Lissa Harris
About us:
Lissa Harris is the founder and publisher of the Watershed Post.
Articles
Feb. 22, 2012
In recent weeks, two different companies have publicly discussed plans for natural gas pipelines that would cross through the Leatherstocking region and northern Catskills in upstate New York. The prospect of a major new natural gas pipeline in the... Read more
Feb. 22, 2012
A fire early this morning destroyed the Slice of Athens pizza parlor and pub, at 29 South Washington Street in the Greene County village of Athens.
The fire also destroyed some phone lines, as well as a fiberoptic cable that supplies cable television and... Read more
Feb. 22, 2012
Yesterday, advocates of town "home rule" won a key legal battle in the ongoing statewide debate about hydraulic fracturing. A Tompkins County state Supreme Court judge ruled that a gas drilling ban passed by the town of Dryden could stand.
Jon Campbell,... Read more
Feb. 21, 2012
Map of area showing a proposed ban on gas drilling in or near NYC watershed land and infrastructure.
Above: A map of areas that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection is seeking to place off-limits to gas drilling, in upcoming... Read more
Feb. 21, 2012
Across northern Schoharie County, mysterious BB-gun shooters are taking aim at cars and trucks, and no windshield is safe.
Despite the January arrest of four men in connection with the incidents, the BB shootings go on, the Times Journal reports:
State... Read more
Feb. 21, 2012
In the LA Times today (and other papers across the country) is a feature story about how the hot-button issue of hydraulic fracturing is dividing neighbor from neighbor in upstate New York.
And brother from brother: Reporter Neela Banerjee illustrates... Read more
Feb. 21, 2012
Photo of barn, fence and field in Kiamesha Lake by Catskills Photography. Shared in the Watershed Post Flickr group.
The Obama administration announced three new initiatives to benefit the rural economy, including a $15 million "Rural Jobs Accelerator"... Read more
Feb. 21, 2012
Mark your calendars, Shandaken: This Thursday, Feb. 23, the town board will hold a hearing on a much-debated farmstand law. The meeting will be held at 6pm in the town hall on Route 28.
The proposed law would govern all farmstands in Shandaken, but the... Read more
Feb. 20, 2012
The Onteora Board of Education is scheduled to vote on one of three possible reconfiguration plans for the district on February 28. Two of the proposed plans call for the closing of the Phoenicia Elementary School, either with clustering of the... Read more
Feb. 20, 2012
Above: A video from the Daily Freeman about a new exhibit in the Ulster County Clerk's Office, telling the stories of people who had their property seized over a century ago to build the Ashokan Reservoir.
The Freeman reports today that a new exhibit at... Read more
Feb. 17, 2012
The Times Herald-Record reports that Sullivan County police are looking for a man who robbed the First National Bank of Jeffersonville on Route 55 in Eldred around 10:20 this morning.
A description of the man:
He is described as being about 40-50 years... Read more
Feb. 17, 2012
Photo by Flickr user Darwin Bell. Published under Creative Commons license.
We've noticed a bunch of interesting job postings cropping up lately in the world of local food and restaurants.
(Does this bode well for the local food economy? Impossible to... Read more
Feb. 17, 2012
Photo by Flickr user ucumari. Published under Creative Commons license.
A few weeks ago, we wrote about the DEC's recent proposal to introduce bobcat hunting into new parts of New York State, and extend trapping season in some areas. The story drew... Read more
Feb. 17, 2012
With the clock ticking on a deadline set by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, state officials and teachers' unions have brokered a deal that will create a new system for evaluating teachers.
The New York Times reports that Cuomo threatened to use his gubernatorial... Read more
Feb. 16, 2012
If the Foxhall Ambulatory Surgical Center did not provide abortions, there would be no reason for it ever to have been built. But the Daily Freeman reports that the clinic currently has no abortion provider, and is unable to find a replacement.
Foxhall... Read more
Feb. 16, 2012
Illustration of brown trout, by NOAA. Published on Wikimedia Commons.
Every two years, the state Department of Environmental Conservation tinkers with fishing regulations. This year, the DEC is recommending several changes that could affect fishing in... Read more
Feb. 16, 2012
Every season is beautiful in the Catskills, but winter is the best time to really see the structure of the landscape.
Photo of snow on a farmer's field in Andes, taken on Feb. 12 by photographer Mark Zilberman and posted to the Watershed Post Flickr... Read more
Feb. 15, 2012
Illustration for the seed pack of heirloom tomato variety Cosmonaut Volkov. Art by cartoonist and graphic artist Will Sweeney, for the Hudson Valley Seed Library's "Art Pack" line of artist-designed seed packs.
This Friday, the Horticultural Society of... Read more
Feb. 15, 2012
Photo by Flickr user Roger Karlsson. Published under Creative Commons license.
It's a familiar story in rural upstate New York: A small-town school, once bustling and full of life, is slowly being drained of its students, forcing a community to make... Read more
Feb. 14, 2012
A stretch of Route 42 in the town of Lexington, which has been shut down for nearly six months because of damage from the Irene and Lee floods, re-opened this morning -- no doubt to the great delight of Lexington's 805 residents.
Chris Dwon, Lexington's... Read more