He played Little League baseball with Keith Livermore, one of three Philipstown residents killed in the Vietnam War. In Memoriam: Philipstown and Beacon Here is a look at the holiday and how it has evolved: When is Memorial Day? It falls on the last Monday of May, which this year is May 26. In Cold Spring, a parade will begin at 9 a.m. at Stone and Main streets and progress to Cold Spring Cemetery in Nelsonville for a ceremony. Hot dogs and refreshments will follow at the American Legion. Rain or shine. In Beacon, a ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at 413 Main St. It will include the dedication of a plaque to mark the 100th anniversary of the Veterans Memorial Building, which was completed in 1925. Why is Memorial Day celebrated? It's a day of reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military. The holiday is observed in part by the National Moment of Remembrance, which encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a moment of silence. What are the origins of Memorial Day? The holiday's origins can be traced to the American Civil War, which killed more than 600,000 service members - both Union and Confederate - between 1861 and 1865. The first national observance of what was then called Decoration Day occurred on May 30, 1868, after an organization of Union veterans called for decorating war graves with flowers, which were in bloom. The practice was already widespread. Waterloo, New York, in Seneca County, began a formal observance on May 5, 1866, and was later proclaimed to be the holiday's birthplace. Yet Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, traced its first observance to October 1864. And women in some Confederate states were decorating graves before the war's end. David Blight, a Yale history professor, points to May 1, 1865, when as many as 10,000 people, many of them Black, held a parade, heard speeches and dedicated the graves of Union dead in Charleston, South Carolina. A total of 267 Union troops had died at a Confederate prison and were buried in a mass grave. After the war, members of Black churches buried them in individual graves. "What happened in Charleston does have the right to claim to be first, if that matters," Blight told the Associated Press in 2011. When did Memorial Day become a source of contention? As early as 1869, The New York Times wrote that the holiday could become "sacrilegious" and no longer "sacred" if it focused more on pomp, dinners and oratory. In an 1871 Decoration Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, abolitionist Frederick Douglass said he feared Americans were forgetting the Civil War's impetus: enslavement. "We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation's destroyers," Douglass said. His concern...

Tony Moore mounts show of works by friends and neighbors After more than a year of curation, Tony Moore is poised to open his remote Philipstown gallery space and its lush grounds to display his work and that of 14 other artists whom he admires and calls friends. The show, Destination Earth, contains over 70 pieces spread across the wooded property and inside the light and roomy interior spaces. The main upstairs gallery seems like an airy treehouse, with vistas complementing the art. Moore and his wife, Cynthia Ligenza, met in New York City nearly 30 years ago at a gathering for people wanting to imbue their lives with health, art and sharing. Two years later, they moved to a 5-acre property on a ridge abutting Fahnestock State Park. The two married that summer under tall oaks, and the expansive surroundings continue to nurture creativity. "We are living in paradise," says Ligenza. Crediting her husband's vision and efforts, she says "every inch of our property is curated, and it brings me to tears to look at it because it's so beautiful." Moore has been producing beauty since childhood, even before his grandfather recognized his interests and gave him woodworking tools. Born in the midlands of England, Moore went to art school in the U.K. and Yale University. After graduating with an MFA, he installed exhibits at the Guggenheim, which would later acquire four of his works. The Brooklyn Museum owns two. Ligenza became a physician, with a practice in Cold Spring, while maintaining a lifelong devotion to music. The Ligenza Moore Gallery has hosted recitals featuring Ligenza on violin and with other musicians. Art beckons as one approaches the show, which explores "where we are, how we got here, what may endure, and what is to come." When coming from the plateau below the buildings, a ceramic platter by Jeff Shapiro sits before ascending stairs. Kurt Steger's wood-and-steel abstraction is adjacent to the gallery sign. More Steger pieces pepper the grounds. "Vipassana," by David Provan "Reverb," by Don Voisine "Summer Walk," by Katherine Bradford Sculptures by Kurt Steger and David Provan "The Thousand-Eyed Present (from Ralph Waldo Emerson)," by Meg Hitchcock Once inside the vestibule, there are graphic etchings and collages by Judy Pfaff, who attended Yale with Moore. Entering the upstairs space, Moore's dark painting on paper features a bright blue hand, echoing the hand imagery in Pfaff's work. On the landing leading to the main gallery, the shapes in each work mimic others in proximity. "The works start talking to each other," Moore says. "As a curator, you try to foster that conversation. I've spent a great deal of time moving things around in the gallery to try to achieve that balance and harmony." Moore's work in the show includes a mysterious painting that suggests a chrysalis or womb; a wall of pictorial ceramics he calls "fire paintings;" wood-fired ceramics with surface and interior interest; an early wood-fired ceramic wall tile; and one bronze and one ceramic-and-steel sculpture placed outside that shift in appearance depending on weather and light. "I'm not a figurative artist," Moore says. But he is also not an abstract artist such as his friend David Provan, who died last year. Instead, evocative imagery and forms with a spiritual component mark his work, which he suggests might be characterized as "symbolic abstraction." The gallery also has three small acrylics by Katherine Bradford, whose swimmers, while figurative, respect formal principles and abstract composition, with faces that are nothing more than slabs of color. Perhaps the most traditional art in the show is by Moore's neighbor, Simeon Lagodich, who is completing a series of Hudson Valley plein air paintings. An iguana poses with an adorned woman painted by Garry Nichols, and around her is a ceramic piece by Moore that might look like a pair of animals - dogs, bunnies? On a lawn behind the gallery and near the sheltered Anagama-Noborigam...

COLD SPRING SPORTS IN MAINE by 101.9POR

Proposal also would steer revenue to towns, villages Four Putnam legislators who supported lowering the county's sales tax rate acquiesced on Monday (May 19), endorsing state legislation that will maintain the current 4 percent rate and send some proceeds to Cold Spring, Nelsonville, Philipstown and six other towns and villages. Convening for a special session, the Legislature voted 7-1 to support bills introduced by state Sen. Pete Harckham and Assembly Member Matt Slater, whose districts include eastern Putnam, that would extend the 4 percent sales tax rate for another two years. Without the bill, the rate will return to 3 percent. Consumers pay a total of 8.375 percent on eligible purchases, which includes portions that go the state (4 percent) and Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (0.375 percent). The state legislation also requires that one-ninth of 1 percent of Putnam's sales tax revenue be shared with the county's nine municipalities. State lawmakers first approved the increase from 3 percent to 4 percent in 2007, at the county's request, and a series of extensions have kept it in place. The most recent extension expires Nov. 30. In April, five county legislators voted to lower Putnam's tax to 3.75 percent as a give-back to taxpayers amid a $90 million surplus in unrestricted reserves. But County Executive Kevin Byrne vetoed the reduction and announced an agreement to share with the towns and villages proceeds from the 1 percent increase if it were extended. Municipalities can spend the money on infrastructure projects, with each receiving an amount tied to its population and each guaranteed at least $50,000. Harckham and Slater endorsed the agreement, which would take effect Dec. 1 and last through Nov. 30, 2027, if their bills pass the Legislature and become law. In addition to enabling what Byrne calls "a first-of-its-kind sales tax-sharing arrangement," the extension will fund a $1 million reduction in the property-tax levy for the 2026 budget that he said would be the largest in county history. "The alternative was allowing the county's sales tax rate to drop, immediately creating a revenue shortfall of tens of millions of dollars, forcing the county to borrow, raise property taxes or both," Byrne said. Facing those same pressures, Putnam's municipalities have for years demanded a share of the sales tax revenue, something that 50 of New York's 62 counties do with their cities, towns and villages, according to the state Comptroller's Office. Dutchess' 2025 budget includes $46 million in sales tax distributions, with an estimated $6.1 million for Beacon. If the proposed revenue-sharing agreement had been in place in 2024, Putnam would have distributed $2.4 million to the towns and three villages on a per capita basis, Byrne said during a news conference last month. "I haven't heard a single constituent ask us to lower the sales tax," said Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley as the Legislature's sole Democrat, on Monday. "What I have heard loud and clear is stop the back and forth, stop the chaos and work together." Legislator Dan Birmingham, who led the effort to lower the sales tax rate, did not participate in the vote because his law firm represents three of the municipalities that would benefit from the revenue-sharing agreement. Another supporter of the cut, Paul Jonke, was the only legislator voting against endorsing Harckham and Slater's legislation, which must pass the state Legislature before its session concludes on June 12. Amid that pressure, legislators who voted for the vetoed sales tax cut last month endorsed maintaining the current rate. But they complained about being sidelined while Byrne and the municipal officials reached a revenue-sharing agreement and secured backing from Harckham and Slater. Legislator Toni Addonizio, who had voted for the cut, was among those who did not agree with how the revenue-sharing agreement was crafted. She had proposed...

