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Hudson
Taghkanic, NY
Hudson Valley troublemaker.
Interests: media, the environment, civic affairs, small-town life, culture and government.
Recent Activity
Dogs and woodchucks, living together
Posted Mar 16, 2023 at SamPratt.com
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Volume 54 #1
The launch issue of The Woodchuck was published in February 2023. This is a print publication; only a list of each quarterly issue’s basic contents will be posted here: BOOK REVIEW: Jen Beagin’s Big Swiss UPSTATE HACK: Spike Vrusho’s taxi column COUNTRY MATTERS: The Not-So-Simple Life WHAT A TOOL: The... Continue reading
Posted Mar 16, 2023 at The Woodchuck
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Coming soon, in print only
Posted Feb 12, 2023 at SamPratt.com
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Earth to solar opponents: Don’t ruin it for everyone
Posted Sep 23, 2022 at SamPratt.com
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County Dems endorse Cochrane over Herman, Portin for judge
Posted Apr 28, 2022 at SamPratt.com
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The Glacier Cometh
Posted Nov 22, 2021 at SamPratt.com
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The example of a Republican inspector actually directing voters to the bar illuminates the problem. It is at minimum a terrible look.
Much like conflicts of interest, public officials should avoid not just electioneering, but the appearance of electioneering.
Election Roundup for 2021
Local Turnout Plummets In the 2020 Presidential election, a whopping 35,000 people came out to vote in Columbia County, with Biden winning handily. Data circulated this evening by the Board of Elections indicates that only about 20,000 voted this time around—meaning that 43% of those 2020 voters...
As a poll watcher at that location, I think it was a very unwise choice.
First of all, the space was almost entirely wasted—most of the room went unused. It could have been 1/3rd the size and been fine.(Indeed, the sole polling place for my town is at most 1/3rd the size.)
In any case, this lengthy explanation forgets to address the real concern: An active bar in the same building, let alone one known to Ghent residents as the clubhouse of one of the two major political parties. It was a very bad look if not actually illegal.
Election Roundup for 2021
Local Turnout Plummets In the 2020 Presidential election, a whopping 35,000 people came out to vote in Columbia County, with Biden winning handily. Data circulated this evening by the Board of Elections indicates that only about 20,000 voted this time around—meaning that 43% of those 2020 voters...
Election Roundup for 2021
Local Turnout Plummets In the 2020 Presidential election, a whopping 35,000 people came out to vote in Columbia County, with Biden winning handily. Data circulated this evening by the Board of Elections indicates that only about 20,000 voted this time around—meaning that 43% of those 2020 voters didn’t show up this time. Voting is generally lower in local cycles compared with Presidential contests, but the precipitous drop suggests that there are many voters who only care about national politics. That’s something for both parties to work on, since in many ways local races affect our day-to-day lives far more substantially. The full 2021 Columbia County unofficial results spreadsheet can be found here. These await the counting of absentee ballots, followed by official certification, and thus will change somewhat over time. No Headway for Dems on Board of Supervisors Despite a lot of big talk in the past month of a... Continue reading
Posted Nov 3, 2021 at SamPratt.com
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Election Day update, 4:30 pm
Posted Nov 2, 2021 at SamPratt.com
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Local anti-anti-vaxxers in the news
Heather Bellow has a long feature in Friday’s Berkshire Eagle about residents pushing back against the spread of anti-vaccine disinformation in Columbia and Berkshire Counties, especially as it relates to COVID. The article includes extensive quotes from Chatham’s Michael Richardson, publisher of a local newsletter called Vaxx Facts; Columbia County Community Health Action co-founder Michael Seserman, who now works at the American Cancer Society; as well as this site’s writing on the topic. The article also quotes some academic sources, and several vaccine skeptics. Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2021 at SamPratt.com
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Did the Columbia Dems nominate a Trumper for County Sheriff?
