Meet Nemo, a 730-pound pig currently being treated at Cornell University for B-cell lymphoma. According to a recent television news report from CNY Central, Nemo may be the first of his species to be treated for lymphoma; Cornell vets are using a catheter behind his ear to deliver lifesaving chemotherapy drugs. CNY says Nemo's a Catskills local; if you know where he's from, let us know at editor@watershedpost.com.
Happy first day of August, Catskills. The month is shaping up to be an unseasonably cool one; Hudson Valley Weather says we're in for a few weeks of cooler, cloudier weather.
Fans of the late Flour Power bakery, rejoice: Sullivan County couple Denise and J.R. Rowley, who closed their popular bakery last winter, have returned to DeBruce Road in Livingston Manor to open the new Hello Bistro.
New York Times columnist Joyce Wadler spends a night in a local friend's adorable vintage trailer, and discovers that cute isn't all it's cracked up to be. (Full disclosure: We've seen that trailer. We're talking weapons-grade cuteness here, people.)
Lawyers for the town of Harpersfield and the New York Safety Track, who are facing a lawsuit from a group of citizens furious about the motorcycle track's noise levels, are trying to get the case dismissed -- or at least moved from a state court in Madison County to more familiar turf in Delaware County.
Remember those $3 million New York Rising state flood grants that a bunch of local towns and villages are getting? The Ulster County town of Rochester is slated to get one, and supervisor Carl Chipman has a bunch of questions about it. Chipman, who's meeting with a state planner tonight, tells the Daily Freeman:
“Originally, I thought that each town would be allocated ‘x’ amount of money, and then the town would decide how it would be done ... and this is going to be nothing like that,” he said. “They (the state) are basically taking the town elected officials out of the mix. We’ll be working with the committees, but we really won’t have a say in what’s going on here from what I can tell. I’m hoping to learn more Thursday night.”
The news release about the grants is short on specifics, stating that town rebuilding plans under the New York Rising program will be developed by "regional planning committees of community leaders, experts, and officials." We're hoping to learn more, too.
The town of Prattsville is prompter about paying its flood-restoration bills than FEMA is. (Surprise, surprise.)
Time Warner in upstate New York is now charging an extra monthly rental fee for the privilege of using its cable modems -- again. The modem fee, introduced last year at $3.99, is now up to $5.99, and the company recently decided to up its Internet rates by $3 a month as well. Ouch.
Local Assemblyman Kevin Cahill is up in arms about Verizon's efforts to replace landlines with cellular-based VoiceLink, and he's urging citizens to contact the state Public Service Commission about it.
A few of the members of Cairo-Durham's school board are opposed to a controversial "Princeton Plan" realignment of the elementary grades -- but not enough to strike the plan down at a contentious recent board meeting that drew over 100 angry parents and citizens.
Those obstacle-course races are serious business. Over 10,000 people turned out for Warrior Dash on Windham Mountain last weekend. Next up: Barbarian Blitz, scheduled for August 24 at Riedlbauer's Resort in Round Top.
Windsockgate continues! The Windham Chamber of Commerce has gathered about 275 signatures on a rather scathingly-worded petition to the town board, claiming that by not allowing Fourth of July windsocks on town lampposts, the town has denied the people of the town of Windham the ability to express their patriotic spirit. Chamber chair Graham Merk was also "disturbed" by a recent anti-windsock letter sent to the board by a local citizen -- a letter that, it must be noted, had a lot of capital letters in it. (Especially the part about "EYE TRASH.")
A new documentary about the old Borscht Belt comedy scene, "When Comedy Went To School," was recently panned by New York Times critic Nicole Herrington, who declared it "poorly executed" and loaded with "cheesy reenactments."
The URGENT team made a big heroin bust in the town of Ulster yesterday, resulting in the arrest of two Dutchess County men.
NewsShed, our snappy little weekday digest of news, weather and hot bloggy goodness from around the Catskills, is a new item here at the WP. Got a hot tip or a photo for the NewsShed? Send it to editor@watershedpost.com.