State must approve three-year agreement Central Hudson on Tuesday (May 13) announced a three-year agreement with the state and other parties that would raise electricity and gas delivery rates for most customers. If the plan is approved by the state Public Service Commission, a typical Central Hudson customer will pay $5.43 (5.09 percent) more per month for electricity delivery during the first year, beginning July 1, and $6.25 and $6.62 more for the subsequent two years. Lower-income customers enrolled in an energy-assistance program would see decreases of $3.85 (4.2 percent) per month. The delivery charge for gas would increase by $7.73 (6.6 percent) per month during the first year and $11.27 and $12.37 in subsequent years. After applying $44 million in bill credits, Central Hudson would collect $144 million in new revenue over the three years, according to a summary of the proposal. The company said it would spend that revenue on infrastructure, higher labor costs and bonuses, energy-efficiency and heat-pump programs and a 9.5 percent return on shareholder equity. Central Hudson also agreed to provide customer bills in Spanish, continue outreach to households about energy assistance and award up to $200,000 in grants for workforce training in green-energy fields. Opponents and supporters of the proposal, whose signatories include the state Department of Public Service, have until May 23 to submit statements to the PSC, which scheduled a hearing for June 13. "At Central Hudson, we understand the financial challenges that rising bills place on our customers, and we are committed to easing this burden by implementing a rate plan that balances essential system investments with the need to keep costs as low as possible," said Steph Raymond, the utility's president and CEO. Those costs, however, have been rising for Central Hudson's 315,000 electric and 90,000 gas customers. The most recent rate increase, approved by the PSC in July 2024, was for a one-year hike of $12.65 per month for the average electric bill and $12.25 for gas. The following month, Central Hudson submitted a request for another one-year increase to electric and gas delivery rates of $9 a month. The agreement announced on Tuesday replaces that request. Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, issued his verdict on Wednesday (May 14), urging the PSC to reject the proposed agreement. He said the return on equity is "good for shareholders of Fortis [Central Hudson's parent company] but not for its customers," who include 6,853 households in Beacon, 3,646 in Philipstown, 1,270 in Cold Spring and 326 in Nelsonville.

Highlights from the May 14 meeting At the Wednesday (May 14) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, Mayor Kathleen Foley reported that, after an attempt to approve a sales-tax-sharing plan failed, Putnam County's town and village leaders worked with the four members of state Legislature to draft a revised home-rule request to get it done. Foley said the county Legislature must vote to accept the request and that a special meeting has been scheduled for Monday. The mayor reported that, following recent heavy rains, Village Hall received numerous calls about water flowing out of an old conduit on Craigside Drive near Haldane. Tests showed the water appears to be from an underground stream that shifted course after the severe storms in July 2023. The village is working with the school district and Central Hudson to resolve the situation. Seastreak has canceled plans for summer cruises to Cold Spring. Instead, it has proposed a cruise for Sept. 6, followed by Saturday and Sunday excursions from Oct. 4 through Nov. 9. Friday dockings are proposed for Nov. 7, 14 and 21. The board approved usage-fee increases for the village sewer and water systems effective July 1. The Cold Spring Fire Co. responded to nine calls in April, including three runs to assist other fire companies, two assists to local emergency medical services, two activated fire alarms and two brush fires. Firefighters spent six hours helping to extinguish a 19-acre blaze in Putnam Valley. Chief Matt Steltz reported that volunteers Philip Kean, Lauren De La Vega and Kimberly Seville recently completed basic exterior firefighting training. The Cold Spring police responded to 115 calls in April, including 27 assists to other agencies, eight traffic stops and four motor vehicle crashes. The Village Board accepted Camille Linson's resignation as associate justice, effective June 5. She is moving out of the area. The Historic District Review Board is considering a policy that would require applicants to create escrow funds for projects that require a public hearing to cover expenses. Trustee Eliza Starbuck said she is exploring options for companies that supply parking payment kiosks linked to the ParkMobile app. The board budgeted for two additional kiosks as part of its 2025-26 budget. The board approved a request from the sloop Clearwater to dock at Cold Spring from July 19 to 27.

Marbled Meat to host house concert Strolling down Main Street in Beacon while eating, drinking and making merry on a beautiful weekend day, Aaron Miller outlined his vision for a music series that "builds community," a phrase often bandied about. But he gets things done. His first show with blues guitarist Jon Shain takes place on Sunday (May 18) at an unusual venue: the Marbled Meat Shop on Route 9 in Philipstown. Miller created a logo for what he calls his "butcher block party." "I always wanted to do house concerts and thought it would be a bougie thing with wine and cheese for 20 friends, but my girlfriend figured that we might ruin the carpet," Miller said. The couple decided to hold it outside, but when Lisa Hall of Marbled Meat heard about the plan, she urged caution. "Lisa goes, 'You know, you'll trample the lawn and maybe affect the septic tank, so why not have it here and we can do a pop-up barbecue?' " The BYOB event will raise money and collect non-perishables for the Philipstown Food Pantry. "When I heard about cuts to meals programs, I got fired up and decided that I had to give back," says Miller, who moved to Beacon in January. "On Saturday morning, 63 families signed up to get fed, and that kills me." Hosting the show provides a kid-friendly alternative to live music in a bar, says Hall. After Marbled opened 10 years ago, it presented Tall Country and other groups. "Now the tunes have come back in an organic way," she said. Shain, who lives in North Carolina, attended Duke University in the 1990s. So did Miller, a fan of the guitarist's college band, Flyin' Mice, which broke up long ago. "I guess I was on his short list all these years," says Shain, who will teach and perform at the Acoustic Getaway guitar camp in Stony Point this weekend. Specializing in post-World War I Mississippi Delta blues, Shain plays with bare fingers and often uses a thumb pick to pluck the bottom strings. Strumming is rare. Masters of this mesmerizing form seem to simulate two instruments playing at once. After branching into jazz, ragtime and bluegrass, Shain partnered with a music publisher to release two instructional books, Jon Shain's Fingerstyle Guitar Method and Gettin' Handy With the Blues, a reference to W.C. Handy, author of "St. Louis Blues," one of the genre's oldest and most popular songs. The concert will take place on the covered patio. Inside the shop, shelves showcase goods from local craft creators like LL Pottery and Maria Pierogi, along with Understory Market and Split Rock Books on Main Street in Cold Spring. "We know the experience of running errands down there on the weekends, so we brought some of them up here to support other businesses and help people avoid the crowds," says Hall. Miller is already planning his next butcher block party. "I'm good at stirring up trouble and trying to make a difference," he says. "There's always a sense of community that centers on eating, drinking and music. Marbled Meat was crazy enough to let me do this." Marbled Meat is located at 3091 Route 9 in Philipstown. The concert begins at 3 p.m. on May 18; a $20 donation is requested.

