Live cam from the Senate henhouse, where foxes are debating a sweeping ethics bill even as I type.
NY Senate's chief policy adviser Michael Kink is liveblogging the session on Twitter. Also livetweeting: @albanycitizen1.
Vera Farmiga, best known for her off-the-grid goat farm in the Catskills starring roles in Up In The Air and The Departed, had a gushy profile recently in the London Times.
You have already been nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and there is talk of Oscars. Tinseltown is at your feet. So what do you do? How do you capitalise on this good fortune? You decide to become a goat breeder in the Catskill Mountains.
Oh my! Will Farmiga spark a wave of LA scenesters-turned-farmers headed for the hills, toting smoking canisters of frozen goat semen in their Birkin bags? Are all the beautiful people going to be behind farmer's market tables at the Round Barn in Halcottsville this summer? We've been over this before, right?
Nota bene, Times: Shepherdesses herd sheep, not goats.
Well, that didn't take long. The ink was barely dry on Gov. David Paterson's proposal to slap a three percent tax on gas revenues from the Marcellus and Utica shales when IOGA-NY issued a statement condemning it.
Brad Gill, IOGA of NY executive director, said the tax is poorly timed, as New York has not yet authorized horizontal drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The formation extends from the Southern Tier east to the Western Catskills.
"During this time of economic crisis, we all can appreciate the financial struggle the state now faces. But let's not drive out an industry that can help Upstate New York get through this time of hardship," Gill said. "We don't believe New York should tax an industry that has not yet begun operating in the Marcellus Shale. It's a case of putting the cart before the horse."
Out-of-towner Danielle Azoulay wonders what's up with all those "Save The Mountain" signs in Mt. Tremper, stops at a nearby shop and gets herself an education in local politics.
Dick May, author of the witty and perspicacious Seeing Greene blog, takes a potshot at the Catskill Village police force, for their longstanding practice of not providing public access to police reports:
NPR's All Things Considered has a terrific radio piece on the late Killian Mansfield, a masterful ukelele player from Woodstock who died of cancer last August at age 16. Mansfield's first and last album, Somewhere Else, was recorded last year.
Host Guy Raz speaks with Laurel Masse, one of Killian's mentors and one of the original members of The Manhattan Transfer, along with Killian's mother.
"Killian set a really high bar, and it was a bar that was clearly defined by determination," Barbara Mansfield says. "The last recording session was [at] Levon Helm's studio. And Levon really wanted him to come over. And I think he really identified, having had the same struggle — cancer — in his life, with Killian. And really wanted it to be an opportunity to come into his home as well as record some music. And he could not have been warmer and sweeter.
Hat tip to local music writer Tony Fletcher for spotting the story.
The New York State governor's office has released its proposed 2010-11 budget. Press release here.
There's plenty of pain to go around in Paterson's proposed budget, from deep cuts to education, healthcare and environmental protection funding to a $1 per-pack tax increase on cigarettes.
A few other interesting tidbits from the guv's proposal: a 3% tax on natural gas from hydrofractured wells, legalizing wine sales in grocery stores and legalizing "Mixed Martial Arts" in the state.
Kingston Citizens contributor Arthur Zaczkiewicz has some ideas on what Kingston could do to be a better place to live. (Ten of them, to be exact.) Here's Number One:
Greater Unification. From the socio-economic to business to the political, Kingston – to thrive – needs to be unified. City leaders (business, civic, elected and appointed) need to set aside egos, agendas and self interests and place the greater good ahead of all.
There are some tall orders here. The whole list is well worth a read.
Catskill Chronicle reports that the town of Thompson and Sullivan County country radio station Thunder 102 are teaming up on a benefit for Haiti earthquake victims this Thursday.
Thunder 102 and the Town of Thompson are asking residents across the Hudson Valley and Catskills to show their support for the cause. According to the International Red Cross, over 3 million people were affected by the natural disaster and further reports have indicated the death toll could reach one hundred thousand.
The mind boggles at such large numbers. For a little context, the entire population of Sullivan County in 2007 was 76,303.
Acclaimed musician Lhasa de Sela, who spent much of her professional life in Montreal, died of breast cancer at the age of 37 this New Years' Day. The Globe and Mail has an obit:
Music in an unfamiliar language is too often relegated to a niche genre - the marketers like to call it "world music," and others often consigned her to the cabaret or folk bins. But Lhasa spoke to all listeners, even those who did not understand the literal words of the songs; like Holiday and Tom Waits, two performers to whom she was often compared, she could reach an audience through cadence and rhythm alone, as any listener of the songs "De cara a la pared" and "Con toda Palabra" can attest. She mesmerized live audiences with her sensuality and her between-song stories.
