News – Page 34 – Columbia County Current

Rally Against Fracking in Albany Tomorrow

$rally-against-fracking$ As Governor Cuomo is nearing a decision on whether to open New York to fracking, the momentum is building for him to issue a statewide ban.

Last week, more than 200,000 petition signatures — including from over 30,000 CREDO Action members — were delivered to the Governor.¹

To keep the pressure building, there’s going to be a huge rally in Albany on Tuesday, featuring actors Mark Ruffalo and Mellisa Leo, with music by Natalie Merchant and many others.

WHEN: Tuesday (May 15, 2012)

TIME: 4:30 PM

WHERE: The West Capitol Lawn

Washington Ave and South Swan St
Albany, NY 12210 (Map)

MORE: Click here to RSVP and sign up for the rally

Big Changes for Chatham Village

There are three exciting projects on the horizon for the village of Chatham. Let’s start at the top of Main Street and work our way down.

That big brick building sitting at the top of Main Street (between River and Austerlitz Streets) has been going through some renovations over the past few years and the building’s future is now coming into focus. MetzWood Harder Insurance, which currently has an office on the circle, will be moving into the main floor of the building with the remaining space being converted into apartments. The current addition to the building will be removed to make way for parking and green space. If the planning board approves, construction should begin this summer.

Heading down Main street, our favorite movie theatre, The Crandell Theatre, is hoping to make some cosmetic adjustments to the theatre’s facade. Chatham Film Club President, Sandi Knakal, recently went before the village Planning Board to discuss some upgrades planned for the theatre. The Planning Board asked her to come back with paint color for approval. Personally, I’d love to see the 1960’s-looking facade restored to its original 1920’s look.

Finally, at the southern end of the village, the Planning Board announced that the planned addition to the Chatham Plaza would have little or no negative impact on the local environment. This decision clears the way for the next step in the review of the proposed project to expand the existing Price Chopper supermarket. That plan calls for an addition to the existing structure that will increase the size of the supermarket from 23,000-square-feet to 40,000 square feet and eliminate one of the retail spaces. The largest vacant space is currently the old video-rental store at the north end of the plaza so it sounds as if the plan is to build onto the back of the plaza to create a Price Chopper that envelopes the other stores. Sounds good to me because we could really use a larger supermarket. I will keep an eye on this story and continue to update you with new info.

For more news, follow us on twitter @CoCoCurrent!

Photo by S. Davis

Update on 347 Warren St. in Hudson

About a month ago, I mentioned the plans to turn the lot at 347 Warren Street into an outdoor food court with multiple food trucks and a beer and wine garden. Last week, Michael Davis (the property owner and architect) presented his plans to the Hudson Planning Commission, who unanimously approved the idea.

347 Warren Street is within a local and nationally registered historic district, which means that the project will now have to go before the City of Hudson Historic Preservation Commission and ultimately, the New York State Liquor Authority will have to approve permits. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all of this can happen quickly so that we can enjoy the outdoor dining area this summer.

Litchfield Mysterious Object To Remain Mystery

Remember that mysterious object that I told you about two weeks ago? The glowing-green, whale-sized object that fell from the sky in Litchfield, CT? Well it sounds like that object is going to remain a mystery as Connecticut officials and legislators apparently have no official plans to investigate.

The Litchfield County Times is reporting on the apparent lack of action in investigating this incident. Apparently, one of the eye witnesses who phoned the incident into State Police at the Troop L barracks in Litchfield, did not remain on the scene and has not come forward since making the call. Officials seem to think that without the eye-witness pointing out the splash-down spot on the lake, an investigation would be pointless.

State Sen. Andrew Roraback is quoted in The Litchfield County Times article as saying, “To the best of my knowledge, there are not any ongoing efforts to retrieve whatever it was, and my hope is that this summer scuba divers will take an active interest in trying to solve this mystery.” “We have added this to the list of life’s unanswered questions.”

You can read the entire article by Daniela Forte by clicking here.

Usher House Hunting in Hudson?

I heard from a friend and Hudsonite that Usher had been spotted in Hudson on Sunday. MediaTakeOut.com is reporting that Usher was in town with his girlfriend to do some house-hunting. I’m not sure how much credence we can give to this rumor since MediaTakeOut called Hudson a “Suburb” that is “Outside of NYC” but still, the idea is exciting. Usher wouldn’t be the first musician to take an interest in Hudson (click here for more on Hudson’s music scene) but he is definitely one of the most popular hip-hop artists to wander Warren.

Does anyone in Columbia County think of Hudson as a NYC suburb? I don’t.

Click here to read the post about Usher in Hudson and see another photo on MediaTakeOut.com.