The Rogovoy Report 6.10.24

From around the corner to around the globe...

Jun 11, 2024

The Strange Villainization of the Walkable City

(The New Republic) - Imagine you live in a town where everyday essentials like work, food, school, health care, and cultural activities all lie within a quick walk or bike ride from people’s homes. Your city has reduced residents’ reliance on car travel, freed you from your hellish commutes, and reconnected communities with one another. Public transit is reliable, concrete expanses have been transformed into lush green space, and carbon emissions are plummeting. This was the idea sketched by Carlos Moreno, the Sorbonne University professor who pioneered the “15-minute city.” Then came the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought a flood of high-profile attention to the 15-minute city. A group of nearly 100 mayors committed to implementing it in some form as a means toward a climate-friendly recovery from the crisis. At COP26 in 2021, architects put the strategy at the center of discussions of sustainable city development goals. The World Economic Forum released slick videos and articles endorsing the 15-minute city. It’s probably no wonder, then, that the 15-minute city eventually penetrated the tinfoil hats of the far right....

FASCIST TAKEOVER WATCH:

Yes, That’s Right: American Fascism (The New Republic)

What America will look like if Trump wins (NYT)

Trump refuses to shift on climate despite supporters needing aid at rallies in extreme US heat (The Guardian)

Marjorie Taylor Greene compares Trump to Jesus at Las Vegas rally (The Guardian)

Now on VP shortlist, Rep. Elise Stefanik said Trump ‘has been insulting to women,’ disagreed with immigration order in archival WAMC interviews (WAMC)

In E.U. elections, the center holds, but the far right still wreaks havoc (NYT)

Actor Wendell Pierce claims discrimination in trying to rent Harlem apartment (NYT)

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NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

Melissa Fares, right, and Hilary Simon, left, in Bryant Park in Manhattan, N.Y. (photo Jennifer S. Altman)

Can a 16-Year-Old Consent to Sex with Her 47-Year-Old Teacher? State Law Absurdly Says Yes.

(Boston Globe) PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Matthew Rutledge seems to have known what he was doing. In late March, the longtime history teacher at Miss Hall’s School resigned after more than three decades at the Pittsfield prep school, after two women publicly accused him of grooming and sexually exploiting them for years, starting when they were students there in the early 2000s. Both women say Rutledge did not have sex with them until after they turned 16 — the age of consent in Massachusetts. The notion that either girl could have actually consented to sex with a powerful teacher more than twice her age is ludicrous. Rutledge was an authority figure who, by all accounts, was a faculty star who operated with impunity at the school. He is alleged to have groomed Hilary Simon and Melissa Fares starting when each of them was 15, escalating his attentions, and his physical contact, until they reached an age at which he could not be criminally charged for raping them, as long as the teens went along with the sex. Read also, DA’s office hires a special investigator for prior allegations of ‘‘inappropriate conduct’ at Miss Hall’s between staff and students (Berkshire Eagle)

READ MORE:

Jewish business-owners in Great Barrington fall victim to Nazi-like antisemitic mob (Berkshire Edge)

Berkshire Jewish community reeling from antisemitic incident at Jewish-owned Great Barrington coffee shop (Berkshire Eagle)

Great Barrington’s Bookloft facing financial struggles; launches crowdfunding campaign (Berkshire Eagle)

Purchaser of historic South Williamstown farm declines to talk about deal (iBerkshires)

North Adams planners OK Starbucks development on problem corner (iBerkshires)

A $7.6M affordable housing project seen as ‘game changer’ for Pittsfield's West Side (B Eagle)

Berkshire Museum plans major renovation (Boston Globe)

Berkshire Eagle lauds Berkshire Museum redesign (B Eagle)

Darrow School is back to life from near-death: How one area private school beat the odds (B Eagle)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Sloop Clearwater sailing the Hudson just north of the Mid-Hudson Bridge (photo Steve Stanne)

The Clearwater Stays Afloat

(The River) - The beloved Clearwater -- a replica 18th-century Hudson River Sloop -- may have been saved from financial drowning by a successful emergency fundraising campaign. The educational sloop, created by singer-activist Pete Seeger in support of the 1972 Clean Water Act, received an outpouring of support when it became clear that its economic struggles threatened to sink the 50+-year-old environmental icon.

READ MORE:

Woodstock Library receives death, bomb threat following drag story hour (Daily Freeman)

County officials offer nothing but non-answers to concerns about plans for 11 Warren St. complex in Hudson (GoR)

Hudson is a happening place to live (HVMag)

Justin Weaver sworn in as new Hudson mayoral aide (HV360)

Story Screen Cinema opening in Hudson; new indie movie theater kicks off with Twister screening June 14 (Chronogram)

Architectural company receives $200K for Hudson riverfront park (HJV360)

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood celebrates 90th anniversary with gala on 6/13 (WAMC)

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