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:

    Marriage vote echoes in Senate primary

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    McDonald faces challenge for GOP line amid shifting political landscape By THOMAS DIMOPOULOS Contributing writer   SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. If there’s a political cost to state Sen. Roy McDonald’s pivotal vote for same-sex marriage, it will be measured this month when the senator faces a rare intraparty challenge from Saratoga County Clerk Kathleen Marchione. Republican read more

    Marriage vote echoes in Senate primary
  • Issue:

    After a big fire, questions persist

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    Critics fault state’s limited testing after blaze involving PCBs By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer   GHENT, N.Y. After a huge chemical fire erupted at an industrial plant in West Ghent on the night of Aug. 1, authorities advised everyone within a 15-mile radius of the site to stay indoors, keep windows closed and avoid using read more

    After a big fire, questions persist
  • Issue:

    Art school extends its reach

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    IS183 goes off campus to public schools, downtown Pittsfield By JOHN TOWNES Contributing writer STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.Over the past two decades, IS183 Art School of the Berkshires has become well known for the classes and workshops it offers at the historic Citizens Hall building in the village of Interlaken. But the nonprofit art school also has read more

    Art school extends its reach
  • Issue:

    Law targets food wastes

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    By CRAIG IDLEBROOK Contributing writer RUTLAND, Vt.Tucked away from the rows of groceries at the Rutland Area Food Co-op are five-gallon buckets with lids, filled with food scraps that most customers wouldn’t want to take home. But those buckets move out the door faster than some of the foodstuffs on the co-op’s shelves. The co-op’s read more

    Law targets food wastes
  • Issue:

    Is privatization the cure?

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    Counties push to sell public nursing homes, citing budget pressures By THOMAS DIMOPOULOS Contributing writer William “Beaver” Watkins remembers how “it all went to hell in a hand-basket.” Two years ago, the Washington County Board of Supervisors began to consider privatizing Pleasant Valley Infirmary, the county-owned nursing home in Argyle. Watkins, the Cambridge town supervisor, read more

    Is privatization the cure?
  • Issue:

    Bipartisan push on mercury pollution

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    Senate vote keeps tougher emission controls on track By CRAIG IDLEBROOK Contributing writer PITTSFIELD, Mass.At first glance, Mark Jester doesn’t seem like the right demographic to be calling for tougher rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Jester is a registered Republican who ran in a special election for state representative last year, and his read more

    Bipartisan push on mercury pollution
  • Issue:

    A pinnacle of culture? Partners shape mission for Bascom Lodge

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    By JOHN TOWNES Contributing writer ADAMS, Mass.Brothers Peter and John Dudek and their business partner Brad Parsons are extending the vertical reach of the culture and the creative economy in the Berkshires. Three years ago, the men took over operation of Bascom Lodge, a historic structure at the summit of Mount Greylock, the highest point read more

    A pinnacle of culture? Partners shape mission for Bascom Lodge
  • Issue:

    Lyme that lingers

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    By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer QUEENSBURY, N.Y.When Holly Ahern found out several years ago that her daughter’s mysterious illness was Lyme disease, she quickly immersed herself in the subject. Ahern, an associate professor of microbiology at SUNY Adirondack, soon learned about the controversies swirling around the disease and came to realize that many others were read more

    Lyme that lingers
  • Issue:

    Next step for health care

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    With coverage nearly universal, Mass. looks to cut costs, push prevention By CRAIG IDLEBROOK Contributing writer NORTH ADAMS, Mass. From his second-floor office on the campus of North Adams Regional Hospital, Chip Joffe-Halpern has a unique vantage point from which to watch the course of health care reform in Massachusetts. As executive director of Ecu-Health read more

    Next step for health care
  • Issue:

    Activists push new strategy on biotech crops

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    Vermont labeling law stalls as attention shifts to California By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer On an April weeknight in Montpelier, the Vermont House Agriculture Committee held a public hearing on a bill to require labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients. To the surprise of even the bill’s supporters, more than 400 people showed up. read more

    Activists push new strategy on biotech crops