Shows / Highlands Current Audio Stories
Highlands Current Audio Stories
The Highlands Current is a nonprofit weekly newspaper and daily website that covers Beacon, Cold Spring, Garrison, Nelsonville and Philipstown, New York, in the Hudson Highlands. This podcast includes select stories read aloud.
Episodes
Highlands Current Audio StoriesHackers Hit City of Beacon Protect Yourself
Post personnel files on 'dark web' after ransom demand Hackers posted data this week on the "dark web" from City of Beacon computers, including the personnel…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesCouple Sentenced to Life in Beacon Murder
Convicted of killing wife's ex-husband in 2020 A former Beacon couple convicted in 2024 of killing the woman's ex-husband was sentenced last week to life in…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesSpecial Report: War on Ticks Missing the target Ticks? There's an App for That Ecology vs. epidemiology
Can humans keep up? A dozen years ago, Holly Ahern's daughter, Kaleigh, then a college student, asked to come home for the weekend. She wasn't feeling well…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesCouple Appeals Order in Route 9 Case
Judge rejected fraud claims in June A former Philipstown couple who claim they were victims of fraud is appealing a state judge's ruling upholding the…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesPutnam Sheriff's Investigator Suspended
Accused of payroll irregularities A police union president who alleges in a federal lawsuit that Putnam County has shortchanged Sheriff's Office deputies on…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesLegislators Raise Pay for Special-Ed Providers
Increase to bring Dutchess closer to neighbors There are 65 pre-K special-needs children in the Beacon City School District. But there are no physical…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesTroubled Beacon Project Tries to Move Forward
Condo development had been set for foreclosure sale A housing development twice halted by the city and ordered by a state judge to be sold to pay down debt is…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesPassing Through
A few moments with Appalachian hikers Daniel Farris and his wife, Raychel Pepperman, began hiking the Appalachian Trail on Feb. 22 at Springer Mountain in…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesDemocrats Target Rolison in State Senate Race
National group to aid challenger Lisa Kaul A national Democratic Party organization seeking to restore the New York Senate's veto-proof majority has made it a…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesPutnam Approves Food Aid Public meetings Tax break Drone funding
Legislators also pass 'transparency' law Cornell Cooperative Extension and Second Chance Foods will receive $150,000 set aside last year by the Putnam County…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesDia Opens Three Long-Term Exhibits
Works by Boetti, Riley and Chamberlain on display Magazzino Italian Art specializes in the country's post-World War II output, so it's no surprise that in…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesMain Street Forces A challenging environment Rising costs Other situations A landlord's perspective
Beacon retailers and landlords cope with cost Saturday (Aug. 1) will be Chris Reisman's first day in business at 323 Main St. in Beacon. His shop, Hudson…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesFood Pantries See Increased Demand Don't Miss a Meal
Longer lines, many new faces Fareground raised money in 2024 to buy a refrigerated box truck capable of holding 6,000 pounds of food for distribution to…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesThe Mountains Are Calling — for Bikes
Fundraising underway for trails at Fahnestock Sam Lee is head of the Putnam Westchester Mountain Biking Association, but he thinks that one county is getting…
Highlands Current Audio Stories'Microtransit' Proposed for Philipstown
Putnam County would add on-demand service Cold Spring resident Carolyn Ricapito, who is 91 and relies on a walker, depends on her daughter and a home aide to…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesLooking Back in Beacon 150 Years Ago (July 1876) 100 Years Ago (July 1926) 50 Years Ago (July 1976) 25 Years Ago (July 2001)
Editor's note: Beacon was created in 1913 from Matteawan and Fishkill Landing. Officials planned to set off $450 [about $14,000 today] in fireworks on July 4…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesRoute 9 Reopens After Flood Damage
North Highlands family rescued from home A Philipstown Highway Department front-end loader was used to rescue a North Highlands family trapped by floodwaters…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesComptroller Subpoenas Elections Board
Dutchess commissioners refuse audit The Dutchess County comptroller and its Board of Elections may need a judge to resolve a dispute over whether auditors can…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesFormer Case Dogs Putnam Deputy
Federal lawsuit alleges he planted evidence A Putnam County sheriff's deputy who served as a lieutenant in the New Rochelle police department is accused in a…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesLooking Back in Philipstown 250 Years Ago (July 1776) 150 Years Ago (July 1876) 100 Years Ago (July 1926) Lost & Found 50 Years Ago (July 1976) 25 Years Ago (July 2001)
