Issue: September 2016
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GMO — State still seeking the right to know
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
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At this cafe, repairs are on the menu
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
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Tax break for renewable energy draws skepticism
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
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Saratoga Springs debates affordable-housing mandate
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
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Celebrating Saratoga’s Southern flavors
Hattie’s chef shares recipes from storied eatery STACEY MORRISContributing writer SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. Jasper Alexander, the chef at Hattie’s Restaurant in Saratoga Springs, shows off his new cookbook and a plate of the Southern fried chicken the restaurant has been serving since it opened in 1938. Joan K. Lentini photo Jasper Alexander makes it read more
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Nick Cave — A troubled heaven on earth
Artist’s massive wonderland at MoCA confronts themes of racism By JOHN SEVENContributing writer NORTH ADAMS, Mass. A detail from “Until,” Nick Cave’s upcoming installation at Mass MoCA, reveals an elaborate landscape built from kitschy items the artist collects on secondhand shopping sprees — items that sometimes raise troubling themes related to race. Douglas Mason read more
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No apology, many excuses on village’s water crisis
The hearing lasted nearly 10 hours, but on the questions that mattered most, it seems straight answers were in short supply. After nearly eight months in which local citizens had called for a state legislative inquiry into the handling of the Hoosick Falls water crisis, the moment of truth finally arrived. On the next-to-last day read more