Philipstown, Dutchess County affected An appeals court on Wednesday (May 7) upheld a law that will shift many county and town elections in New York to even-numbered years, including in Putnam and Dutchess - a change meant to align local elections with statewide and federal races. Democrats argue that the law, which was approved two years ago, will increase turnout in local races. Republicans sued to block it, saying it violates the state constitution and could give Democrats a partisan advantage in higher-turnout election years. State Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat from Orange County who sponsored the legislation, said that town and county elections in odd years typically see 20 percent to 30 percent turnout, while those during presidential years can top 70 percent. The appeals court ruled that the law can take effect immediately. The decision overruled a lower court that struck down the law, enacted in December 2023. The Republican-led Dutchess Legislature voted last year to spend $100,000 to join the legal challenge to the legislation. Under the law, anyone in office before 2025 will complete his or her term, but subsequent terms will be shortened. Here's what that means locally: Two of the four Philipstown Town Board seats, which have four-year terms, will be on the ballot in 2027 for three-year terms. They will be on the ballot again in 2030 for four-year terms. The other two seats, which will be on the ballot in November, will be for three-year terms that end in 2028. The Philipstown highway commissioner and town clerk seats, which have four-year terms, will be on the 2027 ballot for three-year terms, then return to the ballot in 2030 for four-year terms. The town supervisor, who serves a two-year term, will be elected in November to a one-year term and the seat will appear on the ballot again in 2026 for a two-year term. The Dutchess County Legislature seats, which will all be on the ballot in November, will be for one-year terms, rather than two, and return to the ballot in 2026. The election for county executive, a four-year position, will occur as scheduled in 2027, but the winner will serve only three years, until 2030. The law exempts villages, such as Cold Spring and Nelsonville. In cities, such as Beacon, elections can only be changed through a constitutional amendment. The law also exempts county races for sheriff, district attorney, clerk and judges. The law does not affect the Putnam County executive, whose four-year term is on the ballot in even-numbered years and next up in 2026, or Putnam legislators, who serve three-year terms. The Associated Press contributed reporting.

Customers again will be returned to Central Hudson Philipstown residents and businesses receiving fixed-rate electricity through Hudson Valley Community Power will be transferred back to Central Hudson because the program administrator ran out of time to extend the contract. In what is known as a community choice aggregation (CCA) program, municipalities contract with a third-party supplier to offer residents and businesses a fixed rate for electricity, although Central Hudson continues to provide delivery and billing. Cold Spring, Nelsonville, Philipstown and nine other municipalities (not including Beacon) agreed to participate. Residents and businesses are added to the program automatically but can opt out. Hudson Valley Community Power was negotiating to extend a contract that ends June 30. Mike Gordon, founder and chief strategy officer for the program administrator, Joule Assets, said in a letter to municipalities that "times are deeply uncertain at the moment and electricity prices rose quickly in response." Nelsonville Mayor Chris Winward read the letter at the April 21 Village Board meeting. Although prices have fallen more recently, Gordon said Joule lacked enough time to meet new guidelines created by the state utility regulator, the Public Service Commission, to notify and educate customers about new pricing before June 30. Because the "political and economic environment is so volatile," Joule does expect "opportunities to lock in some advantageous pricing" over the next two to three months. Joule will spend those months learning "how best to work through" the new PSC regulations, said Jessica Stromback, the company's CEO. "The order is, let everybody go back to the utility and not scramble," she said on Wednesday (May 7). "That process is smooth; the utility understands it. There's no interruption in service." Under the current contract, residents and businesses in the CCA pay a default rate of 12.24 cents per kilowatt hour for 100 percent renewable energy in Cold Spring and 11.24 cents per kilowatt-hour for 50 percent renewable energy in Nelsonville and Philipstown. Those customers will be charged Central Hudson's variable rate starting July 1. As of April 10, Central Hudson's standard supply rate was 10.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. Last year's summer rates, when electricity demand is higher, averaged 9.6 cents per kilowatt-hour. (Central Hudson charges a separate rate for delivery.) "[The CCA] pricing was high, but it was locked in and we knew what it would be," Winward said at last month's meeting. "We don't know what the volatility of Central Hudson's rates are going to bring us." The July 1 transition will mark the second time residents and businesses enrolled in Hudson Valley Community Power have been sent back to Central Hudson. A former supplier, Columbia Utilities, defaulted on a contract to provide renewable energy at 6.6 cents per kilowatt-hour for residences and 7.1 cents for small businesses, including those in Beacon, Cold Spring and Philipstown. In April 2022, Columbia notified the PSC that it intended to return customers to Central Hudson. A state judge on Dec. 5 approved a $1.5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the municipalities against Columbia Utilities. The company admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to a $1 million payment into a settlement fund and $50,000 monthly payments by June 1, 2025, to cover the balance. The Ulster County judge overseeing the case also approved $286,585 in attorney fees and up to $56,500 in administrative costs. Eligible customers began receiving checks for about $50 last month.

Philipstown artist mounts first solo show When Lisa Diebboll needs inspiration for her landscape paintings, she walks next door from her Philipstown home to a town park that has a meadow and pond. "It's like a laboratory" for creativity, she says. The artist's first solo show, Between Observation and Abstraction, continues through May 31 at the Buster Levi Gallery in Cold Spring. The Rhode Island School of Design graduate says the abstract and formal work together to make a landscape come alive - "all of sudden everything makes sense when you look at it." But, she says, she has little interest in abstraction alone. "I need reality." "I'm looking for certain juxtapositions of shapes and colors, and I use them as my jumping off point," adds Diebboll, who co-owns The Highland Studio, a fine art printmaking business off Route 9 that she established 28 years ago with her husband, Joe. She studied painting and printmaking at RISD (where she met Joe, also a graduate of the school). "I love printmaking and the process," she says. "I love that way of thinking about images and imagery." The business "turned into a way for us to stay in the art world and have a career that could support a family." Lately, Diebboll has taken a step back from the printing business. "In the past five years I've been working to get back to my first love, which is painting, and it's where I'm happiest," she says. To reach that goal, Diebboll reclaimed a home bedroom as a studio. The Buster Levi show includes 15 oil paintings, as well as prints and sketches. A few paintings are framed conventionally, but Diebboll otherwise used a light aluminum support onto which she affixes her works on linen. The aluminum is attached to wood that can be suspended from the gallery's hooks. The result: a strong, light panel that is easier to store than the usual stretched canvas and can be displayed with or without a frame. "Chartreuse and Ultramarine Violet Receding" (2025) "Quarry - Fractured, Askew" (2024) "Squirrel Island Assemblage" (2025) "Tree Figures" (2025) In the works, Diebboll's greens and blues are in dialogue with salmons and pinks; some are energized by yellow and orange. In one small piece, a modest house peeks through trees; hills inject diagonal verve into others. Diebboll says it gives her satisfaction to explore the interplays. Growing up, her family leaned into science more than art, but her father was an accomplished painter in pastels. She remembers being transfixed by her parents' oversized art books, which she would spread open on the floor to gaze at the images. "I always wanted to put marks on paper and draw or paint what I saw," she recalls. Spying her young daughter's interest, Diebboll's mother enrolled her in oil painting lessons; she continued with the same teacher through high school. Diebboll's own two daughters studied art but did not pursue artistic careers. One works in biological and environmental science and the other in the food industry. The opening of her show on May 3 was "a perfectly lovely evening," Diebboll says. She sold several paintings. "My biggest goal now is not to lose the thread and to keep going with the path that I've established." The Buster Levi Gallery, at 121 Main St. in Cold Spring, is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, or by appointment. See busterlevigallery.com.

