A straw poll surveying an online group of activists and political junkies shows Gareth Rhodes leading the seven democratic primary candidates in New York’s 19th Congressional District, with Dave Clegg taking second. The poll was open to the members of the Facebook Group “Listen to us, John Faso,” a community board that has become a…
Amtrak plans to install a series of gates and more than a mile-and-a-half of fencing along the east side of the Hudson River to keep “trespassers” seeking to enjoy the river off its land. The construction is planned in eight locations in five communities — Rhinebeck, Tivoli, Germantown, Stockport and Stuyvesant — to “keep pedestrians…
A friend of mine was mid-way through a rant about President Trump when he brought up an interesting point. “You have to wonder about the motivations of someone who has never held political office before, or done anything for the country, when they suddenly decide to jump into the political ring when they’re like, 70,”…
An analysis of congressional candidate Jeff Beals’ campaign finance reports shows potential errors involving contributions through the fundraising site ActBlue. Beals, one of seven democrats looking to unseat Republican Congressman John Faso in New York’s 19th District, has received most of his contributions though ActBlue, a website allowing democrats from across the U.S. to easily…
A crowd of more than 8,000 tramped across the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie Saturday to protest American gun violence in the wake of last month’s Parkland High School shooting. The cross-generational crowd hoisted acerbic protest signs slamming the NRA and pro-gun politicians for what was seen as their complicity in the attack, and…
You usually don’t hear a lot of obscenities called out from circus rings, which is odd, because most circuses are pretty obscene. I went to the Ringling Bros. Circus while I was a child, and remembered two things: -Everyone was covered with mud And -There were crying elephants You could ride the crying elephants, which…
Hudson Police Chief Ed Moore made only $30,000 last year as Hudson’s top cop, and is set to make the same amount in 2018. Moore served in the New York State Police for 32 years and retired in 2013 with a hefty pension. State law forbids New Yorkers under 65 receiving public pensions to make…
Six democratic candidates are competing to see who will run against Republican John Faso in the mid-term elections in New York’s 19th district, which encompasses the northern half of the Hudson Valley. Candidates running for the House of Representatives must file reports on the money their campaigns raise every three months. The Federal Election Commission…
This would be my second attempt at Kaaterskill High Peak and the abandoned Cortina Valley Ski Area. The first had to be aborted due to the high degree of danger found in bushwhacking up a mountain with a foot-and-a-half of snow cover. The first hike was attempted solo on Feb. 14, (which is kinda sad,…
Faso Friday, a cacophonous weekly protest in front of Republican Congressman John Faso’s office in Kingston, started right on time. At 11:56 a.m., there were only a handful of protestors chatting and erecting signs in a snowbank bordering the parking lot of Faso’s office, but a few minutes later, the crowd had grown to 60.…
John Hillman stands to his full height before Columbia County Judge Richard Koweek and tries to explain why his client, who is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing at 1 p.m., is nowhere to be found. The last time he actually talked to Luis Flores* was three weeks ago, Hillman says as Koweek stares flatly down…
John Faso triumphed part of the Republican Tax Bill while warning of increasing federal debt during a breakfast with the Ulster County Chamber of Congress Thursday. The freshman republican congressman also spoke about efforts to come to an compromise on immigration and the “regulatory excesses” of Dodd-Frank, the post-Great Recession bank regulatory bill, during opening…
Protestors hoisted a cornucopia of signs at the Hudson Women’s March Saturday, most referencing women’s rights in one way or another, but the most common theme was not what the signs were for, but against. Trump. “Dump Trump” “Super-Callous -Fascist-Racist-Braggadocios” (photo of Trump included) “Voting Is My Superpower” “Trump Be Gone” “Fight like a Nasty…
“Everything today is really tight.” Iyla Shornstein, Beals’ 29-year-old chief of staff, swipes through the day’s schedule as Beals loads a giant poster board displaying a map of New York’s 19th Congressional District into the campaign’s SUV. The truck has about 14,500 miles on it and was only purchased in late summer, which speaks to…
Gareth Rhodes is not new to hikes. The Ulster County native has done overnight treks on many of the Catskill High Peaks, and as a child hiked with his family every year from their home in Rifton to Bonticou Crag in the Shawangunks, a 25-mile round trip. Gareth, as well as panting less on the hike…
About a dozen Hudson High School seniors are participating in a program to promote healthy choices and lead other students away from drugs, as well as changing what they call an unfair perspective of the school held in Columbia County. Living The Example, a program of Mentor Foundation USA, has run in three other Columbia…
The North-South Lake area in the eastern Catskills is packed with gawkers in the summer months. The road leading to Kaaterskill Falls, the jewel of the area (and by ‘jewel,’ I mean ‘most easily accessible’) is crammed with pedestrians giving motorists heart attacks as they wander along the twisting mountain lane from their cars to…