The Continental Congress voted unanimously in Philadelphia on July 2 to adopt a resolution dissolving ties with Great Britain — except for New York, whose four…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesTransforming Lives in the Kitchen
New program teaches culinary, life skills The slogan used by Transformation Kitchen — "We don't just flip eggs, we flip lives" — captures what it hopes to…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesPutnam County Retirees Request Premium Relief
Former employees want lower health costs Their incomes are fixed, but not the cost of health insurance. That was the message on July 16 when a group of retired…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesPutnam Program Finds Tainted Wells
State pilot focuses on 'forever' chemicals About 20 percent of private wells tested in Putnam County under a state pilot program exceed guidelines for a family…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesState Releases First Phase of Glenham Mills Plan
Remediation of small parcel finalized at former Texaco site After asking for feedback during a public meeting in January, the state Department of Environmental…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesShort and Sweeter
Chris O'Leary streamlines his sound The long song "19 Cents a Day" by the Chris O'Leary Band remains captivating and hits hard. Beyond solid solos and tight…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesSenators Demand Answers on ICE Lease Questions for ICE
Agency rents Town of Newburgh warehouse Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer demanded on Wednesday (July 22) that the U.S. Department of Homeland…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesNelsonville Adopts Immigration Policy Fish and Fur
State limits local interaction with feds The Nelsonville Village Board on July 15 approved a resolution supporting a new state law that prohibits…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesRighting the Wrongs 1154 North Ave. 321 Main St. Edgewater 248 Tioronda Ave. Mirbeau Inn & Spa 536 Main St.
Beacon building draws Planning Board's ire For the second straight month, Beacon Planning Board Chair John Gunn blasted the 364 Main St. development team on…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesLawler Attacked on Health Care Lawler Discloses Drunk-Driving Arrest
Ads blame congressman for insurance coverage losses Before Cait Conley won the Democratic primary in June to set up a clash with Rep. Mike Lawler for the U.S…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesLittle Support for Philipstown Land Fund Water meters Short-term rentals Student honored Vacancies
Town board also finalizing rental law A survey of Philipstown residents found little support for a tax on home purchases that would fund the purchase of open…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesState Issues Data Center Moratorium
Facilities face pushback nationwide Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order on Tuesday (July 14) imposing the country's first moratorium on data centers…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesParents Save Boy from Drowning Pool Safety
Haldane first-grader pulled from pool The end of the school year is always a big day, but for a 6-year-old Cold Spring boy, it almost marked the end of his…
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Potential ICE Facility Draws Backlash
Feds lease warehouse in Newburgh Elected officials and Hudson Valley residents are mobilizing against a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
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Putnam Remakes Ethics Board Pandemic funding Livestreaming
Legislators will appoint most members The Putnam Legislature on Tuesday (July 7) approved a law giving it the power to appoint the majority of the Board of…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesRiver Pool Cancels Annual Hudson Swim
Newburgh dock withdraws as starting point The Annual Great Newburgh to Beacon River Swim, in which more than 200 swimmers accompanied by dozens of kayaks and…
Highlands Current Audio Stories'Full, Complete and Comprehensive' 1154 North Ave.
Beacon developer ordered to make project right The developer of a Main Street building in Beacon must return to the Planning Board on Tuesday (July 14) with a…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesBeacon City Administrator Sworn In Hat Works redevelopment Cable franchise Historic district
Also, updates on creekside zoning, cable franchises Ben Swanson was sworn in on Monday (July 6) by Mayor Lee Kyriacou as Beacon's city administrator…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesRead and Don't Discuss
Silent Book Club meets monthly in Beacon When it came time for chatting to cease, participants in the Beacon chapter of the Silent Book Club pulled out…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesPutnam Investigating Rev 250 Vandalism
Statue, Declaration display damaged Police are investigating political messages scrawled on a replica of the Declaration of Independence displayed at Putnam…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesCold Spring Ends Water Emergency In other business …
Reservoir affected by recent storms At the beginning of the Wednesday (July 8) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, Mayor Kathleen Foley clarified why a…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesCoast Guard Expels Clearwater from Flotilla What is the Clean Water Act, and Why Does It Need Saving?
