The GOP lawsuit against Columbia County Board of Election Commissioners Virginia Martin, Democrat and Jason Nastke, Republican, to stop the Democrats from having a write-in line for Mayor on the Sept. 13 primary ballot, came to an abrupt end Mon. Aug. 8, when Columbia County Court Judge Christian Hummel ruled that the GOP failed to serve notice on the affected parties in a timely manner. In a conversation this reporter just had with Victor Mendolia, it is reported that the Judge ruled that the Republicans missed a key element in their pursuit. Therefore the merits of the petitions themselves could not be questioned because the correct process was not followed. The other parties involved could not be reached as of yet. Further information will be made available at a later time. Nick Haddad was the Democrat-backed candidate for Mayor, but faces a write-in run-off against all-comes now because Mendolia failed to file election paperwork properly.
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For the second time in two weeks, since congressional Republicans voted for the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Bill,” a small group of protesters gathered outside of the Kinderhook office of freshman Congressman Chris Gibson Tue., July 26. The hastily organized protest involved a number of groups, but was primarily organized by Moveon.org. Unlike last week’s protest, these folks, mostly senior citizens, were quite loud, angry, and emotional. They went into the congressman’s office, and filed an official complaint with his staff. Neither Congressman Gibson or a spokesperson were available for comment, but they did provide a written response what said: “I have already voted for a bill that raised the debt ceiling while making the long-term structural changes necessary to ensure our nation’s fiscal health, with no cuts to Medicare or Social Security. This is an approach, cut, cap and balance that two-thirds of Americans support, based on a CNN poll conducted last week, and that passed the House with 234 votes.” The Congressman’s statement concluded saying, “I will review every provision carefully to determine if it is an approach I can support. Additionally, I’m willing to consider new sources of revenues from closing tax loopholes – a tax reform approach I already voted for in April.”
Tags: Chris Gibson
Jamie Larson in the Register-Star says that “a high ranking senior official” gave him an email sent this past Saturday, July 2, sent by Supervisor Art Bassin, D-Ancram, to other supervisors and county officials outlining how fast they want to move the Department of Social Services out of Hudson and into the no-abandoned Wal-Mart building in Greenport. Bassin wrote in the message, “we could get DSS into the Town Plaza (Wal-Mart) space by the end of 2011 if we focused primarily on DSS, and were willing to defer the detailed programing and design process on the rest of the potential moves until after the DSS move was done.” The board would have to wait to replace the building’s roof and install the HVAC air quality system until after DSS is occupying the front left 30,000 square foot section of the building. “None of the firms we talked to felt this was a problem,” Bassin wrote, “in fact they pointed out roofs and HVAC systems were replaced in occupied space all the time. We will also defer any cosmetic changes to the building’s exterior, and use the current Walmart entrance for DSS.” Previously, Hudson supervisors have suggested the move will cost too much or county voters should decide on the proposal. Read the full story in the Register-Star.
Tags: Art Bassin, By Jamie Larson Hudson-Catskill Newspapers, Col. Cty. DSS, DSS, Wal-Mart
Jim Planck in The Daily Mail reports that the Catskill Central School District Board of Education was at a standstill Tue. July 5 until BOE Trustee Matthew Leipman arrived late. After four votes to select a new president and vice-president that all ended in 4-4 ties, Leipman arrived to cast 5-4 deciding votes to make Michael Bulich president, and, then, Karen Haas vice-president by the same margin. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.
Tags: By Jim Planck Hudson-Catskill Newspapers, Karen Haas, Matthew Leipman, Michael Bulich
Jim Planck in The Daily Mail reports that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency holds a public meeting about the City of New York’s watershed protection and partnership programs Thursday, July 7, from 7-9 p.m., at Belleayre Mountain, in the Ulster County community of Highmount. This is one of four meetings that have been scheduled, and the closest for Greene County residents. New York City’s West-of-Hudson Watershed includes most of southwestern Greene County, with only a very small part of the Town of Hunter — the east half of Haines Falls and the North/South Lake area — not being within it. The city’s watershed protection programs include land acquisition and conservation easements, stream management and stormwater treatment, agriculture and forestry programs, and lowering industrial use, and creating sewer extensions. The City’s also wants to avoid building a multi-billion dollar filtration plant to purify its water, which is reflected in a decision by the EPA, and which is suitably called a Filtration Avoidance Determination, or FAD. Thursday’s meeting is an opportunity for the EPA to learn about opinions on the matter. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.
Saugerties Lighthouse, from website.
Tags: Hudson River, Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, Saugerties Lighthouse
Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, from website.
