Best Of Columbia County 2018, Final Round of Voting Happening Now

For the 5th year, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, the Register-Star, and the Chatham Courier present the Best of Columbia County competition.

For the 5th year, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, the Register-Star, and the Chatham Courier present the Best of Columbia County competition.

The Best of Columbia County allows county residents, and visitors to make their voices heard in deciding the best of the best in a broad field of over 85 categories–including best bar, best burger, best plumber, best florist, and best Real Estate Company. Winners will be announced during an Academy Award style show, held at the Columbia County fairgrounds in Chatham on June 22.

You have to vote in at least 10 categories to enter. All you need to vote is an email address. Here’s my shameless plug – Beach & Bartolo Realtors has won Best Realtor for the past two years, and we would love to win again.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE,

or visit www.hudsonvalley360.com/bocc?wallit_nosession=1

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent on Facebook, and twitter @CoCoCurrent.

Jeff McKinney is a Realtor in Columbia County, NY. Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest.

Last Chance to Vote for Best Of Columbia County 2018!

For the 5th year, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, the Register-Star, and the Chatham Courier present the Best of Columbia County competition.

For the 5th year, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, the Register-Star, and the Chatham Courier present the Best of Columbia County competition.

The Best of Columbia County allows county residents, and visitors to make their voices heard in deciding the best of the best in a broad field of over 85 categories–including best bar, best burger, best plumber, best florist, and best Real Estate Company. The awards also provide winners with a yearlong opportunity to tout their goods or services in advertising as the 2018 award recipient.

The first round of voting, the nomination round, began on April 1, and ends on April 30. The top three vote getters of each category will move on to Round Two, the final round (May 5 through May 31), which will determine a winner from each category. Winners will be announced during an Academy Award style show, held at the Columbia County fairgrounds in Chatham on June 22.

In each of the categories, you can select one of the listed options, or write in your own. Here’s my shameless plug – Beach & Bartolo Realtors has won Best Realtor for the past two years, and we would love to win again.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE,

or visit www.hudsonvalley360.com/bocc?wallit_nosession=1

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent on Facebook, and twitter @CoCoCurrent.

Jeff McKinney is a Realtor in Columbia County, NY. Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest.

NY Special Election is Today, Apr 24, 2018

Voters in New York head to the polls today for a special election to fill vacant seats in the state senate and assembly. Although most of the attention is focused on two state senate races to our south (Westchester County, and the Bronx), Some Columbia County residents also have the opportunity to select a new Assembly Member.

The 107th Assembly District seat was left vacant after the resignation of Steven McLaughlin (R). McLaughlin resigned in January 2018 to become a Rensselaer County executive. Cynthia Doran (D) and Jacob Ashby (R) are facing off in the special election.

The 107th district includes Austerlitz, Canaan, Chatham, Hillsdale, Kinderhook, and New Lebanon.

Stockport and Stuyvesant, which are in the 102nd Assembly District will also select a new Assembly Member. This seat was left vacant after the resignation of Peter Lopez (R) in October 2017. Aidan O’Connor Jr. (D), Christopher Tague (R), and Wesley Laraway (Reform) are facing off in the special election.

DATE/TIME:
Tuesday, April 24th, 2018
Polls open from 6am – 9pm

LOCATIONS:
Visit the Columbia County Board of Elections site (here) for locations.

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent.com on twitter @CoCoCurrent.

Jeff McKinney is a Realtor in Columbia County, NY. Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest.

Interesting Article About The Berkshires in The New York Times

There was a very interesting article in the April 13, 2018, issue of The New York Times. The article, titled “Betting on the Berkshires” by Tim McKeough, took a look at the Real Estate happenings, economic developments, and potential of Berkshire County.

There was a very interesting article in the April 13, 2018, issue of The New York Times. The article, titled “Betting on the Berkshires” by Tim McKeough, takes a look at the Real Estate happenings, economic developments, and potential of Berkshire County. The article gives us a great overview of ongoing activity taking place in the northern Berkshire towns like North Adams.

Here are the first few paragraphs of McKeough’s article:

When the partners behind Tourists, a boutique hotel under construction in North Adams, Mass., invited the celebrated San Francisco-based chef Cortney Burns to open a restaurant at their establishment, her first impulse was to say no.

“I had no reason to go to the East Coast. I had one restaurant I was closing, one I had just opened and another I was just about to sign the lease on,” said Ms. Burns, 38, a James Beard Foundation Award winner who was co-chef at Bar Tartine in San Francisco before opening Duna, both with Nicolaus Balla. “So by no means did I find myself free.”

However, after agreeing to visit North Adams, a former manufacturing town of brick industrial buildings ringed by rolling green hills in Berkshire County, to discuss a possible consulting role, she found it impossible to leave.

“What I saw here was this beautiful confluence of nature, culture, solitude and such a deep historical story,” Ms. Burns said. “It was one of those open doors that I felt like I would be a fool to not walk through.”

The article also discusses some recent real estate transactions, new development projects in Great Barrington, and new restaurants in the region. If you haven’t read the full article yet, click here, and check it out. Its a great read.

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent.com on twitter @CoCoCurrent.

Jeff McKinney is a Realtor in Columbia County, NY. Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest.

Columbia County Awarded Big in 3rd Round of Broadband Expansion Initiative

Columbia County, and our neighbors across the river in Greene County were both big winners in the third and final round of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s initiative to secure high-speed internet for underserved areas across the state.

The New NY Broadband Program announced Phase 3 awards, which will drive more than $341.8 million of public/private broadband investment across the state. Nearly $211.3 million was awarded to broadband companies in our region under this third and final phase of the program. The program’s goal is to make high-speed internet available to every state resident by the end of 2018.

Columbia County is one of the lowest-served counties when it comes to broadband. An article in HudsonValley360.com quoted F. Michael Tucker, president and CEO of Columbia County Economic Development, as saying,

“We’re very excited by the governor’s announcement for the Round III broadband award,” said Tucker. “While we are still assessing the details, the fact that G-Tel, FairPoint and Mid-Hudson Cable and other Columbia County providers received significant awards is terrific news in connection with the governor’s efforts to provide broadband for all.”

To see the full list of Phase 3 Awarded companies, visit the official NY Broadband Program site by clicking here.

The next step for the broadband program is for officials and winning broadband providers to discuss where the broadband service will be extended.

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent.com on twitter @CoCoCurrent.

Jeff McKinney is a Realtor in Columbia County, NY. Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest.