The Rogovoy Report 6.12.23

From around the corner to around the globe...

Jun 11, 2023

You are receiving this ad-free, reader-supported email newsletter because you are subscribed to The Rogovoy Report, a twice-weekly digest of news and cultural happenings, mostly in the greater Berkshires and Hudson Valley region. You may also receive Everything Is Broken, a once-weekly, sibling e-newsletter featuring original writing by yours truly. Thank you so very much for your interest and support.

REQUIRED READING

The Case Against Homeownership

(The Nation) - Homeownership is a uniquely American scam. Of course, homeownership itself is not unique to the United States. Yet “the emphasis Americans place on homeownership sets us apart from many other nations of the world,” according to Mel Martinez, who was President George W. Bush’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). But homeownership is virtually impossible for many Americans; the national average qualifying household income for home purchase is $95,717 a year, while the national median household income is about $70,000 a year. Indeed, only 66 percent of US households own a home, while only 44 percent of Black households do. Homeownership, however, is not as valuable a financial investment as it appears—or as we have been led to believe. While we may have forgotten since 2008 that homeownership can be risky, some critics go so far as to describe homeownership as a Ponzi scheme, “a massive up-front transfer of wealth from younger people to older people, on the implicit promise that when those young people become old, there will be new young people willing to give them even more money."

READ MORE:

12M Americans believe violence is justified to restore Trump to power (The Guardian)

With watchful eyes, a nationwide network tracks antisemitic threats (NYT)

Elon Musk is the most dangerous antisemite in America (Forward)

Dream Away Lodge: ‘Somewhere Between a Living Museum or a Living Work of Art, and a Church’

(Boston Globe) BECKET, Mass. - Those who make the trek up the side of a winding mountain road to Dream Away Lodge in Becket are rewarded with the first glance of the glowing sign atop a white country house, tires crunching the dirt road below. A campfire crackles over the brook. Behind the house, a meandering wildflower garden invites further wandering, and for a time, a labyrinth sprawled through the greenery. A new team of owners will keep the lodge alive, and this spring, it has begun a phased reopening.

Pittsfield-Native Raiche Has Played Coachella But Not a Major Venue in the Berkshires. That Will Change When She Takes the Stage at MASS MoCA

(Berkshire Eagle) NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - R&B artist and Pittsfield native Raiche has taken the stage at some of the biggest festivals in America, from Coachella to Austin City Limits — but has never played a hometown show in a venue larger than a restaurant corner. So when the opportunity came to play at MASS MoCA, the singer just couldn’t say no. “It’s going to be, for lack of words, better words, iconic.” said Raiche in a recent interview, "Everybody grew up going to field trips there. And there’s just been some amazing art in MASS MoCA. So, I’m pretty honored to be doing this show.” The concert will take place in the Hunter Center on June 17.

READ MORE:

WAM Theater co-founder, producing artistic director, set to step down (B Edge)

Tanglewood to invite beer and wine inside Shed at two upcoming popular artist concerts (B Eagle)

After over quarter-century, Du Bois Center shuts down, seeks new home for library and artifacts (B Eagle)

'Enmeshed' at North Adams's Installation Space inspired by unseen species (RI)

A sanctuary for psychedelic art opens in Hudson Valley (NYT)

David Byrne’s ‘Here Lies Love’ to be staged with live musicians on Broadway (NYT)

NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

Butterflies sporting swastikas as part of Lee Elementay School art project

Leaders’ Alleged Indifference Toward Swastikas in School Leads Lee Teacher to Seek Work Elsewhere

(Berkshire Eagle) LEE, Mass. - An English teacher is resigning and says he no longer feels safe at Lee Elementary School after an art class displayed a project about the Holocaust that included Nazi swastikas in a hallway. Andy Clark, 44, who is Jewish, said he plans to quit next week after the school year ends because administrators were dismissive of his concerns. The project was put up in a sixth-grade hallway in April 2022 and has since been taken down, but Clark said he is still anxiety-ridden and hates going to school. “It felt like I was being pushed out of my job,” he said. “I’ve been taking anti-depressants due to my anxiety attacks. I don’t feel safe working there anymore.”

READ MORE:

New report says antisemitic attacks and white supremacist activity on the rise in Massachusetts (B Eagle)

Nonprofit to buy Triplex movie theater for $1M (BEagle)

Without buses, rideshares, or taxis, tourists sometimes find themselves stranded in the Berkshire (B Edge)

Judge seems unmoved by group’s opposition to toxic waste dump in Lee (BEagle)

Nonprofit development group purchases historic mixed-use property in downtown Great Barrington (Berkshire Edge)

New laundromat offers hope for a cleaner Great Barrington (B Edge)

Don and Marion Lathrop have been 'protesting' for peace in Pittsfield for two decades (B Edge)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Former Hudson Jewelry Store and Coffin Manufactory Listed for $1.25M

(Brownstoner) HUDSON, N.Y. - One of the brightly painted facades along Hudson’s main shopping street, this 19th century brick building has had an equally colorful commercial history as a spot to buy goods ranging from clocks to coffins. The exact construction date of the three-story Italianate on the market at 524 Warren Street is not known. According to the listing, the property dates to the 1840s while the nomination for the Hudson National Register Historic District estimates the construction date as circa 1860. The building is priced at $1.25 million.

READ MORE:

After three pandemic years, Shared Streets program in Hudson is retired (HV360)

New law aims to refine ban on chain stores in Hudson (HV360)

Waterfront-adjacent redevelopment in Hudson gets $1.5M boost (HV360)

Columbia County Sheriff's office releases man into custody of ICE, defying own policies (HV360)

Dozens protest Assemblywoman Didi Barrett’s housing, climate change policies (HV360)

Hudson names interim schools chief (HV360)

Roadblocks and red tape: New York’s cannabis effort at a crossroads (NYT)

The Rogovoy Report