A sampling of lighthouses in the Athens Lighthouse Project. You can see close-up photos of each lighthouse at the website (click on image).
Tags: Athens Lighthouse Project, Athens lighthouses, Herman Reinhold, Hudson River, Hudson-Athens Lighthouse
Saturday, July 2
Bing Bang Boing: It’s Your Patriotic Duty 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.: Uncle Sam’s Parade at 11 a.m. on Main St. from Farmer’s Market on Church Street to the old Freightmaster’s Building at Catskill Point. Bring instruments. At the Point, the Greene County Council for the Arts presents a Bing Bang Boing concert of renowned musicians playing their own hand-made instruments, ending with a massive drum circle to which all are invited. There will also be kids’ activities, including marshmallow airgun contests and kite flying, a bouncy house. Park at Dutchman’s Landing, at 2 Main Street by the river. Shuttles and/or cabs will be available. Call 943-3400 or visit www.greenearts.org for information.
Rep. Chris Gibson at Chatham Middle School, at town meeting March 23. Photo by Tom Roe.
• WGXC interviewed Helen Hauswald about the East Durham Independence Day Parade and Festival. Click here to listen to mp3 audio of the interview.
You’re a Grand Ole Flag. Noon-2 p.m.: Olana State Historic Site, 5720 Route 9G, Hudson, NY 12534. One could celebrate the Fourth of July by creating a quilt of your own at this event. This easy-to-do, no-sewing quilt will be inspired by Frederic Church’s painting “Our Banner in the Sky.” Please call 518-828-1872 x109 for more information or to register, or email shasbrook@olana.org for more information or to register.
Bear Creek Landing Fireworks: A restaurant and recreational park in Hunter with day activities such as horseback riding, paintball, and indoor/outdoor dining. At corner of Rt. 214 & 23A, Hunter.
Sunday, July 3
Chatham Family Fun Fest 3 p.m.: Columbia County Fair Grounds, Route 66, Chatham, NY. The fairgrounds gates open at 3 p.m. for the Family Fun Fest. Activities include free kiddie rides, a climbing wall, hay maze, Fuddi-Duddy the Clown, pony rides, Electric Blue Dee Jay, and lots of food, with a fireworks display at dusk.
Our Banner in the Sky: An interpretation through music and dance: Wagon House Education Center, Olana State Historic Site, 5720 Route 9G, Hudson, NY 12534. A performance by Cu Dubh bringing Frederic Church’s painting “Our Banner in the Sky” to life through music and dance is at Olana Sunday. Bring a picnic blanket and basket. Please call (518) 828-1872 x 109 or email shasbrook@olana.org for more information.
Fireworks/band at Cone-E Island/Mountain T-Shirts in Catskill: Activities begin at 2 p.m., music starts at 4 p.m. with Steppin’ Out performing at 6 p.m and fireworks at 9:15 p.m. 8 West Bridge St., Catskill.
Monday, July 4
Kinderhook Peoples Parade 11 a.m. This is a participatory parade, so one could decorate your car, stroller, wagon, tractor, or bicycle to join the parade, or watch. Parade starts at Rothermel Lane and ends in the Village Square.
Old-Fashioned Independence Day 2 p.m.–10 p.m.: Clermont State Historic Site, One Clermont Ave., Germantown, 12526. 518-537-4240. 18th Century music and entertainment, food and the Saugerties fireworks display.
Village of Saugerties 4th of July Parade and Fireworks 11 a.m.: Parade starts from Saugerties High School. The Kiwanis Club of Saugerties and the Saugerties Fire Department will team up for the Saugerties 4th of July celebration.
Windham Mountain: Windham Mountain keeps its zipline and Skyride open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be a parade through Windham at 7 p.m., barbeque and a DJ (7:30-10:30 p.m.), and fireworks at 9 p.m.
Tags: Clermont State Historic Site, Independence Day, July 4, Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural & Sports Centre, Olana
On The Air
WGXC is on 90.7-FM now, at full-power, 3300 watts. We cover all parts of Greene County except parts of the mountaintop, and all of Columbia County except for a bit of Western Columbia County south of Germantown. WGXC also covers a large part of southern Albany County. We have heard reports that the signal is getting from Delaware County to Great Barrington, from Selkirk to Saugerties, from Pine Plains to the I-90 extension.
Local weather/webcams
National Weather Service, Albany
Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page
When the computer is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information in Harlemville. Check dates and times to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was turned off.
Greene County webcams:
Catskill webcam: Thomas Cole House Claude Mirror
Nearby webcams:
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