Towns, villages would split sales-tax revenue Putnam legislators on Monday (April 28) discussed a plan to share sales taxes with the county's municipalities - including Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Philipstown - two weeks after County Executive Kevin Byrne outlined a proposal. Members of the Audit Committee reviewed a proposal to distribute $3 million of $90 million in reserves to aid the county's six towns and three villages. The money, allocated based on population, could be used on infrastructure and capital projects and "essential services," but not payroll. Legislator Toni Addonizio suggested increasing the outlay to $5 million and allotting the same amount in 2026. She referenced a charge by Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley that Putnam was "hoarding" money. "We don't want to hoard money; we want to give it out," said Addonizio. Putnam's surplus, including savings allocated to expenses, hit $134 million this year, a level which Legislator Paul Jonke called "obscene." Michael Lewis, the finance commissioner, said Monday that unspent funds from unfilled positions and inflation-driven increases in sales-tax revenue fueled the surplus. Legislator Greg Ellner said that Putnam's next annual audit, when released, will show another $8 million to $12 million in the surplus. By sending some of that money to municipalities, Putnam would join 50 of the state's 62 counties that share revenue. Dutchess, for instance, distributes 2.35 percent of sales taxes collected to Beacon, 5.41 percent to the City of Poughkeepsie and 9.5 percent to its towns and villages. A proposal unveiled by Byrne on April 15 and endorsed by the municipalities would share one-ninth of the 1 percent of sales-tax intake, which would have amounted to about $2.3 million based on 2024 revenue. It would take effect only if the state passes a pending bill allowing Putnam to continue collecting 4 percent, which it has done since 2007 when the state permitted the county to raise its rate by 1 percent. The 4 percent rate has been repeatedly extended but expires on Nov. 30. State lawmakers must pass another extension before the end of the current session on June 12 or the rate will revert to 3 percent. The total sales tax in Putnam is 8.375 percent, which includes 4 percent for the state and 0.375 percent for the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. Legislator Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley, said she likes Byrne's proposal because it is based on sales-tax revenue. If the county came to a point "where we have no fund balance," the money would not be distributed. Montgomery, who once proposed a plan in which the municipalities would receive 50 percent of sales taxes over the amount budgeted, offered several amendments to the Audit Committee resolution: (1) that Byrne be involved in crafting the agreement, (2) that municipalities be allowed to spend on personnel "tied to short-term and public needs" and (3) that it include reporting and audit requirements. "While I appreciate the efforts in including our municipalities in the resolution that you wrote, I think it requires a lot more," she told her colleagues. "I really wish you would have considered my resolution." Foley, who was at the meeting, also expressed concerns, including that the proposal does not establish a minimum amount that municipalities would receive. Byrne's plan guarantees each town and village at least $50,000, a commitment particularly important for Nelsonville, whose 600 residents make it the county's smallest municipality. Foley called for assurances that revenue-sharing would continue beyond next year, such as the long-term agreements Dutchess and other counties have in place. Because of the surplus, the Legislature voted last month, 5-4, to ask the state to allow the county to lower its sales-tax rate to 3.75 percent, but Byrne vetoed the resolution and proponents did not have the six votes needed to override. The county executive cited the loss of a...

A hobby - but also disaster response It wasn't marked by parades, fireworks or an interview on 60 Minutes, but World Amateur Radio Day was April 18. For many, amateur, or "ham" radio, is viewed as a hobby from the past. But it's very much alive and more than a pastime, locally and internationally. The century-old International Amateur Radio Union estimates there are 3 million operators in 160 countries, including 700,000 in the U.S., 540 in the immediate area, 50 in Philipstown and 43 in Beacon. For many, interest in ham radio began early in life. As a 10-year-old, Joe Barbaro of Cold Spring loved listening to English-language, shortwave broadcasts from Germany, Russia and other faraway countries. "Radio Moscow was a favorite," he said. "Even at a young age I knew they were full of it, but it was fun to listen to." He graduated to ham radio at age 14. "England was about the best I could do" for conversations, he said. "I didn't have powerful enough equipment for beyond that," he said. "I was kind of a minor-leaguer." Another Cold Spring resident, Damian McDonald, got started at age 6. "My uncle was a Franciscan priest based in Bolivia, and the only way we communicated was ham radio," he said. "It was kind of magical, even with the static." It motivated him to build his own ham radio from a Heathkit; today he has a mobile ham station in his car. Before he retired from a career in cybersecurity, he enjoyed conversations with other operators during his daily commute to New Jersey. "I could hold a conversation with the same person all the way down," he recalled. McDonald noted that "emergency preparedness is still a core tenant of amateur radio," and Anesta Vannoy of Beacon would agree. She got into ham radio in 2018 as a disaster response chaplain. She wanted to assist at emergencies but, as a senior citizen, thought it could be difficult getting to the scenes of incidents. She belongs to four networks: Westchester Emergency Communications Association, Mount Beacon Amateur Radio Club, Orange County Amateur Radio Club and the Harlem Emergency Network. "I like that I'm preparing myself to help others," she said. She hones her skills at events such as the New York Airshow at Orange County Airport and the St. Patrick's Day parade in Wappingers Falls. She also attends trainings led by "elmers" from her networks - lingo for more experienced operators. Part of her weekly routine is checking her five radios to ensure each is charged and operational. Her son, Raheem, will soon take the entry-level test for licensing by the Federal Communications Commission. Operators must pass tests at progressive levels: Technician, General and Amateur Extra. Raheem is relearning Morse Code, a skill he acquired as a Boy Scout. Although Morse Code is no longer required, "it can still be useful in certain emergency situations," he said. First responders see ham radio as an asset. Ralph Falloon, a Philipstown resident who is deputy commissioner of the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services, said operators are considered part of the county's emergency preparedness network and provide vital backup in situations such as interruptions to the power grid. "The Putnam Emergency and Amateur Repeater League, or PEARL, has an office in our building," in Carmel, he said. "They have radio equipment here and mobile towers they can set up for mini-networks." Robert Cuomo, Putnam's director of emergency medical services, offered an example: If the grid goes down and a hospital generator fails, ham operators could set up on site and communicate with ambulances. That's what happened in 2005 in New Orleans when the region's infrastructure was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. "In many cases, the only communication in and out was ham radio," he said. PEARL hosts field days for operators. It includes contests to see who can speak to the most people around the world[ but also covers disaster training, Cuomo said. "They can't use commercial power - just a battery or generator....

Plans to challenge Putnam incumbent as independent Larry Burke, a former officer-in-charge for the Cold Spring Police Department, has announced a campaign to challenge incumbent Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville in the fall election. Both men live in Philipstown. Burke said he plans to collect signatures for a nominating petition by a May 27 deadline to get on the ballot as an independent. McConville is seeking his second, 4-year term on the Republican and Conservative lines. Burke, 59, has worked in law enforcement for 37 years, including 26 years with the New York City Police Department. He joined the Cold Spring department in 2013 and served as officer-in-charge for seven years. He resigned in 2024 but continues as a part-time officer. Burke has also served as a firefighter with North Highlands Fire Co. for 12 years. He spoke with The Current on Thursday (May 1). His responses have been edited for clarity and brevity. What was your role with NYPD? I was a transit police officer for five years, riding and patrolling the subways in all the boroughs, 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. After that, I did regular patrols in the 40th precinct, South Bronx, for two years. I moved to the community policing unit, where you patrol a five- to 10-block area. You get to know people, the residents, store owners and the bad guys. You learn about cultures; that people from Colombia, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic are different culturally in how they bring up their family, how they do certain things. It's how I learned community policing. You get into people's lives, understand them, understand their kids, understand where they're from. They might distrust the police because the military may have run the police department [in their native countries]. It was a learning experience for me, a white police officer in a predominantly minority neighborhood. It was good. It was about gaining friendships and mutual respect. There must have been culture shock coming to Cold Spring. The crime was a lot less than what I dealt with before! One school, one neighborhood, stores on Main Street. You get to know people a lot quicker. I was experienced but still had to start on midnights. I found it a little hard to adjust to seeing three deer in the middle of the street but no people at 2 a.m. When I started day shifts, I got out of the patrol car, started walking, got to know the community. Is being an officer-in-charge enough experience to be sheriff? I had to run a small police department. I knew how to be a patrol officer, but I didn't know about budgets. I didn't know about manpower. I didn't know how to deal with the county, the state. I learned a lot in seven years. I went through seven budget processes, learned what we could and couldn't afford, what to fight for, what to let go until the next cycle. I learned about hiring people and letting people go. As my responsibilities increased, it built my confidence. I did the administrative work and I know I can do that with the county. I will reach out and hire a staff with expertise in the civil unit, the corrections unit, captain of patrol, captain of communications and other positions. I want to surround myself with intelligent people who know the police world. I want mutual support and to do the best job I can. Is running as an independent realistic? It is to me. There should be no politics in policing whatsoever, especially with today's atmosphere. Everyone's fighting at the national, state and county level. I'm a police officer and a volunteer firefighter. We don't look to see who's a Democrat and who's a Republican. We serve. I knew it was going to be hard running as an independent, but I'm not going to push one political party or another. And no one should run unopposed. Why should residents vote for you? I've dealt with Sheriff McConville personally. I've been in meetings with him, along with the chiefs of other police departments in the county, and what I've seen is division. It's his way or the highwa...

