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:

    In court case, it’s sunlight vs. parking

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    Protecting solar-energy installation becomes issue for garage By THOMAS DIMOPOULOSContributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.   Solar collectors atop the Mouzon House restaurant would be overshadowed by a proposed five-story parking garage in downtown Saratoga Springs; the restaurant’s owners have sued to block the project. Thomas Dimopoulos photo A dispute over access to sunlight has become read more

    In court case, it’s sunlight vs. parking
  • Issue:

    Changing a college’s energy equation

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    At Green Mountain, students pursue goal of ‘net-zero’ campus By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer POULTNEY, Vt.   Steven Letendre, a professor of business, economics and environmental studies at Green Mountain College, has been working with students on a project aimed at getting the campus to “net-zero” energy status, meaning its annual power production and consumption would read more

    Changing a college’s energy equation
  • Issue:

    Two mayors face uphill races in the Berkshires

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    Mayoral races top ballot in Mass., N.Y. By FRED DALEY Editor The mayors of Pittsfield and North Adams both appear to face uphill climbs for re-election on Nov. 3 after they each posted distant second-place finishes in preliminary elections held last month. The two races in the Berkshires, along with mayoral races in Hudson and read more

    Two mayors face uphill races in the Berkshires
  • Issue:

    Hives of controversy

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    As bees vanish, critics build a case against a class of pesticides By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer   Ross Conrad, a former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, works with his bees at Dancing Bee Gardens in the town of Cornwall. Conrad is among the beekeepers in the Northeast who’ve become convinced that honeybees are being read more

    Hives of controversy
  • Issue:

    Banding together for solar power

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    Program helps homes, farms with details of financing and installation By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer   Dozens of households in Rensselaer and Saratoga counties are going solar this summer with the help of a program that cuts costs and takes the guesswork out of installing a solar system.The Solarize program, developed by the U.S. Department of read more

    Banding together for solar power
  • Issue:

    Reviving the Corkscrew route

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    Newly opened rail trail feeds dreams of a wider hiking network By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer STEPHENTOWN, N.Y.   A sign welcomes visitors the newly opened Corkscrew Rail Trail in Stephentown. The trail extends along 2.5 miles of a long-defunct railroad route that once stretched nearly 60 miles from Chatham to Bennington, Vt. John Townes photo read more

    Reviving the Corkscrew route
  • Issue:

    Alliance boosts a fledgling arts temple

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    Performing arts venue in former church joins forces with Proctors By THOMAS DIMOPOULOSContributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.   Universal Preservation Hall, a performing arts center in a former church in downtown Saratoga Springs, has formed a new operating alliance with Proctors, the historic theater in Schenectady. Joan K. Lentini photo A long-running effort to transform read more

    Alliance boosts a fledgling arts temple
  • Issue:

    Equal before the law?

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    New York counties face push to upgrade public-defender system By TRACY FRISCHContributing writer HUDSON FALLS, N.Y.   Michael Mercure took over as Washington County’s public defender about five years ago after two of his predecessors in the office were disbarred. Now he’s working with the state to carry out the terms of a settlement in read more

    Equal before the law?
  • Issue:

    In Rutland, solar power’s next step

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    High-tech storage battery set for debut this fall By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer RUTLAND, Vt.   Photovoltaic panels collect the sun’s energy at the Borkowski family’s home in Rutland, which Green Mountain Power has dubbed the “energy home of the future.” This fall, the utility will begin offering a new high-tech battery that will allow homeowners read more

    In Rutland, solar power’s next step
  • Issue:

    Downtown hotel raises hopes

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    $14M project hailed as symbol of change for Pittsfield By HEATHER BELLOWThe Berkshire Edge PITTSFIELD, Mass.   Hotel on North, which opened last month in downtown Pittsfield, is managed by Main Street Hospitality Group, which also runs The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, the Williams Inn in Williamstown and The Porches Inn in North Adams. read more

    Downtown hotel raises hopes