The Rogovoy Report 9.11.23

From around the corner to around the globe...

Sep 10, 2023

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REQUIRED READING

Paradise Lost

(NYRB) by Fintan O’Toole - Just as “the passionate moral principles” of the 1960s were personified in the Democratic Party’s 1968 primaries by Robert F. Kennedy, the turn toward a politics driven by the terror of contamination is now embodied by the quixotic quest of his son and namesake to displace Joe Biden as the party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential election. In posting a Putinesque video of his topless workouts and ripped torso, he presents his body as a temple of recovered health. In spreading lies about the invasive threats of vaccines and bioweapons, he plays on anxieties about the pollution of that sacred space. It makes sense that Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump are effectively in alliance, and that Trump as president contemplated appointing Kennedy to head a putative “vaccine safety and scientific integrity commission.” Both men appeal to a potent myth: paradise lost.

READ MORE:

Mike Tyson’s knockout technique for achieving more happiness (The Atlantic)

College students disappointed to discover that ‘boring’ Boston is not a real city (Boston Globe)

Deadly humid heatwaves to spread rapidly as climate warms (The Guardian)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Red Lion Inn Celebrating 250th Anniversary with Community Celebration 0f ‘Incredible Legacy'

(Berkshire Eagle) STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A communitywide celebration worthy of the Red Lion Inn’s 250th anniversary is in the final planning stages. Founded in or about 1773 as a watering hole and stagecoach stop on the Boston to Albany, N.Y., route, the Stockbridge hospitality beacon is said to be the oldest continually operating inn and tavern in the county. The open-house party, hosted by the inn’s third-generation family owners, will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 14, beginning with guided tours at the downtown intersection of Routes 7 and 102.

READ MORE:

Top BSO official details film shoot at Tanglewood for Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro and addresses 'Jewface' controversy (WAMC)

Looking back at 2023 Tanglewood season with gratitude and relief, by Jeremy Yudkin (Berkshire Eagle)

Ailing Springsteen postpones Albany, Syracuse, other September shows; rocker being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease (ATU)

Hudson Hall to host two-day celebration of filmmaker James Ivory (RI)

New multi-arts venue The Local takes over Saugerties Dutch Chapel (Chronogram)

A different take on Barbie at Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y. (WAMC)

The surprisingly kosher side of the late Jimmy Buffett, by Seth Rogovoy (Forward)

Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans president Shannon Holsey (center) addresses a crowd at Stockbridge Town Hall

Monument Mountain Set to Revert Back to Mohican Stewardship

(Berkshire Edge) - Monument Mountain will once again belong to the Indigenous people that settled the area centuries ago. Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans President Shannon Holsey described the day as “very joyful and emotional” for her community. “We believe that it is our responsibility to be land stewards and to advocate for future generations,” she said.

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Berkshire NAACP says all three Pittsfield mayoral candidates have misrepresented a 2022 report on redlining in the city; calls for establishment of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (WAMC)

Swastika etched on bus shelter in Williamstown (iBerkshires)

Site preparations are underway for a new Chabad center in Lenox (Berkshire Eagle)

Williamstown officials debate residential tax exemption, which advocates say would lead to lower annual property tax bills for most Williamstown homeowners with the difference made up by higher tax bills for those owning homes valued at $655,723 or more (iBerkshires)

State reps discuss housing crisis (Berkshire Edge)

Berkshire native and Lenox restaurant mogul Ryan Salame pleads guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges; to lose local businesses, house, and Porsche (B Edge)

Zigzag sawfly threatens remaining elm trees (B Eagle)

Pot prices have tanked. Dispensaries are closing. Is a great crash coming? (Boston Globe)

The heat is off, the rain won't go away and the hurricane watch is on (B Eagle)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Hudson streetscape (photo David McIntyre)

Maintaining the Mix in Hudson

(Chronogram) HUDSON, N.Y. - With its long history of booms and busts, Hudson is a microcosm of America. Hudson, like the country at large, has undergone countless transitions. What was indigenous land became a whaling center, then a manufacturing hub, and later a haven for gambling and prostitution. Today, the city in miniature is a vibrant tapestry of urban revival, celebrity sightings, community fridges, regenerative farming, the projects of a mysterious billionaire, art galleries, immigration, and tourism. Hudson is also a city with an affordable housing crisis.

READ MORE:

Black-led tenants’ rights and racial justice organization facing more than doubling of rent by arts organization landlord Foreland in Catskill, N.Y. (HV360)

Recovery under way after thousands lose power in Hudson Valley (ATU)

Local rabbi and cookbook author team up for new Jewish holiday cookbook (Berkshire Eagle)

Amtrak’s viability threatened by GOP plan to defund railroad (ATU)

Soho House to open first US country retreat in Rhinebeck, N.Y. (NY Post)

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