Issue: February-March 2012
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Generation Organic — Young people in a high-tech age rediscover farming
By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.On a cold winter night, the gathering of 20- and 30-somethings animated a large hall at the Saratoga Springs Hilton with warmth and laughter. A quick scan of the scene left no doubt that the occasion couldn’t possibly be a singles event or a high-powered business affair. read more
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Vermont’s biggest insurer pushes back on Home-birth law
Vermont’s biggest insurer balks at providing coverage By CRAIG IDLEBROOK Contributing writer DANBY, Vt.It was supposed to be a watershed moment for home-birth midwives like Heather Whitley. Last year, Vermont legislators responded to a grassroots campaign to bring home births more into the mainstream medical system, passing a bill that requires private health insurers read more
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Homegrown from goat’s milk
Kitchen science lesson evolves into skin-care business By STACEY MORRIS Contributing writer STILLWATER, N.Y.A typical day for Hal Mayes involves making upwards of 1,200 bars of goat’s milk soap at his Saratoga County farm and manufacturing plant. Not so typical is the fact that his homegrown business regularly fields orders from virtually every continent. read more
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A celebration of birds — Audubon prints at Berkshire Museum
By EVAN LAWRENCE Contributing writer PITTSFIELD, Mass.Bird lovers, prepare to be delighted. A new show at the Berkshire Museum, “Taking Flight: Audubon and the World of Birds,” pairs original prints from John James Audubon’s groundbreaking “Birds of America” with a dazzling collection of mounted birds and a gallery that introduces the wonder of bird read more
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A sign of tough times for group for hearing-impaired
By JUDY BERNSTEIN Contributing writer QUEENSBURY, N.Y.The children, seated in chairs around the edges of the room, were concentrating — and laughing — as they signaled to each other with their hands. King monkey, cat, signed one girl to another. Cat, dog, signed that girl to a boy nearby, as the dozen kids, ages read more