A crowd gathers at an open house at the Plant Connector in downtown North Adams. Press photo by Kate Abbott

Jobs

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s articles about jobs, listed from newest to oldest. Questions about local economies surface in The Hill Country Observer as we follow movements in co-ops, small businesses, nonprofits and sustainable ways to make a living in our rural communities and support kinds of work that fulfill workers and local needs.

  • Issue:

    N.Y. launches public financing for state races

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    Small, local donations will be matched in Senate, Assembly contests By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   Next year’s candidates for New York state Senate and Assembly will have the option of participating, for the first time, in a new public campaign finance program that will match small-dollar donations raised within the candidate’s district. The new program read more

    N.Y. launches public financing for state races
  • Issue:

    Group works to save New Lebanon depot

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    Long-defunct station could serve as attraction along developing rail trail   Joe Ogilvie, president of the Corkscrew Rail Trail Association, stands outside the bay window of the former Rutland Railroad station in New Lebanon, N.Y., where the last train rolled past 70 years ago.Joan K. Lentini photo   By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer NEW LEBANON, N.Y. read more

    Group works to save New Lebanon depot
  • Issue:

    Saratoga battles over biochar

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    Plant’s backers tout green benefits, but critics see a toxic threat   Gina LeClair holds signs opposing construction of the Saratoga Biochar Solutions facility that’s planned for a site at the Moreau Industrial Park in northern Saratoga County. Joan K. Lentini photo   By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer MOREAU, N.Y. The developers of a multimillion-dollar biochar read more

    Saratoga battles over biochar
  • Issue:

    Tight labor market shifts area’s economic goals

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    Tight labor market shifts region’s goals for economic development   With businesses across the region struggling to recruit workers for routine operations, economic development officials say their focus now is on expanding the local labor pool as much as on wooing new employers. Joan K. Lentini photos   By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer GRANVILLE, N.Y. Washington read more

    Tight labor market shifts area’s economic goals
  • Issue:

    Pandemic dividend comes fresh from the oven

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    Economic upheaval helps spur new micro-bakeries across region   Kean McIlvaine moved from Washington, D.C., to Washington County, N.Y., after the pandemic threw her culinary career into turmoil. Once here, she started Covered Bridge Bread, a home-based baking business. Joan K. Lentini photo   By STACEY MORRISContributing writer SHUSHAN, N.Y. After the pandemic clobbered the read more

    Pandemic dividend comes fresh from the oven
  • Issue:

    How dark Covid times nurtured bakers’ dreams

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      Dede Weber started her Bohemian Nouveaux Bakery at the height of the pandemic and soon built a following in the northern Berkshires. Now she’s preparing to open a new bakery cafe in North Adams. Susan Sabino photo   By KATE ABBOTTContributing writer Dede Weber imagines a winter day in North Adams, with snow falling read more

    How dark Covid times nurtured bakers’ dreams
  • Issue:

    State’s new ethics panel off to rocky start

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    By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   When Kathy Hochul took over as New York’s governor last year after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, one of her first promises was to strengthen the state’s system for policing the ethics of its top officials. The state’s ethics watchdog at the time, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, known read more

    State’s new ethics panel off to rocky start
  • Issue:

    Fresh pasta made to order in Saratoga

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      Rose Contadino feeds her rolled dough through a pasta cutter to turn it into fettuccine noodles at her shop in Saratoga Springs. Joan K. Lentini photo   By STACEY MORRISContributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. Rose Contadino stands in front of her industrial-sized pasta cutter, filling an order for a pound of linguine. Dressed in read more

    Fresh pasta made to order in Saratoga
  • Issue:

    Is Hoosick Falls seeing a rebirth fueled by food?

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    An eclectic dining scene reflects broader changes in a former industrial hub   A sign beckons visitors to Byte, a pizzeria with a Turkish flair on John Street in Hoosick Falls, N.Y. photo by Joan K. Lentini   By STACEY MORRISContributing writer HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. On a Friday afternoon in early May, the heart of read more

    Is Hoosick Falls seeing a rebirth fueled by food?
  • Issue:

    New Lebanon farmers market expands to year-round storefront

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    Farmers market expands through year-round retail storefront   Volunteers and staff of the New Lebanon Farmers Market — Phoebe Young, Josh Young, Lucas Cipkowski and Eleanor Young — stand behind some of the fresh produce at the market’s new year-round retail storefront. Susan Sabino photo   By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer NEW LEBANON, N.Y. The food read more

    New Lebanon farmers market expands to year-round storefront