Posted Oct 28, 2021 at SamPratt.com
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IMBY editor says 5G causes COVID
A recent report in The Atlantic explored anti-vaccine sentiment which is simmering in Berkshire and Columbia Counties—not among Trumpers and Qanon theorists, but among left-leaning residents. Among those interviewed by Eoin Higgins (an investigative reporter who grew up in the Berkshires) was the editor/publisher of the community website IMBY.com, Enid Futterman. Astonishingly, Futterman tells Higgins that “she finds the idea that COVID is caused by 5G cellphone towers more believable than person-to-person transmission.” The IMBY honcho continues: I’ve read both sides, and that’s what makes sense. Higgins further reports that Futterman “didn’t see ‘any disconnect between’ her support for progressive values and her embrace of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.” A quick Google search turns up related comments by Futterman as well as former Columbia County Election Commissioner Virginia Martin, posted on an obscure news site called Who What Why. The pair’s comments were attached to a June 2021 article entitled “Alternative... Continue reading
Posted Sep 30, 2021 at SamPratt.com
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Baba and Corona
Posted Sep 18, 2021 at SamPratt.com
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Resistance is Temporary
Posted Aug 14, 2020 at SamPratt.com
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In setback for gravel project, Hudson Planning Board declares waterfront proposal is ripe for a full review
JOINT NEWS RELEASE FROM THE V.A. & OUR HUDSON WATERFRONT The Hudson Planning Board voted last week to classify the proposed A. Colarusso & Son, Inc. project at the City’s waterfront as the type of action which requires the most stringent level of scrutiny The Hudson Planning Board voted 5-0... Continue reading
Posted Aug 3, 2020 at The Valley Alliance
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The Hudson Waterfront: Decades in the Making
Posted Feb 12, 2020 at SamPratt.com
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Dow bests Stamper for Dem Elections nod
Posted Jan 30, 2020 at SamPratt.com
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Supes reject reappointment of Martin to elections job
Posted Dec 11, 2019 at SamPratt.com
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Chatham resigns
An hour after blowing his top for the third consecutive Hudson Planning Board meeting, chair Walter Chatham submitter a letter of resignation via email to sitting Mayor Rick Rector and incoming Mayor Kamal Johnson. A copy of the email obtained by this site reads: Dear Planning Board and Mayor Elect- In anticipation of a new Administration and a fresh point of view, I have submitted my resignation from the Planning Board to Mayor Rector. Thank you all for your help and collaboration; I wish those of you staying on the Board great success in your future dealings on behalf of the City. I look forward to staying in touch with you all and hope to be before you with my own planning proposals in the future. All The Best, Walter Walter Chatham [email protected] During Tuesday night’s public hearing on the Colarusso application for the Waterfront, Hudson resident Chris McManus spoke... Continue reading
Posted Dec 11, 2019 at SamPratt.com
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A month later, Election Board finally posts some real results
As of noon yesterday—a full month after Election Day—the Columbia County Board of Elections still was showing incomplete and outdated results of the November 5th election. A nudge from this site appears to have changed that. Since the mess of Election Day and the ensuing weeks of confusion, the Board had recanvassed and counted many additional results, along with those gathered from early tallies. But strangely, the BOE had not added these to tallies to publicly-released numbers. As of midday on December 3rd, its site had not been updated since November 21st. Those incomplete. results showed several candidates losing, who had since been known to have won. Considering the many mistakes, omissions, and errors which have plagued the Board this cycle, it seemed all the more odd that it would not have rushed to correct these numbers. This site messaged the two Election Commissioners, Democrat Virginia Martin and Republican Jason... Continue reading
Posted Dec 4, 2019 at SamPratt.com
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Two updates on the previous post
More observations and additional background on the previous post about the County Dems’ wasted $23,500 in funding of losing candidates : : : : : : UPDATE #1: It’s worth also noting that two candidates who received some of the County Dems’ largest expenditures actually may have harmed other Democratic candidates. Few expected Gene Keeler to win the District Attorney’s race—and indeed, he lost by a wide margin, despite the CCDC’s $12,500 contribution to his campaign. As such, the main impact of Keeler’s futile candidacy was to activate the Czajka campaign and the Republican County committee. Mass-mailers and other get-out-the-vote efforts for Czajka almost certainly caused some Republicans countywide to turn out who otherwise would not have done so. These voters almost certainly then continued voting on Row B for GOP candidates further down the ballot. In close races in places like Copake and Ghent, where every vote counted, this... Continue reading
Posted Dec 3, 2019 at SamPratt.com
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County Dems blew nearly 24K on hopeless races
Posted Dec 2, 2019 at SamPratt.com
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Nastke caves; Democrats take Ghent Town Board
Posted Nov 26, 2019 at SamPratt.com
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GOP commissioner and staff M.I.A. to finish ballot count
Posted Nov 26, 2019 at SamPratt.com
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