Students on the Simon's Rock campus gather at the library in preparation for the Bard Queer Leadership Project. Press photo courtesy of Bard College at Simon's Rock

News

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s news articles, listed from newest to oldest. The Hill Country Observer covers town events, local government, community stories and more — from public health to housing to education and freedom of mind in New York, Vermont and Western Massachusetts.

  • Issue:

    Leaving urban life to run a bookstore in a barn

    , , ,

    Family leaves California to take charge of area vintage bookstore   Sydney Nichols and Eric Kufs stand with their daughter Sally Jane in the children’s section at Owl Pen Books. Nichols and Kufs are the new owners of the 60-year-old vintage bookstore in Greenwich, N.Y. Joan K. Lentini photo   By STACEY MORRISContributing writer GREENWICH, read more

    Leaving urban life to run a bookstore in a barn
  • Issue:

    Strands of history in a Hudson Valley home

    A president, national icon and barrier-breaking writer all had links to property   Within a few years after hosting the wedding of the future president Martin Van Buren, the house at 251 West Main St. in Catskill became the home of “Uncle Sam” Wilson. Paul Post photo   By PAUL POSTContributing writer CATSKILL, N.Y.When Martin read more

    Strands of history in a Hudson Valley home
  • Issue:

    Recruiting guardians for a seagull sanctuary

    The somewhat unusual classified ad, published in various newspapers around the country in 1921, generated 1,600 applications: “Wanted — A man to live alone on an island, inland lake; eight miles from the shore; transportation, food, shelter, boat, etc. furnished; no work; no compensation.”The successful applicant that year was a recent Harvard University graduate. Similarly read more

    Recruiting guardians for a seagull sanctuary
  • Issue:

    A gerrymander for the House?

    ,

    New York’s new maps draw criticism while boosting local incumbents New York’s Democratic-controlled Legislature adopted a new map (below)for upstate congressional districts, right, that shuffles the political terrain of the upper Hudson Valley’s three U.S. House members. Analysts predicted the new map would effectively cut the number of Republicans in the state’s House delegation to read more

    A gerrymander for the House?
  • Issue:

    Maps contain big changes for state Senate districts

    , ,

    By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   As state Sen. Daphne Jordan campaigns for a third term in office this fall, she might have to introduce herself to lots of new voters. The Republican senator’s hometown of Halfmoon in Saratoga County is one of only a few towns she currently represents that would remain in the newly read more

    Maps contain big changes for state Senate districts
  • Issue:

    Restoring the Batten Kill watershed

    , ,

    Groups band together to protect a river famous for its wild trout   The Batten Kill rushes under a covered bridge in the hamlet of Eagleville, N.Y. Photo by Joan K. Lentini.   By DON LEHMANContributing writer SALEM, N.Y. A man snorkeling in a shallow pool of water in remote Camden Creek is not a read more

    Restoring the Batten Kill watershed
  • Issue:

    In New York’s new farm overtime rules, progress or ruin?

    , , , ,

    In New York’s new overtime rules, some see agriculture’s transformation — or its ruin   Stewart Ziehm tends to the cows at Tiashoke Farms, a dairy operation near Buskirk, N.Y., on a cold winter day. Joan K. Lentini photo   By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. Labor and social justice activists are calling it a read more

    In New York’s new farm overtime rules, progress or ruin?
  • Issue:

    Pet rabbits find sanctuary at new Saratoga-area shelter

      Rabbit “foster mom” Brandy Caro, yoga instructor Jamie Lemnotis and yoga student Stephanie Lyons enjoy a moment with the rabbits after a Bunny Yoga class at Hop on Home, a rabbit rescue and adoption organization, at its space at Wilton Mall in Saratoga County. Joan K. Lentini photo   By STACEY MORRISContributing writer WILTON, read more

    Pet rabbits find sanctuary at new Saratoga-area shelter
  • Issue:

    Local House race could be bellwether

    ,

    National parties eye Delgado’s seat in battle for Congress       U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, left, faces a potentially strong challenge from Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, right, as he seeks a third term in New York’s 19th Congressional District.   By MAURY THOMPSONContributing writer   The Hudson Valley congressional race taking shape between read more

    Local House race could be bellwether
  • Issue:

    A candidate tests his party’s appetite for reform

    Before Glens Falls native Charles Evans Hughes entered the race for New York governor in 1906, Republicans from Warren and Washington counties were lining up behind an early candidate from Saratoga County: state Sen. Edgar Truman Brackett. “Senator Brackett would make an ideal candidate for governor,” said Addison B. Colvin, a former state treasurer who read more

    A candidate tests his party’s appetite for reform