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The Overlook •

Good Friend Cafe Opens in West Shokan

Good Friend Cafe in West Shokan has opened its doors, giving Olive residents a new place to grab a morning coffee, a breakfast sandwich or burrito, a midday hot dog, some candy, or just a place to hang out.

Located next to the West Shokan Post Office, the cafe held its grand opening on July 4. Since then, owners Marta and Jeremy Baumann have focused on expanding the menu and building a gathering place around the cafe and marketplace.

The earthy, brown-and-green interior has five tables. Shelve...
The Overlook •

Know What You Breathe: 17 Devices to Monitor Ulster County Air Quality

Ulster County and Bard College have installed 17 street-level air quality monitors at libraries, town halls, and other community hubs, creating a countywide network intended to give residents more localized information about the air they breathe.

Most air quality measurements come from rooftop EPA monitors in densely populated areas. The project seeks to fill gaps left by traditional monitoring networks, which can leave rural areas without neighborhood-level readings. Until now, Ulster County l...
The Overlook •

Shandaken ZBA Approves Variances for Verizon Wireless Pole in Big Indian

Shandaken’s Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously voted to approve four variances for Verizon’s proposed 50-foot wireless pole near the Big Indian-Oliverea Fire Department, allowing it to move to the Planning Board for a public hearing and potential approval.
Two variances alter how far a pole is set from property lines, one allows it to be built within a highway business zoning district and the fourth permits Verizon to be its sole cellular provider. While such structures typically support two or...
The Overlook •

Phoenicia Food Pantry to Provide Free Breakfast, Lunch for Summer Rec Kids

The Phoenicia Food Pantry, a community resource since the 1980s that provides food and goods with no questions asked, is tackling food insecurity for the next generation by working with local groups to provide free lunches to Shandaken’s Summer Recreation Program.

Workers at the summer program began to notice that campers were showing up with empty stomachs and without packed lunches, said Sophie Grant, one of the pantry’s co-managers. The camp, which offers kids aged five through 16 with activ...
The Overlook •

Where Does Your Trash and Recycling Go?

It doesn’t sound like much. Each day, Ulster County residents generate about four pounds of waste—the weight of a laptop computer. Combine that with trash from businesses and municipalities, though, and the figure rises to 5.97 million pounds.

A year after the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency bowed to community opposition and halted efforts to seek new landfill sites, officials are stepping up efforts to reduce that waste by educating residents on what can and can’t be recycled.

“People...
The Overlook •

Artists Fill 9W Diner with the Sounds of Stories

The side room of the 9W Diner in Saugerties was crammed this week as attendees dragged in chairs from across the restaurant, eager for performances by three artists from very different disciplines: a memoirist, an abstract painter, and a bassist.

The program was part of this month’s “Dialogues for the Ears and Eyes,” a monthly series that invites artists of different mediums to perform individually, then join the audience for a Q&A.

The goal, said poet and art historian Bruce Weber—who curates...
The Overlook •

Olive Downplays Risk of Higher Taxes as Property Assessments Spike

The town of Olive has a blunt response to homeowners worried that the third reassessment in five years means higher taxes are coming this fall: It’s just wrong.“These are never done with that intention,” Olive Town Assessor Diana Carchidi said in an interview. “It’s really about how it’s apportioned—making sure that everybody is paying their fair share rather than paying somebody else’s share.”The grumbling started months ago, as chatter erupted on the social media site Nextdoor about a series o...
Wallkill Valley Times •

Hundreds rally in Gardiner for ‘No Kings Day’

More than 500 people lined Main Street in Gardiner on Saturday, June 14, to participate in “No Kings Day,” part of a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s administration.

Beginning at 11 a.m., demonstrators filled the sidewalks, waving American flags, shouting slogans, and holding signs denouncing Trump for what they said was authoritarian behavior and a lack of respect for the Constitution and democratic institutions. Supporters in vehicles honked and waved flags as they passed....
New Paltz Principle •

Federal Trade, Local Print: How Trump’s Tariffs Will Impact Hudson Valley Publications.

On February 1 President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, invoking a national emergency over immigration and drug trafficking to do so.  


The following day Genia Wickwire received an email: “Hey. Tariffs coming. That’s going to be added to your bill.”  


Wickwire is the associate publisher of Hudson Valley One, a family owned digital and print publication in the Mid-Hudson Region that covers the towns of Kingston, Saugerties...
The Legislative Gazette •

Stefanik Honored At Republican Gala

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik garnered strong support from Republican leadership at the 2025 New York Republican Gala, where she received the first ever “America First” award amidst reports of a possible run for governorship.  
The six-term congresswoman, who represents District 21, received the award in front of  Republican leadership at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York on April 15. She was presented the award by the gala’s host, State Republican Committee Chairman Ed Cox, followi...
The New Paltz Oracle •

Hundreds Rally in Gardiner for ‘Hands Off!’ Protests

Hundreds of activists lined the sidewalks of Gardiner’s Main Street on April 5 to protest President Donald Trump’s administration, the Department of Government Efficiency, tariffs, oligarchs and a deluge of other federal policies and orders. 


They were joined by over 3 million other protestors across the U.S. who held demonstrations of resistance against the Trump administration in over 1,400 cities and towns in both Republican and Democratic states. 


These demonstrations were part of the...
New Paltz Principle •

The New Paltz Volunteer Fire Department Could Run Out of Volunteers Says Recruiting Officer.

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – A substantial tax increase may be coming to New Paltz residents, as the New Paltz Fire Department is running out of volunteers, which could force the town to explore other higher-cost fire safety options.  


The potential shortage of firefighters was discussed at the New Paltz Town Board meeting on Feb. 20 when the chief recruiting officer for the fire department, Steve Greenfield, made a series of public comments criticizing what he called a lack of action from local politic...
The New Paltz Oracle •

College and Shango Halls to be Demolished and Rebuilt

College and Shango halls, two of the oldest and most historic buildings on campus, will begin renovations at the start of the spring 2026 semester amid quality-of-life complaints and concerns over preserving the building’s history.


The mixed-use academic and residential halls will undergo complete demolition before being rebuilt as a new 10,000 square-foot academic building, estimated to be finished in 2030.  


At the start of the renovation, residents of the two halls will be relocated to...