Federal court rulings reassure board members The Haldane school board plans to reinstate the district's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy at its Tuesday (May 6) meeting, two weeks after suspending the standards in a bid to safeguard $450,000 in federal funding threatened by the Trump administration's opposition to DEI programs. The reversal came after federal judges in Maryland, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., on April 24 temporarily blocked the administration from cutting funding to schools with what the White House characterizes as "illegal" practices. Those rulings occurred the same day the administration chose as the deadline for local school districts to certify they had eliminated DEI policies and operated in compliance with Title VI the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination in federally funded programs. The Haldane board also passed a resolution asserting the latter. A day later, New York and 18 other states filed a federal lawsuit challenging the certification requirement. They called the directive "unprecedented and unlawful," and said DEI initiatives actually support civil rights law. Haldane voted unanimously on April 22 to suspend its DEI policy pending "clarification of the conflict between the respective positions of the state and federal governments regarding Title VI and DEI," according to the resolution. On Wednesday (April 30), the district issued a statement that said its legal counsel had advised that the federal rulings could be interpreted to mean "there is no longer an imminent risk of losing funds." The statement said the board will reinstate the DEI policy "without modification and will continue to address all policy revisions through its standard review process." Carl Albano, the interim superintendent, said the five-member board made the decision after meeting in a closed session on Tuesday with Michael Lambert, its attorney from Shaw, Perelson, May & Lambert, which represents and advises many area districts. Haldane Statement On April 29, 2025, the Haldane Board of Education met in executive session with legal counsel from Shaw, Perelson, May & Lambert. Counsel advised that, based on the April 24, 2025, rulings by three federal court judges temporarily blocking the U.S. Department of Education from implementing and enforcing its Feb. 14, 2025, Dear Colleague Letter, the Feb. 28, 2025, Frequently Asked Questions and the April 3, 2025, certification requirement, there is no longer an imminent risk of losing Title funds related to the Title VI certification requirement. As a result, the Board intends to reinstate its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy at its May 6, 2025, meeting without modification and will continue to address all policy revisions through its standard review process. Read Haldane letter to community. "The board was surprised by the level of acrimony" from the community in response to its vote, said Peggy Clements, its president. "Many of us wish we had said more during and after the [April 22] meeting to explain that the suspension was temporary, that this was a difficult decision for us given our commitment to the aims of the policy, that we believed federal funding was truly at risk if we didn't act by April 24, and that we were making the decision because we believed that protecting the funds was in the best interests of students." Clement said that she and another board member will be at a Haldane PTA meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday (May 5) at the Butterfield Library in Cold Spring to answer questions about the DEI policy. Albano said that district residents told him they had hoped the board would take a more defiant stance, as Harvard University did when it refused changes demanded by the administration despite a threat to end $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts. "We don't have a $53 billion endowment like Harvard," said Albano. The Haldane district has an annual budget of about $30 million. The $450,000 in feder...

Linda George, parishioner at St. Boniface in Cold Spring, shares how listening plays a role in discernment process – listening to others, to research, to the Holy Spirit. She provides examples of discernment from her life, methods she finds useful and even a nugget of wisdom her daily devotional brought forward on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph.

Program would connect city with Newburgh Two area residents have been awarded $100,000 by New York State to explore a bike-sharing program that would connect Beacon and Newburgh. Thomas Wright, a Beacon resident and head of the city's Greenway Trail Committee, and Naomi Hersson-Ringskog, an urban planner who lives in Newburgh, were awarded the funding through a Clean Mobility program overseen by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). It aims to add zero-emission connections to public transportation in underserved communities. The award is not to create a bike-share program but to plan how one could work. Wright, who works in Newburgh, and Hersson-Ringskog will be paired with WXY Architecture + Urban Design to develop a blueprint for a program similar to New York City's Citi Bike initiative. Wright and Hersson-Ringskog said they envision stations with eight to 10 bikes each, some electric, which users could check out for a fee or perhaps at no charge because of sponsors. The duo foresee their plan leading to a public-private partnership like Citi Bike's, which partners with the New York City Department of Transportation and Lyft, the ridesharing company. A combination of private funding, sponsors and memberships support the program. Officials on both sides of the Hudson River have indicated they're supportive of bikes for transportation, Hersson-Ringskog said. In Beacon, Mayor Lee Kyriacou has endorsed the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, a 7.5-mile linear park that Scenic Hudson is planning between Beacon and Cold Spring. The city is equally enthusiastic about a proposed Beacon-to-Hopewell rail trail. Both projects would significantly increase safe bike routes. Beacon also has applied for funding from Dutchess County for a rehab of Beekman Street, which leads to the Metro-North station. The project, still several years away, could include bike lanes that would build on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's "first mile, last mile" initiative for environmentally friendly ways for passengers to connect to trains. In Newburgh, Hersson-Ringskog's nonprofit, Dept of Small Interventions, in 2020 partnered with the city's Transportation Advisory Committee to create a community bike action plan, while monthly "critical mass" community rides take place from April to October. "You feel proud of your community that you're not starting from zero," Hersson-Ringskog said. She and Wright are also working to create the "Regional Connector," a 1-mile path that would connect the Metro-North station in Beacon to the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. That effort, they say, could unify a growing network of trails. A bike-share program could accelerate the campaign, Wright said, "by providing a means of mobility which gives users much greater range. When you add in e-bikes, the options are further multiplied." WXY plans to survey residents in both cities (see linktr.ee/newburgh.beacon.bike), while Wright and Hersson-Ringskog will make presentations to community groups. WXY will also help with data analysis, mapping and exploring partnerships for maintenance, operations and funding. "We hope to uncover the voice of a broad cross-section of the communities that desires this," Hersson-Ringskog said. "Here you have a transportation system that could really unite Beacon and Newburgh. We're stronger together, essentially." The bike-share grant was one of 29 - totaling $2.9 million - that NYSERDA announced in March. Projects elsewhere in the state will explore the feasibility of charging hubs, scooter-share programs and electric-vehicle car shares. Ten of the 29 are in the Hudson Valley, including in Kingston, Poughkeepsie and New Paltz. With "transformational" developments being considered in the region, Wright said he believes "multi-modal systems" that can alleviate congestion without polluting the environment "are so important to think about."

Cites support for NYC toll, interest in Lawler seat A Philipstown resident who represents Putnam County on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board rejected a demand by the county executive that he resign because of his support for congestion pricing in lower Manhattan and his interest in the U.S. House seat held by Rep. Mike Lawler. Neal Zuckerman, a Democrat who chairs the MTA board's Finance Committee, served on the Metro-North Commuter Council for six years before being appointed in 2016 to the MTA board with a recommendation from then-County Executive MaryEllen Odell, a Republican. He was reappointed, to a term that ends in 2026, by the state Senate in 2023 with a recommendation from Byrne, also a Republican. Byrne, a former Assembly member elected as county executive in 2022, is an ally of Lawler and a critic of the MTA's 3-month-old congestion-pricing program, which launched on Jan. 5 with a $9 toll for passenger and small commercial vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street. Zuckerman supports the toll, which is higher for buses and trucks, and raised $48 million in the first month while reducing traffic and travel times in lower Manhattan, according to the MTA. In an April 3 letter, Byrne claimed that Zuckerman "conveyed a genuine desire to work across the aisles regardless of political differences" during a meeting in 2023 for his reappointment but had since "outright opposed the policy positions" of the county and "openly assailed several officials duly elected by the people of Putnam County." He called on Zuckerman to resign "in a manner which is dignified and appropriate." Byrne also referenced news reports about Zuckerman's interest in seeking the 17th District congressional seat held by Lawler, a Republican in his second term. Philipstown is within the district's borders. Those reports "make clear that you intend to present yourself as a candidate for public office and seem to be using your position in furtherance of that pursuit," said Byrne. "It is imperative that we have a representative on the board who is dedicated to the position." Byrne copied his letter to President Donald Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Gov. Kathy Hochul, both U.S. senators from New York, Lawler, four members of the state Legislature, the MTA board chair and the chair of the county Legislature. Individual legislators were also asked to sign a separate letter from Bill Gouldman, who represents Putnam Valley, calling for Zuckerman's resignation. Lawler said in a statement on Wednesday that Byrne's letter "speaks for itself. If Neal Zuckerman is not representing the interests of Putnam County residents on the MTA board, he should resign." In a letter responding to Byrne, Zuckerman said that chairing the board's Finance Committee has enabled him to champion projects that benefit Putnam riders, who use both the Harlem and Hudson lines. Those projects include repairs at the Cold Spring and Garrison stations and funding in the 2025-29 capital plan to buttress the Hudson Line against flooding, he said. He said his support for congestion pricing "should come as no surprise" since he had voted in 2019 for a capital plan that relied on it. "At recent board meetings, I have lamented the added burden of yet another fee on residents of our region," he wrote. But the program, enacted by state law in 2019, will help fund $15 billion (25 percent) of the MTA's capital plan for 2025-2029, which will "improve the system that is essential to the livelihoods of Putnam County commuters and, indeed, for the region's economy," said Zuckerman. He said that 69 percent of Putnam residents who visit the congestion zone get there by train but will benefit from the toll collected from drivers. If Zuckerman decides to pursue Lawler's seat, he could face at least four other Democrats declaring their candidacies: Beth Davidson, a Rockland County legislator; Jessica Reinmann, founder of the nonprofit 914Cares in Westchester County; Cait Conley,...

