NewsShed: Above the law in Delaware County

Chop wood, carry weeds: Practitioners at work at the garden of the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, which grows food for the monastery's kitchen and flowers for the altar. For more photos of the monastery garden at the peak of the summer season, see this recent album on the Zen Mountain Monastery's website

Happy Monday, Catskills. Enjoying the weather? For once, it's worse elsewhere: The Steuben County town of Troupsburg had a tornado touch down over the weekend

When Greene County needs an exemption from town zoning law to build emergency communications equipment, they ask nicely. Delaware County just declares itself immune from local land-use law. At their most recent meeting, the Delaware County Board of Supervisors did just that, declaring in a lengthy resolution that the County and its agents were "exempt and immune from any local land use and subdivision laws" that might interfere with an effort to upgrade county communication systems.

Late last week, local Kingston-based hospital group HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley dropped a bombshell: President and CEO David Lundquist has resigned, with the group facing massive losses and the closing of one of its Kingston hospitals. The next day, the Freeman reported that HealthAlliance is talking with several other local healthcare groups about yet another merger, just five years after HealthAlliance itself was formed from a merger between several local hospitals. Stay tuned.

Also resigned: Longtime Hunter-Tannersville school board member Brian Byrne. The board hasn't decided whether to hold a special election to fill his seat until 2016, or just appoint someone to serve until next spring.

The Cairo town board wants to pitch in to fight climate change -- and maybe bring the town's energy bills down while they're at it.

The village of New Paltz has been drinking New York City water out of the Catskill Aqueduct for years. With a big public-works project planned for the Aqueduct in 2016, the village may need to find a new water source soon.

Big yogurt means big traffic: Accidents near the Chobani plant in Chenango County have gotten bad enough that the state Department of Transportation has launched a study of traffic patterns in the area.

A 15-year-old may need therapy after accidentally driving his mom's SUV over the legs of an 11-year-old cyclist at the Yogi Bear Campground in Gardiner last weekend; thankfully, the 11-year-old did not need major medical attention.

Rail trails are so hot right now: A Highland group wants to build a $7 million gondola connected to the Walkway Over The Hudson

The village of Monticello, having failed to enact a proper budget, is now stuck with its error-riddled tentative budget, which goes into effect August 1. Tonight's special village meeting ought to be a fun one.

In other exciting Monticello finance news, a former Monticello hedge fund manager pleaded guilty in federal court last week to defrauding investors

The would-be goat-keepers of Cobleskill, who were told in no uncertain terms that there would be no goats allowed in the village, have started a petition. So far, it has 12 signatures.

The popular business magazine Forbes took a Catskills vacation recently, and has nice things to say about the Emerson Resort and Peekamoose Restaurant.

Less complimentary: A couple of reports commissioned by the Catskill Heritage Alliance recently, which take critical aim at plans for the proposed Belleayre Resort and upgrades to the Belleayre Ski Center (PDF)

Fun new public data tool just announced by the Governor's office: Project Sunlight, an easily-searchable database of meetings between government officials and outside entities. It's part of the ongoing Open New York public data project, which has a bunch of other useful datasets as well. (We have a feeling the most important meetings still happen off the books behind a closed door somewhere in Albany, but it's a start.)

NewsShed, our snappy little weekday digest of news, weather and hot bloggy goodness from around the Catskills, is a new item here at the WP. Got a hot tip or a photo for the NewsShed? Send it to editor@watershedpost.com.

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