hill country observerThe independent newspaper of eastern New York, southwestern Vermont and the Berkshires

April 2022Facebook linkHill Country Observer TwitterHill Country Instagram page NEWS ARCHIVE

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A gerrymander for the House?

A new set of political maps crafted by New York’s Democratic legislative majority might not mean much change for the upper Hudson Valley’s U.S. House delegation. If anything, the new district maps appear to improve the re-election chances of incumbent Reps. Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck, and Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, while the district of Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, turns a slightly lighter shade of blue. But across the state, the maps would yield a significant Democratic advantage, and a state judge has ruled that the new House districts amount to an unfair gerrymander.
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Maps spell big change for state Senate districts

When state Sen. Daphne Jordan campaigns for a third term in office this fall, she might have to introduce herself to lots of new voters. The Republican senator’s hometown of Halfmoon in Saratoga County is one of only a few towns she currently represents that would remain in the newly redrawn 46th Senate District.
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Restoring the Batten Kill watershed

A multi-year effort by conservation groups and local volunteers is helping to restore and improve the health of the Batten Kill -- and the populations of wild trout for which the river is famed.

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Ceramics, sculpture anchor new shows at Mass MoCA

Last summer in southern California, a group of friends made clay bowls and cups in their back yard. The clay came from the Berkshires, from Sheffield Pottery. And now one of the cups is back in the Berkshires, as part of an installation by the artist Armando Guadalupe Cortes.

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Art News





 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Belcher Hollow Forge, Handforged iron