The AP reports today:

Mitt Romney did what was expected, easily winning New York's Republican presidential primary and padding his delegate lead in his all-but-inevitable march toward the party's nomination.

Romney easily outdistanced Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich on Tuesday and took home a big chunk of delegates in a race marked by low turnout around the heavily Democratic state. Rick Santorum stopped campaigning two weeks ago.

And then there were two: Ron Paul is still campaigning away, but Newt Gingrich is about to officially hang up his spurs, CNN reports.

Newly appointed Fleischmanns mayor Todd Pascarella recently wrote an update on the progress of millions of dollars' worth of flood recovery projects in the village, and recent changes in village govenment.

Pascarella was appointed earlier this month to fill the seat of former mayor Dave Morell, who resigned in February.

In his letter, Pascarella reports that the village is working toward opening some temporary park space on land owned by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection while restoration work continues on the village park, which was heavily damaged in last year's Irene floods.

A flood study is underway that will guide millions of dollars in stream work in the village, all of which will be funded through various sources with help from the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Construction work on Main Street is in progress, funded by a $250,000 grant from the MARK Project.

Hoisting a glass at the 2011 TAP New York festival. Photo courtesy of Hunter Mountain.

Thirty years ago, American beer mostly came in two varieties: bottle and can. Today, the art of craft beer is alive and flourishing, among professional brewers and passionate homebrewers alike. This weekend, the Catskills celebrates the creativity and craftsmanship of New York State's growing ranks of independent brewers, in an annual festival that has become a rite of spring for the region.

On April 28 and 29, thousands of craft beer devotees will descend on Hunter Mountain for the fifteenth annual TAP New York craft beer fest. The festival will feature over 150 beers from over 45 New York breweries. Among the local breweries attending are Kingston's Keegan Ales, Windham's Cave Mountain Brewing Company, Athens's Crossroads Brewing Company, and New Paltz's Gilded Otter.

Tuesday, April 24 is the New York State presidential primary -- but with frontrunner Mitt Romney coasting toward the 2012 GOP nomination, the press isn't too excited about it.

"Every four years, the New York primary becomes less significant," the New York Times kvetches. "What if they held an election and no one came?" asks The Atlantic. "Primary? What primary?" Gannett scoffs.