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Justin Bieber makes an unplanned pit stop in the Catskills

By Lissa Harris
11/30/12 - 2:56 pm

On his way from Montreal to a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Justin Bieber made an unscheduled stop in the Catskills. The Bieb tweeted:

Not swaggy? C'mon, JBiebz. From where we sit, anywhere you can get your smartphone to work up here in the hills is pretty swaggy.

DEC releases new draft gas drilling regulations

By Lissa Harris
11/30/12 - 12:12 pm

On Thursday afternoon, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation unveiled its latest set of proposed regulations to govern hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. The new proposed regulations replace an earlier set of draft regulations, issued September 7, 2011.

The latest move from the DEC extends the agency's timeline for finalizing its hydrofracking regulations for another 90 days. Public comment on the current draft will be accepted from December 12, 2012 through 5pm on January 11, 2013.

North Country Radio reports that there are a pair of studies that also need to be completed before drilling could begin:  Read more

Buy Local: The Watershed Post's guide to a Main Street holiday

By Anne Pyburn Craig
11/29/12 - 4:37 pm

Above: Santa pays a pre-Christmas visit to the annual Woodstock Holiday Open House in December 2010. Photo by Julia Reischel.

Shopping small and local for the holidays will get you a whole lot more than a warm fuzzy glow of political rectitude. It’ll get you truly one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones, as opposed to the 50,000-of-a-kind items being hawked at the mall or your local big box. It’ll get you feeling appreciated by the local business owner behind the register. And best of all, it’ll get you an outrageously good time spent prowling the decorated downtowns and beauteous bazaars of the Catskills region.

A great many churches, PTAs, animal welfare folks and assorted other good eggs will be hosting craft fairs, and a wise shopper will take heed. The level of craftiness around the entire region being what it is, your odds of finding the Perfect Something for that beloved but impossible-to-buy-for Someone are very good indeed.

There is much, much more happening on local Main Streets in December than any one article could hope to encompass. What follows is our humble attempt at a guide to some of the region's sparkliest holiday highlights.  Read more

See video

How to help Livingston Manor after the fire

By Julia Reischel
11/29/12 - 10:26 am

Above: The Hoos building in Livingston Manor on Wednesday, November 21, the day after it was destroyed by fire. Photo by Kurt Knuth.

Right before Thanksgiving, a devastating fire destroyed the historic Hoos building in the center of Livingston Manor. The four businesses inside (The Lazy Beagle, Willow and Brown, Moose-Be-Morning Cafe and Hot Corner Sports Collectibles) were also ruined. 

The fire was terrifying. At one point, an explosion rocked the ground and sent debris raining down upon onlookers up the street. (You can see that happen at the 10:15 minute mark in this video shot by Christina Maliarakis and posted on Facebook.)

Now the town is in recovery mode. Livingston Manor is no stranger to tragedy, and there is already a fund -- the Livingston Manor Community Center's Rockland Relief Fund -- that is dedicated to helping its residents recover from disaster. (The fund was established after the flooding of 2006, which killed a Manor teenager and destroyed homes across the Town of Rockland, where the hamlet of Livingston Manor is located.)

On Tuesday, the Rockland Relief Fund made a public appeal for donations  on Facebook. The fund's managers say that right now, the owner of the Moose-Be-Morning Cafe has the most immediate pressing needs, because she had no insurance. Donations to the Rockland Relief Fund will be used to help her and any other businesses that have needs after the fire or other local disasters. 

To contribute to the fund, send donations to:

Livingston Manor Community Center's Rockland Relief Fund, PO Box 1096, Livingston Manor, NY 12758.

Here's the full appeal, below:  Read more

Ski season in the Catskills kicks off this weekend

By Lissa Harris
11/28/12 - 11:50 am

Above: Morning light shows off the early-winter snow on the flanks of Hunter Mountain today. From Hunter's Facebook page.

The Catskills high peaks got a pretty dusting of snow this week, and local ski resorts are poised to take advantage of it. The Catskills Big Three -- Hunter, Windham and Belleayre -- are all making snow and getting ready for Opening Day.

Hunter declared this morning that they'll open on Saturday:

Join us on OPENING DAY this SATURDAY for TOP TO BOTTOM skiing and riding!! Advanced terrain only, lift ticket pricing will be adjusted accordingly.

Neither Belleayre nor Windham has declared an opening day yet,* but both are ready to pounce when conditions are right. Belleayre posted a promising-looking picture of snow falling on the mountain just as dawn was breaking today:  Read more

Gratitude amid devastation in Livingston Manor

By Julia Reischel
11/22/12 - 1:45 pm

Above: Livingston Manor's Main Street sporting Christmas decorations on Wednesday, November 21, the day after a fire destroyed four beloved local businesses. Photo by Lisa Lyons, via the Morgan Outdoors Facebook page.

Like the Whos down in Whoville, the residents of Livingston Manor woke up on Wednesday morning determined to keep the holiday spirit alive in the face of loss.

Bright and early the day after an enormous propane-fueled fire destroyed the historic Hoos building in the center of Livingston Manor, a small crew of dedicated community members was installing wreaths on Main Street's lampposts. Down the street, what remained of the Hoos building lay in ruins.   Read more

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