The Rogovoy Report 7.10.23
From around the corner to around the globe...
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REQUIRED READING
The Gravitational Pull of Supervising Kids All the Time
(The Atlantic) - Many parents have legitimate reasons to worry about their kids wandering. Still, getting out from under close adult supervision is important for child development. when adults aren’t hovering, children are forced to solve problems and resolve disputes on their own—which can sharpen executive functioning and social-emotional learning, and bolster confidence and resilience. Independence can also be important for mental health. Separation anxiety, a fear of heights, nervousness about the unknown—those are normal parts of development that serve an evolutionary purpose in keeping kids safe. They don’t dissipate on their own, though; they’re gradually allayed through experiences that draw kids further from parental oversight: spending an afternoon at a friend’s house, climbing a tree, walking to the bus stop by themselves. Learning to cope with the strong emotions that often attend these exploits is valuable. Some psychologists trace the ongoing decline in American children’s mental well-being directly to the constraints on their freedom.
READ MORE:
The rise and fall of smooth jazz (New Yorker)
Did Planet Earth just have its hottest-ever week? (Mother Jones)
Our warming planet is becoming a hotbed of violence (The Nation)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Berkshires: Where the Sublime Isn’t Always a Pretty Picture
(WBUR) by Ed Siegel and Jacquinn Sinclair - The Berkshires, like the rest of the country, reflects the attempt to put the COVID pandemic behind us while simultaneously acknowledging the difficulty in doing that. Some organizations, like Tanglewood, seem to have regained their foothold. Others have had to switch to a new economic model. Some newish theater companies, like Great Barrington Public Theater, have opened; meanwhile, the Williamstown Theatre Festival is not doing full productions, although that has more to do with the fallout from the LA Times exposé of their exploitation of interns who had been working extremely long hours in toxic conditions for little or no pay. New restaurants have opened, old favorites have re-opened and others have sold or gone out of business. The same goes for inns in the area. All in all, though, critics Ed Siegel and Jacquinn Sinclair found the balance of art and nature, including torrential rain, to be as heady a mix as always.
At 20, an Upstate Arts Haven Keeps Breaking New Ground
(NYT) ANNANDALE-on-HUDSON, N.Y. - On a recent Saturday night, a group of young people were gathered in this bucolic hamlet in the Hudson Valley, building a campfire of sorts. There were no matches or flames, but there were lanterns, chirping crickets, fir trees swirled with haze and, at one point, a zombie attack. The ersatz campfire was onstage, at the final evening performance of “Illinois,” a dance-theater piece based on Sufjan Stevens’s beloved 2005 indie-pop concept album. Directed by the star choreographer Justin Peck, the show drew a sold-out crowd of arts-minded weekenders and curious Stevens fans to commune inside the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College. Since opening 20 years ago, the center’s Frank Gehry building has emerged as a hothouse for the creation of uncompromising, cross-disciplinary and sometimes hard to describe hits.
READ MORE:
Pianists Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet link up for George Gershwin tribute at Tanglewood (Berkshire Eagle)
New ‘tiny father’ a big achievement for Barrington Stage (ATU)
Summer concert series at Grover’s Corner Gazebo in Great Barrington starts new season (Berkshire Edge)
Berkshire Busk! in downtown Great Barrington opens third season (B Edge)
Entering his 10th Tanglewood summer, BSO maestro Andris Nelsons reveals how pandemic changed his approach to conducting (B Eagle)
Hudson’s Time and Space Limited turns 50 (Chronogram)
Hudson native Laura Seymour Hasbrouck was one of the unsung women artists of the Hudson River School (Art Herstory)
Yidstock 2023 to bring new music and range of events to Yiddish Book Center; this year, there will also be a livestream (DHGazette)
NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES
Art Scenes in North Adams, Williamstown Ranked in Top 5 in U.S.
(USA Today) - The creative vibe in the Berkshires is being noticed across the nation, according to USA Today readers. The publication recently released a list of the 10 best small town arts scenes in America as part of its 2023 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards and named two Berkshire County, Massachusetts, destinations in the top five: North Adams ranked No. 3 and Williamstown ranked No. 5.
READ MORE:
Berkshire banks taking part in pilot program aimed at helping people of color purchase first homes (WAMC)
New Great Barrington housing complex adds 49 ‘affordable’ units to town’s strained stock (WAMC)
Baldwin Building on Main Street in downtown Great Barrington listed for $1.3M (Berkshire Edge)
Berkshire Humane Society overwhelmed, 'in crisis,' and seeking help (B Edge)
North Adams fire chief on paid leave after hitting pedestrian with city vehicle; mayor insists it was an ‘accident’ (WAMC)
Construction underway for new Roadside Store and Cafe in Monterey (B Eagle)
And the heat goes on, along with tropical humidity. A washout seems likely Monday before things start to dry out (B Eagle)
NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY
Court Rules Hudson Can Decide on Controversial Haul Road
(ATU) HUDSON, N.Y. - The Hudson Planning Board was directed to issue a decision on whether to permit the expansion of a controversial haul road running to the city’s waterfront in a ruling by a New York appeals court. The decision, issued last month by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, is the result of an appeal by the planning board of a 2022 decision by a state Supreme Court justice. The 2022 decision stems from a lawsuit filed by Colarusso & Son against the board that claimed it had overstepped its authority by mandating an environmental review of the company’s existing operation in the city. Paul Colarusso, president of the company, said the company was “compelled” to sue the city after it ordered the review, saying the decision on the road had already been made by the town of Greenport, which approved the haul road, which begins within its borders. Sam Pratt, a longtime local activist on waterfront issues, said “the number one thing that strikes me” about the issue was that “Colarusso seems deathly afraid of having to undergo a review” of the haul road.
READ MORE:
A Columbia County man was detained by ICE while being released from county jail. The Columbia County Sheriff says his office’s non-cooperation policy with federal immigration agents only applies to its law enforcement division, and not to corrections staff under his command. (ATU)
Molinaro gets earful from local farmers worried about climate change, concerned about milk prices and nervous over cuts to SNAP benefits (HV360)
Public housing complex in Hudson, in grave need of updating (or a wrecking ball), marks 50 years (HV360)
With Amtrak suspending Montreal service due to fears that steel tracks in Canada can't hold up to extreme high temperatures, Trailways bus line steps up (ATU)
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Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous (5)
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Steve and Helice Picheny
Rhonda Rosenheck
Elisa Spungen and Rob Bildner/Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook
Julie Abraham Stone
Mary Herr Tally