Environmental group says advocacy led to dismissal A highlight of America's bicentennial in 1976 was Operation Sail, a parade of tall ships around New York…
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Data Centers Face Backlash
East Fishkill approves moratorium When Debra Pagano heard that a developer was proposing a 1-gigawatt AI data center in East Fishkill, she asked her son in…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesThe Wild And Free Fishkill Creek
Volunteers open paddling routes The Fishkill Creek runs behind Sergei Krasikov's house and it wasn't long after he moved to Beacon that he began to wonder: How…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesHouse of Heroes
Mandeville hosted a revolution Last month at Mandeville House in Garrison, attendees ate French fromage and drank Perrier and Champagne. Dressed in…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesOut There: Three Historic Hikes Mount Beacon Monument The Garrison Redoubts The Trail of Treason
Walking in the Revolution's footsteps One of the first thoughts that occurs to you when reading up on the history of the American Revolution in the Hudson…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesNotes from the Cold Spring Village Board In other business….
Panel considers resident parking in lower village Mayor Kathleen Foley, at the Wednesday (June 24) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, outlined changes…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesCase Against Irizarry Continues
Retired officer's 'brain health' being evaluated A report by a psychiatric expert hired to evaluate the mental health of Edison Irizarry, the retired Beacon…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesRiver Pool to Open for 18th Season
Allows swimming at Beacon waterfront When folk singer Pete Seeger envisioned The River Pool at the Beacon waterfront more than 25 years ago, he said he wanted…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesWhat's Next for Indian Point?
Future use remains uncertain Despite a push from Rep. Mike Lawler and the U.S. Department of Energy, a restart at the Indian Point nuclear power plant seems…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesFirst Season Under the Roof
Hudson Valley Shakespeare debuts Scripps theater For the debut season of the Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center, named after a newspaper scion who lived in…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesHoliday at the Howland
Author, performer will evoke jazz singer If any artist in history could have benefited from better public relations, Billie Holiday fits the bill. Maligned by…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesState Boosts Childcare Spending
Dutchess, Putnam faced funding shortages More funding is on the way for families who were turned away for childcare assistance when Putnam and Dutchess…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesDoes This Work?
Each month, writers gather for feedback at Script Lab Laurie Slattery, who discovered Savage Wonder's Script Lab online and appreciated the nonprofit's focus…
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Conley, Kaul Win Democratic Primaries State Senate Putnam County State comptroller U.S. House 17 (Philipstown voters) State Senate 39 (Philipstown/Beacon voters) State Comptroller
Will face Lawler, Rolison in November election After a months-long race that initially had eight contenders, Cait Conley won the Democratic nomination for…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesLooking Back in Beacon 150 Years Ago (June 1876) 100 Years Ago (June 1926) 50 Years Ago (June 1976) 25 Years Ago (June 2001)
Editor's note: Beacon was created in 1913 from Matteawan and Fishkill Landing. William Coggswell was charged with beating his brother, James, with a club at…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesCouple Loses Bid to Reclaim Route 9 Property
Blame foreclosure on 'unhinged' acquaintance A Putnam County judge on Wednesday (June 17) denied an attempt by a couple who owned a dry cleaner on Route 9 in…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesInvestigation Continues into Beacon Assault
Women describe fear after January attack Police Chief Tom Figlia said this week that investigators have pored over "countless hours" of video as they try to…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesStalled Out
Redevelopment of state prisons proves challenging Two years after New York State selected Conifer Realty to construct a mixed-use campus with up to 1,300…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesDanskammer Files for Bankruptcy
Reliability concerns keep power plant open, for now Danskammer Energy, which runs a gas-fired plant on the Hudson River in the Town of Newburgh that operates…
Highlands Current Audio StoriesPower Line from Canada Complete
Passes Highlands on way to NYC New York State announced on Tuesday (June 16) that a 339-mile transmission line that carries hydroelectricity from Canada to New…