One of the most beautiful aspects of life in a village is living close with nature, especially in many third world countries, where many villages do not have access to most of today’s technology such as cars, tractors, air conditioners, electricity and TV. That is the kind of village and time I grew up in. I shivered in the winter and sweat in the summer. I was scared of the darkness and closed my ears from the thunderstorms. I walked…
By Hugh Johnson ON THE INTERNET: Lynne Jackson invited me to give a ZOOM talk about the status of our climate change at the February 17, 2021, “Save the Pine Bush Meeting.” In this winter of COVID, it was easy to forget we are still in a climate crisis. Look what happened in Texas during mid February. Due to a collapse of the Polar Vortex and very warm temperatures right at the North Pole region, an exceptionally bitter Arctic air…
Considering the major economic engine of early and later frontier North America; Trader’s Hill is anything but a unique name. Trader’s Hills, Bays, Coves, Points, Inlets, Islands, etc. abound here and there and all around. Usually referring to the fur trade. Doubtless too, by now; there is a Trader’s Hill line of East Asian made men’s clothing trying, typically, to sound American or Canadian. I first encountered the Pine Bush’s own Trader’s Hill some years back. This was in a…
by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: The City of Albany is taking two contradictory positions on the proposed hotel in the Pine Bush. Council Stonewalls Developer: The Honorable Daniel Herring (Ward 13) held a Common Council Planning and Development committee meeting on October 9 to discuss the SDEIS (Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement) written and submitted by the developer. The SDEIS was referred to committee by the Common Council because an important letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was…
by Emily Corcione ALBANY: “Being green isn’t good enough anymore.” That was the message of Mr. James Howard Kunstler, who spoke at the Save the Pine Bush dinner on February 18, 2004. His speech focused on how we can best honor the public realm in America. The public realm, which functions as “the physical manifestation of the common good and the actual physical container to our civic life,” primarily takes the form of the street in America. Mr. Kunstler believes…
an editorial by Melissa Hale-Spencer, reprinted from the Altamont Enterprise, July 18, 2013 First they came for the socialists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me. — Martin…
by Tom Ellis WASHINGTON, DC: 50,000 of us marched on Washington DC on Sunday, February 17, 2013, the largest climate demonstration yet, called “Forward on the Climate.” As Reverand Yearwood, who MCed the event said “ 50 years ago was very important, right here, Dr. Martin King marched. We marched for jobs and food. We marched for Equality. ….We all came together as humanity. But guess what? This rally 50 years later is as important or more important because, as…
by Barbara Warren In January we expect the DRAFT State Solid Waste Management Plan to be released for public comment and hearings. Background you need to know: The Plan must be connected to Revised Solid Waste regulations but the DEC is still working on revising those and we have not seen them. The Plan must be connected to New Legislative authority and the state legislature will have to support and pass the needed revisions. Staffing levels at DEC are…
History Mauled Again – City Did Dirty Deal Selling Historic Site History Mauled Again City Did Dirty Deal Selling Historic Site Feb./Mar. 95 by Lynne Jackson I have been reading this book, The Fifth Discipline in which the author, Peter M. Senge, says that it is often the structure of the situation that makes people behave in certain ways. In a given situation, according to his theory, widely different people will do the same thing. This is obviously what happened…
by Gary S. Kleppel The state Department of Environmental Conservation recently released the 2001 draft Open Space Conservation Plan for public comment, a near-final step toward its adoption. Hailed by environmentalists, business leaders and academics as a benchmark in environmental policy, the plan demonstrates that conservation can serve both economy and ecology. There is but one significant glitch. There is no state funding for implementation. At a time when New Yorkers clearly need the economic, recreational, environmental and spiritual values…
Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming! Stanford Home Hearing Information Hearing Notes January 23 Hearing Canadians are Coming! Archeological Information Photos – Outdoor Photos – Indoor Bonding Editorial Preservation Donate Contact Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming! Well, one man is representing the Captain Richard Duncan Company. Background: In the 1777 and 1783, Captain Richard Duncan commanded a company in the 1st Battalion of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, under Sir John Johnson. Richard…
Letter to the editor, Times Union, July 21, 2015 Photos by John Wolcott of Holy Innocents Fate of Albany’s historic Holy Innocents church unclear An opportunity to save the former Church of the Holy Innocents Seriously Endangered Church of The Holy Innocents Section of former Church of Holy Innocents collapses Read excerpts from a book about Holy Innocents Floor Plan of the Church of the Holy Innocents Read the story of Holy Innocents Church in Albany, New York, and why…
By Grace Nichols Save the Pine Bush is overjoyed that the NYS Supreme Court heard our plea for land protection for over 46 acres of Pine Bush threatened by Pyramid Development Corporation. As we prepared to file our Article 78 lawsuit, a coalition of neighbors to the land along with a local business filed suit with Attorney James Bacon on a selection of arguments against the development. Then, Judge Peter A. Lynch issued a 77 page decision which upheld not…