My wife Nell and our daughter Marina recently spent a cool March Sunday boiling down five gallons of maple water into three, small jars of the best maple syrup I’ve tasted in some time. The sap was tapped at our friend Jeff Parker’s house in Hurley.
Nell boiled the sap water on a hot wood fire in our backyard, for several hours. Nell and Marina said it was well worth the time.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Check this post from KingstonDigitalCorridor.org, which cites a Forbes story rating Kingston number 90 on a list of the top places for small business and career. Go K-town!
While clearing the garden for spring today, I found a nice surprise hidden under fallen stalks of squash and tomato: new lettuce sprouting up. What a comfort. The lettuce was planted last year by my wife, Nell, who let the plant go to seed late in the season in the hopes it would return. And yes, nature found a way.
Last weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, here in Kingston, was one magnificent event. Before the Shamrock Run began, which paved the way for the paraders from the Gov. Clinton Hotel to the Rondout, I rode my bike down the course as folks were setting up chairs, positioning themselves for the best view.
Food safety has become a critical issue over the past few years with the most recent peanut butter recall causing lawmakers to strengthen laws to protect consumers.
But in the process, there’s been much chatter this past week regarding how several food safety bills — notably senate bill 425 — impact local farmers, CSAs, and small organic farms. One blogger who has studied the bill says aside from the threat to CSAs and organic farms, small, backyard farm plots would be subject to fines if the bill was passed into law.
The interpretation of any proposed law is tricky and the implications are hard to guess. What’s important, though, is that lawmakers carefully read the bill to make a sound choice. Consumers should also weigh in on the topic. A good place to start is this blog by Sacred Lotus Photography, which has links to the proposed law. I’ll also continue to poke around and see what others are saying, and if you run into anything that’s related, please let us know.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
More than two dozen families picked up organic produce shares at the Kingston Natural Foods Buying Club yesterday, which included fruits and veggies such as: kale; Swiss “Rainbow” chard; apples; pears; avocados; carrots; onions; Romaine lettuce; cilantro; and an orange.
What was most enjoyable, to me, was that everyone who stopped by 33 Broadway to pick up shares were happy. I mean they were brimming-with-grins happy. Folks talked to one another, catching up after a long winter. Some new friends were made. The boxes of fresh greens and fruits were admired, and people talked about what they were going to make with their produce. They were socially engaged.
All of this was a wonderful reminder why people need to interact with one another, face-to-face, in a meaningful way.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
According to news reports, including one here, Governor David Patterson ordered a pay freeze for all staff of the Executive Chamber.
Here’s an update from Sustainable Hudson Valley’s Melissa Everett regarding tonight’s event at BSP on Wall Street:
Karin Edmundson penned a nice article about our good friends at Monkey Joe Coffee Roasting Co. here in Kingston. The article, which can be read here, appears in the March issue of the Catskill Mountain Region Guide.
Monkey Joe co-owners Gabe and Kathy have some neat quotes in the story, which reminds us that they roast single-origin coffee. The story also ties in Gabe’s love of music and the couple’s mindfulness of being good citizens and stewards of the environment.
At one point in the story, Edmundson writes, “Some time later, a fellow came over and asked about help in selling his guitar and—just before I left—a slight young man in a navy pea coat and fashionable slacks entered the café, ordered his usual brew from the counter and measured out a bag of coffee beans. This somewhat dashing (for downtown Kingston) figure turned out to be a talented music producer who has worked with the likes of Daniel Lanois.”
Edmundson didn’t name the music producer, but by her description, it is no other than Ward 9 resident Malcolm Burn.
Kingston Food & Gardens is offering buying club members and the community a chance to buy a twice-monthly share of fresh, organic and bio-dynamic (when available) produce. The deadline to sign up is March 6, and there are several shares still available.
Mark Greene’s quickly evolving tech revolution right here in Kingston is gaining traction. His “tech friendly” branding proposal — supported by mayor Jim Sottile — was covered today in a report airing on Northeast Public Radio. To listen, click here.
We’re seeing a “tipping point” in action…
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
The Hudson Valley Progressive Coalition is having an event this Friday, March 6 between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at Backstage Studio Productions (323 Wall Street in Kingston). The title of the program is “Federal Stimulus, Local Strategies: Building a Green Economy in the Mid Hudson Valley.”
The program should be a “must attend” for anyone who sees the role of a green economy in these new macro-economic realities as a high priority.
To learn more about the stimulus package, which includes policy changes and a high-speed rail system, check out this New York Times page.
To RSVP to HVPC event, email Vicki Stockard at hudsonvalleyprogress@gmail.com.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz
Mark Greene announced in a Kingston Times article today (see it here) that he launched a new website to help promote Kingston as a technopreneurhot spot.
The site can be found at www.kingstondigitalcorridor.org, and is expected to help connect digital entrepreneurs who might want to relocate to Kingston.
There’s a terrific story in The New York Times today that Paul Joffe pointed our way, which mentions Kingston’s own Fleisher’s butchers as meat mentors to a couple of culinary movers and shakers in Brooklyn.
The Times story, which can be read here, says that “Tom Mylan at Marlow & Daughters, a butcher shop opened in December by the owners of Marlow & Sons, found mentors. Mr. Mylan apprenticed himself last year at Fleisher’s, a highly regarded butcher shop in Kingston, N.Y., where he slept in the owners’ TV room for a month and a half.”
Bravo, Josh and Co.!
This just came in from Lei Isaacs:
Hi folks!
This Thursday night (night after tomorrow) the Public Safety Committee of the Kingston Common Council will be meeting at 7 p.m. at Kingston City Hall. Among the items to be discussed will be a proposal by Alderman Senor of the Eighth Ward changing some of the parking patterns in Kingston’s Gallery District.
It is my understanding that he will be proposing a “Loading Zone” by the corner of Spring and Broadway, and two parking spaces reserved for person’s with mobility challenges down the street a bit by Donskoj Gallery. As most of you know, ASK is embarking on a wonderful project to improve its accessibility to persons with physical challenges, and this consumer base is going to need to be able to park closer to the galleries that over in the police station parking lot!
Please forward this to other artists (and persons with physical challenges)(and persons who are both, of course) whose e-dresses I don’t have. A big turnout at the meeting will ensure constructive discussion and will show the Public Safety committee that there is support for these changes! If the proposal is recommended by the Public Safety Committee, it can go to a vote of the whole Common Council.
Lei Isaacs (founder, “Restore Access Ward 9”)