Cold Spring church operated day care for 57 years The Community Nursery School and Learning Center operated by the First Presbyterian Church of Philipstown will close in June after 57 years, in large part because of the loss of 4-year-olds to prekindergarten programs launched by public schools with state aid. Community Nursery opened in 1968 at the Cold Spring church on Academy Street as an "affordable alternative," the school said in a news release. It was directed for much of its history by Rosemary Rodino, whose 38-year tenure ended with her retirement in 2023. "We are grateful for the rich history of the school and the efforts made by students, teachers, parents and church volunteers for helping the school to thrive for so long," the Rev. Brian Merritt, the pastor at First Presbyterian, said in a statement. "This was a very tough and emotional decision for us." The Sunday morning service on June 8 will be dedicated to the school. Because of state regulations, Community Nursery operates for just under three hours in the mornings. It considered expanding to a full-day program but found it too expensive to comply with the licensing requirements, said Laura Reid, who serves on the oversight committee for the school. She said the school has 16 students enrolled but that 10 will turn 4 by Dec. 1, making them eligible for pre-K programs such as those newly offered by Haldane and Garrison. "We're applauding the fact that Universal pre-K has come to the community, but unfortunately it means that the Community Nursery School is not viable," she said. "We would be losing most of our 4-year-olds." St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Garrison has a preschool that has operated for 64 years, since 1960. Like the Community Nursery, it runs for just under three hours in the morning. It has 24 students but saw a dramatic drop in 4-year-olds when the Garrison School across the street launched a pre-K program two years ago, said Betsy Alberty, its director. The school, which has space for 30 children, had 14 four-year-olds then and now has five. In response, St. Philip's began accepting more 2-year-olds. "We had to be flexible," Alberty said. Ilana Friedman, the director of the preschool at the Beacon Hebrew Alliance, said pre-K has not had such a dramatic effect because all but one of its 13 students are 2 or 3 years old. The rise of pre-K at public schools has impacted licensed day cares, as well. In years past at Stacy's House, a preschool operated by Stacy Labriola at her home in Philipstown, as many as half of the children were 4. Today, only two of 16 are that old. "It's free - you can't compete with that," she said of pre-K programs.

Endorses revenue sharing with towns, villages Putnam Executive Kevin Byrne this week vetoed a sales-tax reduction passed by the county Legislature and announced a long-discussed plan to share revenue with towns and villages if the rate remains unchanged. In a memo sent Monday (April 14) to the Legislature, Byrne called on lawmakers to convene an emergency meeting to rescind their 5-4 vote requesting the state allow Putnam to lower the county's portion of the tax on purchases from 4 percent to 3.75 percent. The reduction would cost the county an estimated $5.3 million annually. The higher rate has been in place since 2007, when the state enacted a law allowing Putnam to increase its sales tax from 3 percent to 4 percent. A series of extensions have kept the higher rate in place, but the most recent one expires on Nov. 30, requiring passage of another bill before state lawmakers end their 2025 session on June 12. Consumers in Putnam County pay 8.375 percent sales tax, which includes 4 percent for the state and 0.375 percent for the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. With the reduction, the total tax would fall to 8.125 percent. Preserving the rate will allow the county to continue reducing property taxes and fund capital projects, Byrne wrote in his memo. Flanked by officials from Philipstown, Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Putnam's other towns and villages, Byrne also announced outside Kent Town Hall on Tuesday that if county legislators renew the extra 1 percent, one-ninth of its revenue would be distributed annually to municipalities for infrastructure and capital projects. If sales-tax sharing had been in place in 2024, Putnam would have distributed $2.4 million to the county's six towns and three villages on a per capita basis, said Byrne during a news conference. Each would be guaranteed at least $50,000. With the move, Putnam would join 50 of New York's 62 counties that share sales tax revenue with their municipalities, according to the state Comptroller's Office. Dutchess' 2025 budget includes $46 million in sales-tax distributions, with an estimated $6.1 million for Beacon. Extending the current rate will also help fund a $1 million reduction in the property-tax levy that Byrne says he will propose for the 2026 budget. The reduction would be the largest in county history, he said. Addressing the Legislature on April 1, Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley accused legislators of "hoarding" money because Putnam has accumulated $134 million in savings. Speaking at the news conference, Foley said the village has stormwater impacts it needs to address and that extra revenue could also help the village manage tourism. Dan Birmingham, the legislator who initially proposed a reduction to 3.5 percent, said the size of Putnam's savings, or fund balance, justified giving residents a break. During his first stint as a legislator, from 2004 to 2012, Birmingham supported the 2007 increase to 4 percent to cover county losses attributed to the Great Recession. Now, Putnam is "sitting on top of the largest fund balance-to-budget ratio this county has ever seen," he said. When Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of the Putnam Valley, predicted before the April 1 vote that Byrne would veto the lower sales tax, Birmingham said that unless the Legislature has six votes to override a veto, "you return to the status quo" after Nov. 30 - the 3 percent rate that existed before 2007. Byrne said on Tuesday that sacrificing the full 1 percent "would not help the towns; it would hurt this county" because the annual revenue loss would total about $20 million. In 2022, the Legislature unanimously agreed to pass along sales tax that exceeded what the county collected the previous year. In what turned out to be a one-time distribution, it shared $5 million, sending $369,670 to Philipstown, $101,671 to Cold Spring and $31,945 to Nelsonville, which used its portion to study the feasibility of building a sewer system. Nelsonvil...

