The ruling is good news for the developer of the long-planned resort proposed for Belleayre Mountain in western Ulster County and eastern Delaware County. The project includes two hotels, an 18-hole golf course, a spa, a conference center, and multiple lodges and duplexes.
Sustainable Hudson Valley is seeking to organize an electric vehicle program similar to its Solarize initiative, which aggregated customers to obtain better prices for solar installations. The EV options will include leasing or purchasing.
Phoenicia takes holiday fun seriously. Having already enjoyed a rousing day of community celebrations on December 3, the hamlet is gearing up for Round Two on Saturday, December 17, a day of Christmas parties, caroling, and performances. In nearby Chichester, the Catskills Yoga House is offering solstice and New Year workshops.
CMRR, having lost its lease on the tracks between Phoenicia and Mount Tremper, is facing a Dec. 15 deadline for removal of its rolling stock from the Ulster County-owned rails. But it’s not easy to relocate tons of train cars when dealing with zoning regulations, floodplain requirements, and neighbors who oppose the storage of trains near their homes.
The rail trail design is moving forward after years of controversy and negotiation over the long, narrow piece of real estate that is the 38.5-mile Ulster and Delaware rail corridor, owned by Ulster County. While some attendees at a recent public meeting said the tracks should remain, the majority — hikers, cyclists, businesspeople, and members of local environmental organizations — expressed enthusiasm.
Philippe Petit, 68, the high-wire artist who walked a cable between the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in 1974, began his career with magic shows at the age of six. Lucas Handwerker, 23, who performs as a mentalist, also started out as a six-year-old magician. The two men are collaborating on Piece of Mind, a performance by Handwerker, and will present sneak previews at Arts Society of Kingston Dec. 9-10.
Plans are underway for a memorial performance by local musicians on Friday, December 16, to honor virtuoso guitarist Johnny Asia, who died on November 19 at his home in Phoenicia. His wife, Solane Verraine, remains in custody at the Ulster County jail, accused by the sheriff’s department of poisoning her husband with alcohol and prescription drugs.
The issue of protecting water came to Cooper Lake with a demonstration in support of the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, where Native American tribes are protesting the construction of a natural gas pipeline which they say endangers their water supply.
Solane H. Verraine is charged with killing her husband Johnny Asia by poisoning, a combination of alcohol and prescription drugs. Friends say Asia was ill and may have taken something to ease the suffering, but couldn’t imagine Verraine intentionally harming him.
An additional 1.8 percent may be added to that increase if the absentee ballot count brings a reprieve for the Phoenicia Library, whose request for more funding was narrowly turned down on Election Day.