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:

    Town may veto conservation deal

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    Plan to protect bird habitat clashes with dreams of growth, development By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer FORT EDWARD, N.Y.   Merrilyn Pulver-Moulthrop wants to conserve 180 acres of her farm as habitat for threatened bird species, but town officials may veto the deal because of concerns it could hinder a water system for future development. Joan read more

    Town may veto conservation deal
  • Issue:

    Refugee plan gets green light in Rutland

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    City leaders call for unity after divisive debate By C.B. HALLContributing writer RUTLAND, Vt. It’s official: The refugees will be coming to Rutland. The U.S. State Department has approved a plan to resettle about 100 refugees from Syria and Iraq in the city over the next 12 months. The decision was announced Sept. 28 by read more

    Refugee plan gets green light in Rutland
  • Issue:

    GMO — State still seeking the right to know

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    Activists weigh path forward after Congress thwarts GMO food labels By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer   U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., joined other elected officials and activists on July 1 to celebrate the start of Vermont’s new law requiring labeling of genetically modified foods. The achievement would prove short-lived, as Congress voted later in July to read more

    GMO — State still seeking the right to know
  • Issue:

    At this cafe, repairs are on the menu

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    Pittsfield group counters throwaway society by fixing household items By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer PITTSFIELD, Mass.   A volunteer helps to repair a broken picture frame at the Pittsfield Repair Cafe. Every month from March through October, the group gathers to fix household items that might otherwise wind up in landfills or remain stashed unused in read more

    At this cafe, repairs are on the menu
  • Issue:

    Tax break for renewable energy draws skepticism

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    Washington County debates opting out of incentive program By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   A 16,000-panel solar installation along county Route 21 in Whitehall is one of three such projects planned in the town by Borrego Solar. But county supervisors are considering doing away with a property tax exemption the developer says it was counting on read more

    Tax break for renewable energy draws skepticism
  • Issue:

    Saratoga Springs debates affordable-housing mandate

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    By THOMAS DIMOPOULOSContributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.   The Washington, a mixed-use downtown building seen under construction in 2013, included 14 luxury apartments on its upper floors. Under a new affordable-housing program being debated in Saratoga Springs, projects with 10 or more housing units would need to set aside some spaces for low- and moderate-income read more

    Saratoga Springs debates affordable-housing mandate
  • Issue:

    Eggs, farms and the law

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    Mass. ballot question launches debate on agricultural practices By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer PITTSFIELD, Mass.   Sara Housman, the marketing manager at Wild Oats Market in Williamstown, shows off some of the co-op’s locallly sourced eggs. The store only sells eggs from cage-free hens under a policy adopted in 2006. A November ballot question aims to read more

    Eggs, farms and the law
  • Issue:

    Decision on refugees now months away

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    Rutland aldermen seek more discussion, decline to endorse program By C.B. HALLContributing writer RUTLAND, Vt. The federal government appears to have put off a decision on whether to resettle 100 Syrian refugees in Rutland after city aldermen chose last month not to endorse the resettlement effort.The U.S. State Department had been expected to render a read more

    Decision on refugees now months away
  • Issue:

    From water to blood — Got PFOA?

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    Anger, frustration grow as blood tests show hundreds with high levels of toxin in Hoosick Falls, Petersburgh By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y.   State tests this spring showed Emily Marpe of Petersburgh had the chemical PFOA in her blood at a concentration of 332 parts per billion, far above the typical background level read more

    From water to blood — Got PFOA?
  • Issue:

    Ruth Reichl, locally sourced

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    A world-class foodie finds a feast in Columbia, Berkshire counties By STACEY MORRISContributing writer HUDSON, N.Y.   Ruth Reichl took up full-time residence at her weekend home in Spencertown after Gourmet magazine, where she’d been editor for a decade, abruptly closed in 2009. Now she forages locally. Richard Sands photo Great food has been at read more

    Ruth Reichl, locally sourced