150 Years Ago (April 1875) The shoe stores of Thomas Martin and Hugh Patterson were burglarized by culprits who fled toward Breakneck in a light wagon. "Strange to say, no reward was offered and, consequently, no pursuit was made," The Cold Spring Recorder reported. A week later, several pairs of ladies' gaiters were found in a buggy stored in an unoccupied building on Market Street that was once the Presbyterian Church. Allen Brewer appeared to have "skedaddled" from Nelsonville with all his family's goods except the calico. A miniature steam engine puffed away in a hole on April 2 opposite Patterson's shoe store to thaw a frozen pipe 2 feet below the surface that had prevented any water from flowing below Chestnut Street. The work continued for more than two weeks. On April 15, the engine exploded outside Mr. Murry's store and a piece of burning charcoal landed between the collar and neck of Jimmie Mellravy, causing a blister. Charles Emerson, who lived near Mekeel's Corners, claimed he killed six crows with one shot from his English fowling piece. Jackson Tompkins of Putnam Valley said he shot 12 foxes over the winter. The Episcopal bishop of New York visited Cold Spring for a Saturday morning service to install the Rev. Mr. Isaac Van Winkle as rector of St. Mary's Church. Van Winkle then left for a 10-day vacation. Twice in a week, a train was stopped by a malfunctioning south signal, which did not instill confidence in the system. Dr. Griffin of Nelsonville opened a branch office at the corner of Main and Stone streets that he manned daily from 7 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. Officer McAndrew caught two truants from the Rock Street School after "a lively chase." After guests at the Pacific Hotel heard wild geese honking on the river, they began to shoot at them for sport. The Recorder editor reported that Jacob Levi and Barny Clinton exchanged "a great many small rocks and vile epithets" just outside the newspaper office. A freight engine, while taking water at the station, sent a spark onto the roof of a shed, but a young man spotted the smoke and climbed to put it out. William Conroy drove to Sandy Landing Cove to wash the mud off his wagon, but the horse sank in the sediment. When Conroy climbed down to get it out, the horse knocked him into the water. After determining that the oath given to members of the Nelsonville board had been improperly administered, the village petitioned the state Legislature to legalize its past proceedings. The governor vetoed a bill giving the Garrison and West Point Ferry Co. a half-mile monopoly. He said it was unconstitutional to give exclusive benefits to a private corporation. The father of Miss Warner, author of Wide Wide World, died at the family home on Constitution Island. She sent for two clergymen to conduct the service but, when they failed to show, knelt by the coffin and led the prayers. There was a split in the Baptist Church among parishioners who wanted to dismiss the Rev. Benjamin Bowen and those who wanted him to stay. When a deacon said taking a vote would be illegal, most people left. Those who remained then voted to keep Bowen for another year. 125 Years Ago (April 1900) The M. Taylor Granolithic Co. rented the Truesdell property on Main Street to manufacture the liquid it used in its patented sawdust flooring. The Cold Spring Hose Co. changed its name to the Cold Spring Fire Co. No. 1. Dr. Lewis Morris, a former Cold Spring physician, was engaged to Katherine Clark, whose father planned to give the couple a mansion on Fifth Avenue. After Thomas Coe began selling 26 eggs for 25 cents [$9.50] at his dry goods store, Truesdell offered 30 for 25 cents; Morris, 35 for 25 cents; and Secor, 36 for 25 cents. Morris then went to 50 for 25 cents. Charles de Rham hired King Quarry Co. to cut a $1,500 [about $57,000 today] fountain and horse trough (shown today, below) for the highway near Indian Brook as a memorial to his late wife. Mrs. Michael Clare reported to the village po...

Also, council member protests Trump policies The Philipstown Town Board agreed on April 3 to form a committee to draft a permitting system and operating standards for short-term rentals such as those booked through Airbnb and Vrbo. The regulations would apply outside of Cold Spring, which approved its own code in 2021 that has yet to be enforced. The Village Board is revising the rules, saying they would have been too cumbersome. Philipstown discussed restrictions as recently as 2022, when residents complained at a Town Hall workshop about a long-running rental in Garrison. On April 3, Van Tassel also referenced a recent fire at an Airbnb in Dutchess County that killed a Cape Cod woman and her infant daughter. According to prosecutors, the rental in Salt Point did not have smoke detectors, although the listing said it did, and the hosts did not have a town permit for short-term rentals. Pledge protest Council Member Jason Angell remained seated during the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the meeting. He said he was protesting actions by the administration of President Donald Trump that he considers unconstitutional. Reading a 2½-minute statement after the pledge, Angell said he "didn't recognize my country" when masked immigration agents arrested Rumeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University student from Turkey, on March 25. Öztürk is accused of violating her student visa. The administration has not provided a reason for the detention, but she co-authored an opinion piece in the student newspaper demanding that Tufts "acknowledge the Palestinian genocide" and divest from companies with ties to Israel. Angell also cited the Trump administration's decisions to cut funding and programs approved by Congress. Those decisions are being challenged in lawsuits. "When an elected official takes office, they take an oath to uphold the Constitution," said Angell. "What happens if a person believes their federal government is violating the Constitution? Should they pledge allegiance to their government or to upholding the Constitution?" Van Tassel said he agreed with much of what Angell said, but not with sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance. "But I appreciate your courage," he said. Angell, whose term ends Dec. 31, is not running for re-election. Town justice to resign The town approved a letter of intent to appoint Cold Spring attorney Luke Hilpert to replace Camille Linson, who plans to resign from her town justice seat in June, according to Van Tassel. Linson ran unopposed on the Democratic and Conservative lines in winning a third, 4-year term in November. She joined the court after defeating Hilpert in a Democratic primary in 2016 and Republican Faye Thorpe in the general election. She ran unopposed in 2020. Both Linson and Philipstown's other justice, Angela Thompson-Tinsley, recommended Hilpert to fill the vacancy until the November election. Under state law, the winner will serve for a full term, rather than the 3½ years remaining in Linson's term, according to town attorney Steve Gaba. Oil moratorium The board scheduled a May 1 public hearing on a law that would extend for another six months a moratorium on projects with oil tanks exceeding 10,000 gallons. Philipstown enacted the moratorium in December 2023 to give an advisory committee time to revise zoning regulations that allow tanks with a capacity of up to 399,999 gallons. Allowing tanks that large puts drinking-water sources like the Clove Creek Aquifer at risk from leaks, spills and damage from natural disasters or extreme weather, according to the town. While the draft law allows for two more six-month extensions, the committee is expected to finalize its recommendations soon, said Gaba. Depot Theatre A site near the water tower at the Recreation Department's property off Route 9D is still the optimal location for a facility the Philipstown Depot Theatre initially proposed for a town-owned parcel off Route 403, said Council Member Judy Farrell. The Depot wants to consolida...

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what's exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.A spring garden in ceramics Cindy Pope is a ceramic artist from Waite Park. She got a dose of early spring by visiting the ceramics exhibit “Garden Party” at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud. Created by Stacy Larson, who is originally from Cold Spring, the exhibit features wheel-thrown and hand-carved cups and tableware that look like delicate leaves and flowers, glazed in springtime colors. The exhibit runs through March. Voices of the Asian American experienceJulia Cheng of Duluth had a chance to hear the world premiere this fall of “mOthertongue: Lived Experience in Asian America.” Soprano Jennifer Lien of Duluth performs three song cycles commissioned by Asian American women composers, accompanied on piano by Lina Yoo-Min Lee. Lien commissioned these new works in partnership with the Cincinnati Song Initiative with support from the Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals grant. The duo has continued to perform these works in what Cheng refers to as “a living collaboration.” They'll perform highlights of the song cycles at the College of St. Scholastica's “Lunch With Friends” on March 25, with the full performance on March 28 at the college's Mitchell Auditorium. Julia Cheng was touched by the performance and looks forward to hearing it again.“I have to say that, as the child of immigrants from China, these songs really resonated with me,” Cheng said. “I always wondered, you know, how did they deal with the dislocation of leaving home, family, language, culture, developing new community, the wrenching loss of being separated from family? These are all things that I heard bits and pieces of in the song cycles by Melissa Dunphy and the other two composers.” Wood sculptures at Tettegouche Annalisa Buerke follows her former colleague artist Rick Love on Instagram, where she enjoyed watching his process of creating a series of sculptures now on view at the Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center in Silver Bay.The five sculptures are all made of wood — some painted, some charred — that celebrate both forests and sustainability. The works evoke the moon, the sun, a tree, a waterfall and Lake Superior. They'll be on view through March.Tettegouche State Park's Visitor Center includes both juried art shows (of which Love's exhibit was one) and an artist-in-residence program. 

