News – Page 30 – Columbia County Current

Vote Now for Best Of Columbia County 2017!

The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, the Register-Star, and the Chatham Courier present the 4th Annual Best of Columbia County competition. The competition invites members of the public to vote for their favorite county businesses, shops, restaurants, locations, services, and more.

The first round of voting will take place from April 8 to May 8 and will select about three finalists in each category. The second round of voting, which will go from May 8 to May 18, will determined a winner from each category,

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 won Best Realtor last year, and we would love to win again. Unlike most categories there no Realtors listed, so please write us in.

TO VOTE:
Visit ColumbiaCountyBest.com All you need to vote is an email address.

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

Hudson Valley People’s Climate March in Hudson, April 29

On April 29, 2017, hundreds of thousands of Americans will take part in a peaceful march to fight for our planet, and raise awareness of the growing climate crisis. The People’s Climate Movement is centered on the Washington DC march, and working with sister marches across the country, including one in Hudson NY.

Hudson Valley People’s Climate Sister March & Rally is being organized by a coalition of individuals involved with local Indivisible, Resistance and Environmental groups in the Upper Hudson Valley and is being co-sponsored with Basilica Hudson.

SCHEDULE for APRIL 29:

11am – The Rally
The Hudson Valley People’s Climate Sister March will begin with a rally in the Public Square (7th Street Park) in the center of Hudson. The rally will feature speakers from a variety of environmental activists groups including those involved in environmental justice, open space, sustainable farming, clean water and more. Confirmed speakers include Ned Sullivan, President of Scenic Hudson; Assembly Member Didi Barrett; Will Yandik, 4th Generation farmer, environmental activist and former NY-19 Congressional candidate; Michelle O’Leary who founded NY Water Project in response to the PFOA contamination in Hoosik Falls; and Karen Frishkoff, co-leader of the Columbia County chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

12pm – The March
After the rally, the march will head down Warren Street toward the river. We are encouraging people to bring signs and other visuals. The national march is encouraging people to produce signage and visuals that are circles to represent the planet and the circles of resistance that we see everywhere in the nation. DRONE-y sounds — such as wordless voices, kazoos, recorders, flutes, portable keyboards, bag pipes — are encouraged, as is thematic dress. Think Climate, think Planet, think cosmic DRONE! The march route will take Warren Street to the end, turn left on Front Street pass the train station and will end up at Basilica Hudson with their 24-HOUR DRONE festival will have just begun.

1pm – The Meet Up
When marchers arrive at Basilica they are encouraged to meet under their huge solar array, located behind the Kite’s Nest building, adjacent to the railroad tracks and the L&B building. The array will be stocked with information by representatives of local and regional environmental groups. There will be a few speakers who will address the crowd and the event will finish with people having a chance to exchange ideas, meet their fellow activists and get more involved.

Looking for something after the March? Basilica Hudson, will open their 2017 Season at noon on the 29th, with the annual program ’24-HOUR DRONE: EXPERIMENTS IN SOUND AND MUSIC’. For more on this music festival, visit http://basilicahudson.org/24-hour-drone/

MARCH SIGN UP:
If you’d like event updates, be the first to get news about additional speakers and performers, plus tips and instructions for the best parking and viewing locations, then Sign Up in advance, here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/hudson-ny-peoples-climate-march

CONTACT:
For additional info, contact Hudson Resistance:
hudsonresistance.org
hudsonresistance@gmail.com
Victor Mendolia: 518-966-2060

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

January Home Sales: Highest Rate Growth in Nearly 10 Years

January existing-home sales show fastest seasonally adjusted annual sales growth in almost 10 years. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales increased 3.3 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 5.69 million — up from an upwardly revised 5.51 million in December. This sales pace is 3.8 percentage points above January 2015 and is the fastest SAAR sales pace in nearly a decade.

The median existing-home price for all housing types in January rose 7.1 percentage points to $228,900, which marks the 59th consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Total housing inventory experienced a boost as well, with a 2.4 percentage point jump to 1.69 million homes for sale — a much-needed jump from the rock bottom levels seen in December 2016. Despite the strong numbers, inventory is still 7.1 percentage points below January 2016 and is the 20th consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Unsold inventory is at an unchanged 3.6-month supply.

Distressed sales, which include foreclosures and short sales, were at 7 percent — unchanged from December and a 9 percentage point drop from January 2016. Five percent of January sales were foreclosures, and 2 percent were short sales.

Single-family home sales were at a SAAR of 5.04 million — a 2.6 percentage point month-over-month increase and a 3.7 percentage point year-over-year increase. The sales price for single-family homes increased by 7.3 percentage points to $230,400.

Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 8.3 percentage points to a SAAR of 650,000 units, 4.8 percentage points higher than a year ago. The median existing condo price was $217,400 in January — up 6.2 percentage points from 2016.

Buying Patterns Across the Country:

The Northeast, South and West experienced strong growth, while the Midwest took a small hit.

In the Northeast, existing-home sales jumped 5.3 percent to an annual rate of 800,000, up 6.7 percent from a year ago.
Median price: $253,800, a 2.5 percent year-over-year decrease.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales decreased 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.29 million.
Median price: $174,900, a 6.5 percent year-over-year increase.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 3.6 percent to an annual rate of 2.31 million. Median price: $201,400, a 9.2 percent year-over-year increase.

In the West, existing-home sales ascended 6.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.29 million. Median price: $332,300, an 6.8 percent year-over-year increase.

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

Box Office, Doctor Strange and Trolls Holding Steady

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Weekend Recap:

Doctor Strange and Trolls held onto their top two spots for a second weekend in a row. Doctor Strange earned another $43 million and held retained the #1 spot on the list. The latest Marvel movie success has now made 2016 Disney’s best year at the domestic box office ever. Trolls took in another $35 million, and is quickly approaching the $100 million mark.

There were also a few new movies opening over the weekend including Arrival, which came in 3rd with $24 million, Almost Christmas took 4th with $15.5 million, and Shut In opened in 7th with $3.7 million.

Following is The Top 10 for the weekend of November 11 – 13, 2016:

(Movie – Studio/Weekend Gross)

Doctor Strange – BV/$43,032,000
Trolls – Fox/$35,050,000
Arrival – Par./$24,000,000
Almost Christmas – Uni./$15,564,000
Hacksaw Ridge – LGF/$10,775,000
The Accountant – WB/$4,570,000
Shut In – EC/$3,700,000
Boo! A Madea Halloween – LGF/$3,550,000
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – Par./$3,325,000
Inferno – Sony/$3,250,000

New Movies in bold.

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State Capital’s Christmas Tree Comes From Claverack

This year’s State Capital Christmas tree is a 45-foot-tall Colorado blue spruce grown by the Bowman family in Claverack. The tree will be the center piece of the holiday display at Empire State Plaza, and the annual tree lighting ceremony on December 4th.

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The spruce, which was planted by the Bowmans in 1994 when it was six-feet tall, will be cut down on Monday, and transported to the capital plaza. The Bowmans will be on stage at the December 4th tree-lighting ceremony, which begins at 1:00 PM and goes to 8:00. The day’s festivities culminate with the tree lighting and fireworks. The Bowmans plan to grow a new tree, after the current conifer is removed.

Follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent.com on twitter @CoCoCurrent.