Category: Government

The Hill Country Observer covers local leaders, elections and elected officials, town and city councils bodies including libraries, schools, planning and other town boards, and all kinds of conversations and decisions that matter to our communities.

  • Issue:

    In defense of books

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    Some in region push back against banning efforts in schools and libraries   Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman reads to an audience at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, one of a series of stops he made around the state in recent months as part of his Banned Book Tour. Courtesy photo   By KATE ABBOTTContributing writer read more

    In defense of books
  • Issue:

    New U.S. House map shuffles area towns

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    Final redistricting plan splits Saratoga and Rensselaer counties By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   Voters in northern Saratoga County and nearly all of Rensselaer County will find themselves in new congressional districts when they head to the polls this year, thanks to a revised political map that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law on read more

    New U.S. House map shuffles area towns
  • Issue:

    Vote early, but not by mail?

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    GOP message on early voting shifts as more N.Y. voters try it   Harold Hubbard, the Republican deputy elections commissioner of Warren County, instructs elections inspectors at a recent training session on the use of electronic poll books. The devices ensure that voters who cast ballots at New York’s early voting sites cannot vote more read more

    Vote early, but not by mail?
  • Issue:

    Editorial — N.Y. GOP flips the script on early vs. mail-in voting

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      Editorial February-March 2024   N.Y. GOP flips the script on early vs. mail-in voting   Back in January 2019, when state legislators took up the question of whether to allow a lot more New Yorkers to vote by mail, the idea received overwhelming bipartisan support. A proposal to amend the state constitution to allow read more

    Editorial — N.Y. GOP flips the script on early vs. mail-in voting
  • Issue:

    Food fight? Debate over farm bill nears

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    Local advocates keep tabs as Congress weighs shifts in agriculture funds, policy By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   With the threat of a government shutdown now averted until after the start of the new year, congressional leaders have reserved floor time in December to debate a new farm bill in the U.S. House. But most political read more

    Food fight? Debate over farm bill nears
  • Issue:

    Election 2023

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    Here are the results of major races in the Nov. 7 local elections in New York and Massachusetts. Winning candidates are in bold type. A brief summary follows the results for each county. Vote totals shown for Berkshire, Warren and Washington counties are final, official tallies that include absentee or mail-in ballots. The results for read more

    Election 2023
  • Issue:

    Downtown revival with a social mission — Pittsfield project aims for cooperative ownership

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    Pittsfield project aims for cooperative ownership of businesses, real estate   A coalition of nonprofit groups aims to transform a block of buildings opposite Pittsfield City Hall into a revitalized urban hub, starting with the reopening of the King Kone ice cream shop as an employee-owned cooperative. Susan Sabino photo   By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer read more

    Downtown revival with a social mission — Pittsfield project aims for cooperative ownership
  • Issue:

    Local House members differ on speaker choice

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    Molinaro’s shifting stance draws questions as 2024 looms By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   The 22-day fight among Republicans over the selection of a new House speaker could have ramifications for next year’s elections in New York, where U.S. Rep. Marcus Molinaro is among five GOP freshman defending swing districts for a party increasingly dominated by read more

    Local House members differ on speaker choice
  • Issue:

    Legislator’s clout no match for unwritten rule

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    It was a generally quiet day at the state capital. “There was little of interest in the sessions of either house of the Legislature yesterday,” The Argus of Albany reported on Feb. 8, 1894. “The liveliest fight of all was over Mr. Hobbie’s bill granting permission for the erection of a free bridge over the read more

    Legislator’s clout no match for unwritten rule
  • Issue:

    Election 2023

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    Voters in N.Y., Mass. to decide local races By FRED DALEYEditor   Mayoral races in Pittsfield, North Adams, Troy and Saratoga Springs are headlining a host of local contests as voters cast ballots for a Nov. 7 general election across New York and in the cities of Massachusetts. Voters in Columbia County will be choosing read more

    Election 2023