On September 13, 1868, the bodies of Jacob and Nancy Young were discovered brutally murdered along the bank of the White River in Cold Spring, Indiana. Police would eventually set their sights on a charming and fascinating confidence woman named Nancy Clem, who happened to be involved in some extremely shady business dealings with Jacob Young at the time. My guest is Wendy Gamber, author of "The Notorious Mrs. Clem: Murder and Money in the Gilded Age". She tells us all about the colorful Nancy Clem, the Cold Spring murder case, and shares theories on how and why the murders might have really happened. The author's Indiana University page: https://history.indiana.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/gamber_wendy.html The author's publisher page: https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/authors/wendy-gamber Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our newer segment Out to Lunch, we get out of the studio and into the community, where news and life is happening. We sit down with people you may have heard from on the show and get to know them at a deeper, personal level over lunch.In this episode, we hear a conversation with the Republican Speaker of the House, Lisa Demuth. Earlier this month, she became the first Black person and Republican woman to hold the role in the Minnesota House of Representatives.Speaker Demuth has served in the House since 2018 and represents the Cold Spring area, just southwest of St. Joseph. Before becoming speaker, she served as the Republican House Minority Leader when Democrats had full control of the House, Senate and the governor's office.

It's been a HOT minute since we got to have a good old fashioned rambling episode, but A LOT has happened in the last few weeks. This episode Mike and Erica dive into the latest winter tour posters, specifically for Dave & Tim Mexico 2025 and the Goose Winter Tour. There's a ton of prints to discuss, including (but not limited to) D&T prints by artists Josh Noom, Brian Steeley, Daniel Danger, Max Mahn, Joaqun Nava, and Goose prints by artists Tiffany Chin, Schnitzelbearstudios, James Flames, Lewy Jones, Dave Kloc and Max Loffler. Deep dives coming soon for a few prints we were able to get in hand. Also, heading into 2025, what would you like to see from the podcast! Please like and share episodes on the socials, and subscribe for first notifications on all streaming platforms!

While living in Brooklyn in the early 1990s, Neil Caplan saw a drawing of Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island - situated between Beacon and Cold Spring. Inspired, he set out to gain stewardship of it, shore up its historical features, create a system for public access and ultimately stage theater there. The result is the Bannerman Castle Trust: one part historic preservation, one part public park and one part arts organization. This spring Neil will be honored by the Howland Cultural Center at its annual gala. Current gallery exhibitions at the Howland and Bannerman's Island Gallery feature art and artifacts from the island. Learn more at Bannermancastletrust.org.  Photo credit: Michael Isabell   

The guys sit down with Luke Junjulas, owner of LJ Property Maintenance to hear about how he got his start doing some very unique residential snow properties, and his plans for the future

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SCORPIO!!!!Enjoy November, Scorps! In a special twist, there are two full moons this month and Susan Miller believes that Scorpio will enjoy both of them. Laura kicks off this episode with a tale of finding treasure in the wild. In this case, the treasure is the 2025 Astrology Zone calendar and the wild is a boutique in Cold Spring, NY! The gals then have a discussion about Susan's election-related content. Despite the fact that Susan tends not to make predictions about current events (and she made no exception for the election), there is plenty to chat about regardless. Next Laura and Alex recap Susan's Note to her readers, in which Susan explains why the horoscopes were late: she went to China! Despite Susan explaining otherwise, the forecasts this month are a bit abbreviated, but that's the trade-off for being introduced to Susan Miller Traveler. And while the trip did delay the horoscopes, there is, of course, more to the story, including a respiratory illness and even more stress related to her move. Alex then tells her fellow Scorpios what they can expect during their birthday month, such as money and the adoration of VIPs! The Scorps should also watch out for strange behavior from their partners, be they spouses, colleagues, or, as Laura surmises, Parcheesi partners. Laura then fills Taurus in on everything they need to know for November. They too must keep an eye on their partners and should consider doing their holiday shopping early to avoid complications caused by the many planets that are about to retrograde. Laura and Alex discuss the following at these timestamps: Note from Susan Miller: 8:37Scorpio: 20:19Taurus: 32:50Share your own thoughts on Susan Miller's Astrology Zone with us by emailing astrologyzoned@gmail.com.Links:Read each episode's transcript at our website: astrologyzoned.comHelp Laura reach the full potential of her Susan Miller legacy by buying her romance novels: http://Lauralovelybooks.com

Send us a textWhat if you could transform a dream into reality amidst the chaos of a global pandemic? Hartwell Carson did just that, and we're here to share his journey of turning a piece of family land into the Cold Spring Basecamp. Discover how this family-friendly destination swaps cumbersome tents for cozy cabins, positioning itself as the ultimate launchpad near popular hiking, biking, kayaking & fishing spots.Join us as we explore the unique features and craftsmanship of this rustic retreat, including a professionally built tree house that offers a luxurious escape. We'll uncover the decision-making process behind the various accommodations, from open-air solar-powered cabins to tent camping. The retreat's bathhouse amenities, like outdoor showers and a naturally spring-fed cold plunge, cater to guests seeking both seclusion and modern conveniences. With walnut countertops and barn wood accents in the climate controlled tree house, Cold Springs Base Camp crafts a perfect blend of adventure and relaxation, all fueled by Hartwell's passion and commitment to family-driven exploration.https://www.coldspringbasecamp.com/Your Adventure Starts Here: https://www.coldspringbasecamp.com/en/your-adventureMike AndressHost, Exploration Local828-551-9065mike@explorationlocal.comPodcast WebsiteFacebookInstagram: explorationlocal

No Notoriety Campaign: www.nonotoriety.comDon't Name Them Campaign: www.dontnamethem.comCredits:Narrated By: JT HosackWritten By: Mari ColeCreated, Researched, & Edited by: Kat MorrisDisclaimer By: Lanie Hobbs from True Crime with LanieVisit us online to view original documents pertaining to the cases we cover and more! www.podcastactive.comActive Shooter: The Podcast is a Hi 5 Holly Production.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/active-shooter-the-podcast--3688663/support.

In this episode, I chat a bit about how the Bhagavad Gita, which I consider a kind of human being instruction manual, gives guidance about the qualities of someone who is more "divine" vs. someone more "demonic." Since our political situation has become one where the opposite sides are so at odds, I thought Chapter 16 of the Gita could provide a little insight. And make your plan to vote this November!If you have an interest in the Gita, I would recommend starting with the translation and commentary by Eknath Easwaren.I'm teaching two workshops this fall. One at ISHTA Yoga on Meditation for beginners or people who have trouble trying to meditate. The other at Ascend in Cold Spring is about gaining a richer yoga practice to use in challenging times. For details, see https://ishtayoga.com/workshops and https://www.ascendcenter.com/special-events/richer-practice-richer-life-with-peter-ferko-yogirajPlease support Peter's Podcast on Patreon. Thank you!

Carole Osterink writes The Gossips of Rivertown, a blog that is news and commentary (and takes its name from a novel by a Hudson writer). It's a must-read for all of us who live here. This episode tune into Carole's story, how she chooses what to cover, if she considers herself a journalist andtr advise if you want to start a hyperlocal news sources like it in your town.  I hope you have something like it where you live. And I hope it's written by someone like Carole.  Hyperlocal newspapers & blogs (pls send in more!): A Little Beacon Blog (Beacon) Croton History & Mysteries (Croton) The Daily Catch (Red Hook and Rhinebeck) Daily Freeman (Ulster, Green & No. Dutchess Counties) The Gardiner Gazette (Gardiner): The Gossips of Rivertown (Hudson) The Highlands Current (Philipstown, Cold Spring, Garrison) The Hudson Valley Pilot (Rhinebeck) Hudson Valley One (Ulster County) Hudson Valley Post IMBY (several counties) Kingston Wire (Kingston)  Mid-Hudson News Ossining History on the Run (Ossining) Tgazette (Taghkanic) Plus, Mat is recently interviewed on the Rhinebeck Scoop podcast about Cidiot. There also are many good visitor and travel blogs to the Hudson Valley but that's a separate list. Let me know if I should put one together.  Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you'd like to hear about. And come visit. Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cidiot/support

#AUSTRALIA: Cold Spring, Angry Magpies, Swarming Great Easter Browns. Jeremy Zakins, NSW. 1918 Brisbane, Queensland

One of Minnesota's leading Republicans reacted to Gov. Tim Walz becoming the Democratic candidate for vice president by saying she views it as an opportunity to shine a national spotlight on his record ahead of crucial local elections in November. House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, joined Liz Collin Reports this week.Support the Show.