The Rogovoy Report 12.30.24

From around the corner to around the globe...

Dec 29, 2024

Have you enjoyed this free, highly curated, weekly digest of local, regional, national and international news, reviews, features, and analysis? And its weekly companion, the Berkshire and Hudson Valley Weekly Cultural Preview? If so then perhaps you might consider kicking off the New Year with a voluntary paid subscription to The Rogovoy Report to help support and sustain my efforts. Thanks and best wishes for the holiday season and the new year.

REQUIRED READING

Soda’s Big Comeback

(New York) - After a string of health campaigns banished two-liter bottles and flashy vending machines to the fringes of social consciousness in the 2010s, soda is back with a vengeance. Soft drink demand in the U.S. is higher than it’s been in years — Coca-Cola’s North American revenue jumped 12 percent last quarter, and amid squeezed budgets and soaring grocery costs, Keurig Dr. Pepper reported this summer that sales for refreshments like Canada Dry and Sunkist were growing, while coffee earnings had shrunk. The people have chosen, and we want carbonation.

DEMOCRACY WATCH:

Steve Bannon joins war against Elon Musk as MAGA implodes (TNR)

Elon Musk pens German newspaper opinion piece supporting far-right AfD party (The Guardian)

In rare move, Republican senators call for Hegseth’s FBI report (Politico)

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Aso O. Tavitian and his partner Isabella Meisinger, at the Frick Collection Director’s Circle Party, 2009

The Mysterious Donor Who Fled Communism and Left Millions to the Art World - Including The Clark

(NYT) - Aso O. Tavitian grew up poor — but at age 64 he began an ‘‘explosion of buying.” Under the radar, he amassed old masters, leaving 331 to the Clark. How did he do it? He did it all quietly. “Nothing about him said, ‘Look at me,’” said Candace Beinecke, president of Aso O. Tavitian’s foundation. “Very few people outside the art world knew about him,” confided Olivier Meslay, the director of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass. When it was announced last month that Aso O. Tavitian, through his foundation, had left the Clark 331 artworks estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars — plus $45 million to build a new wing to house it all — the news prompted some to wonder: So who was this guy?

The Triplex Cinema: One Year On, a Berkshire Success Story

(Berkshire Edge) GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. - It has been over one year since The Triplex Cinema reopened its doors after a long ownership drama that was, in itself, worthy of a Hollywood movie plot. In July 2023, the grassroots group Save the Triplex raised enough money to purchase the theater from owner Richard Stanley for $1 million. After five months of closure for renovations, the theater officially reopened on November 17, 2023, under its new ownership as a nonprofit. Since its reopening, the theater has hosted movie discussions and special events. The Triplex was one of the hosts of the annual Berkshire International Film Festival, and it has also hosted events featuring Bill Murray, Griffin Dunne, and other figures from both Hollywood and the independent filmmaking world.

READ MORE:

Renowned Japanese choreographer Ruri Mito brings acclaimed dance works to PS21 for U.S. debut (Berkshire Eagle)

Norman Rockwell Museum launches free, virtual field trip program (ATU)

Changing of the arts: New wave of arts leaders hits region (ATU)

Singer Lila Downs to perform in Kingston in March (Daily Freeman)

Immediately following today’s (Sunday’s) 4:15pm screening of the new Bob Dylan film, "A Complete Unknown" at Images Cinema in Williamstown, Mass. (at approximately 6:30pm), Seth Rogovoy -- author of "Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet" -- will lead a talkback and Q&A about the movie.

NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

The Berkshires’ Own Celebrity Christmas Spruce Had Its Picture Taken with Sir Paul McCartney at Rockefeller Center

(Berkshire Eagle) WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — For a 57-year-old Norway spruce begotten by love and Berkshires soil, it was the selfie of all time. It got its picture taken with a Beatle. Sir Paul McCartney sent a message of Christmas and Hanukkah greetings on social media as he stood with his wife, Nancy Shevell, in front of the bedecked spruce at Rockefeller Center. “Happy Christmas all round the world and have a heck of a Hanukkah, — Paul,” McCartney wrote in the message posted to his Instagram and Facebook pages on Dec. 25. Sir Paul shared the photo along with another picture of a lit Hanukkah menorah. (Shevell is Jewish, as was his first wife, Linda Eastman, according to an article in The Forward titled, “Why Paul McCartney should be known as ‘the Jewish Beatle,” by local author Seth Rogovoy.)

READ MORE:

Can a property tax exemption help develop affordable-housing rental units in Great Barrington? (Berkshire Edge)

One year later: Legal saga surrounding ‘Gender Queer’ incident at Great Barrington middle school continues (B Edge)

Petitions seeking to merge the Great Barrington and Housatonic water systems are quickly gaining signatures (Berkshire Eagle)

After voting to back independent investigation, Pittsfield city councilors take aim at school district leadership amid ongoing crisis (WAMC)

Williams College advises international students to return to U.S. ahead of Trump inauguration (Williams Record)

Williamstown shooting still under investigation (iBerkshires)

A new BHS Urgent Care center is on track for a March opening in The Center at Lenox (B Eagle)

‘A cool, fun place’: Heirlooms -- a downtown Stockbridge fixture -- is changing hands (B Eagle)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Catskills Hot Spots Continued to See More Visitors in 2024

(ATU) HUNTER, N.Y. — More people visited popular spots in the Catskills than ever in 2024, according to a new report by the nonprofit Catskill Center. The report looked at five high-use areas where the Catskill Center has stewards, as well as the six fire towers in Catskill Park, finding that visitation increased in all the areas — and more than doubled in some. The increase builds on greater visitation during the pandemic, when closures and social distancing pushed people to the outdoors and increased use of social media with geotagging that made once-obscure spots easier to find. The surge allowed more people to experience the wonders of the 700,000-acre Catskill Park, but caused problems with parking, outdoor accidents and overuse of trails not designed to take on so many people.

READ MORE:

Hudson-based fish farm provides meals through state program (HV360)

High lead levels found in water from Kingston school district faucets (Daily Freeman)

Swastika painted on side of Greenwich, N.Y., store (ATU)

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