Rural businesses: Cluster and prosper

Julia Reischel in the Watershed Post: National rural-issues website The Daily Yonder ran an article yesterday exhorting rural businesses to form “clusters” if they want to thrive. The thrust of the story is counter-intuitive — the author, Stuart Rosenfeld, argues that rather than competing for customers, similar small businesses operating near each other seem to [...]

Catskill Farmer’s Market

$200K grant to target small businesses in Greene County

From The Business Review (Albany): A $200,000 state grant will enable Greene County to help small businesses. The grant from the New York State Office of Community Renewal will be funneled into the county’s Microenterprise Assistance Program, which provides grants to small businesses. The county will also offer training classes for small businesses. Start-up companies [...]

Crandall Theater close to sold

Chatham resident Judy Grunberg, owner of the Blue Plate restaurant and the founder of the PS/21 arts center, is among a group of investors close to finalizing a deal to buy Chatham’s Crandall Theater, The Columbia Paper, and other papers, report today after the “For Sale” sign came down Thursday. When owner Tony Quirino died [...]

Audio recording of Lafarge DEC hearing last night in Ravena

WGXC’s Sam Sebren made it out to record the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation legislative hearing for renewal and modification of the existing Lafarge Title V Air Permit application last night at 6 p.m. at the Ravena-Coeymans Selkirk High School Auditorium. Click here to listen to mp3 audio recording of the hearing, or [...]

Catskill farmer’s market will close a portion of Main Street on Saturday mornings this summer

Instead of completely closing down Main St., or putting stalls in parking spaces, the Village of Catskill will close one block of Main St. between Thompson Street and the entrance to the municipal parking lot at Willard Alley from 7:30 a.m. to at least 2 p.m., for the Catskill Regional Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market Saturdays [...]

Catskill gives Wal-Mart tax break

Town, Wal-Mart settle dispute –The Daily Mail, 05.05.10 Wal-Mart in Catskill gets break on tax bill –The Daily Freeman, 05.06.10 Catskill is reducing the property tax assessment on the local Wal-Mart $1.67 million, reducing their total to $13.5 million, covering the years 2010 through 2012, effectively granting the giant corporation from Arkansas a large tax [...]

Opening events

Recommended happenings. FRIDAY Sideshow clothing store opening at 7 p.m. with Bleeding Hearts belly dancers, Evan Randall, and Stephen Bluhm. 707 Warren St., Hudson. Avondale Airforce and Battle Ave Tea Club at 9 p.m. at Market Market Cafe, Route 32 North, Rosendale. $5. Mick Taylor Band and Voodelic at 9 p.m. at Bearsville Theater, 291 [...]

Final Lafarge public hearing May 11

Hilary Hawke in The Daily Mail reports: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced a legislative hearing for renewal and modification of the existing Lafarge Title V Air Permit application on May 11, 6 p.m. at the Ravena-Coeymans Selkirk High School Auditorium. All New York State contaminant-emitting facilities must have either a [...]

Greene County Bancorp’s net income up 5% in 3Q

From The Business Review (Albany): Greene County Bancorp Inc., [parent to The Bank of Greene County], reported a five percent increase in net income for its third fiscal quarter. The Catskill, N.Y.-based company had net income of $1.23 million, or 30 cents a share, for the three months ended March 31. This compares to net [...]

Local newspaper chain buys last independent Greene County weekly

The Hudson-Catskill Newspaper Corp. — the company that runs the only daily newspapers in each county (The Daily Mail and Register-Star) as well as weekly papers in Chatham, Windham, and on the mountaintop — bought Greene County’s only remaining weekly, the Greene County Local Courier, and The Ravena News-Herald, from George McHugh, today’s issue of [...]

Opus 40 for sale

The Watershed Post is reporting that Opus 40, a massive bluestone sculpture built by Harvey Fite over 37 years on an abandoned quarry, is for sale for $3.5 million. The Saugerties property includes a house with 4 beds, 3 baths, 2,860 square feet of living space, and that world-renowned earthwork. From the story: Since Fite’s [...]

AG: New York settles with Lafarge over emissions

From Casey Seiler in Capitol Confidential: [A] multistate settlement, just announced by the office of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, includes 11 other states and affects operations at 13 cement plants — including the Ravena facility that’s been the subject of controversy for years. According to the Attorney General’s press release, the settlement requires LaFarge to [...]

Greene County Chamber of Commerce hands out awards

(At right, “Business Idol” winner Kip Christie from Banner Hill School of Woodworking in Windham [right] with award presenter Kathleen Packard of KathodeRay Media, the Greene County Chamber of Commerce and the WGXC Radio Council. Chamber Executive Director Tracy McNally is in the background.) The Greene County Chamber of Commerce held their annual Greene Jeans [...]

Today’s local headlines

(Scott Murphy at his town hall meeting at The Golden Harvest Farm in Valatie Sat. Aug. 8, 2009. Photo by Tom Roe.) Murphy speaks locally about health careListen to U.S. Representative Murphy’s entire town hall meeting:Part One of Town MeetingPart Two of Town MeetingMurphy interview with Albany Times-Union reporter and WGXC reporter after the meetingSeveral [...]

Today’s local headlines

Proposal leaves DSS in HudsonFrom The Register-Star HUDSON – Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer (R-Hillsdale) and Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera stood together at a press conference Tuesday and announced a new proposal that would keep the Department of Social Services in Hudson. The county would buy the One City Centre building on [...]

Today’s local headlines

Greene Supports Cementhttp://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/07/16/news/doc4a5e963a75857373047517.txt CATSKILL — Greene County lawmakers on Wednesday roundly endorsed operations of local cement manufacturers to remind state and federal officials that the industry is important to the local economy. The support was given in a unanimous vote, with one absence, during a county Legislature meeting, where officials asked that funding for modernization [...]

Today’s local headlines

Columbia County Board of Supervisors holds its regular meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at 401 State St. in Hudson. Protesters will be back voicing opposition to the Board’s proposed moved of the Department of Social Services from Hudson to Ockawamic. “As a direct result of the public outcry and resistance, a key member of the [...]