Beaconites!

Zandy Mangold is an ultramarathon runner, running coach and high-spirited guy who has completed — and in some cases won — some of the world's toughest endurance races. Zandy shares experiences running the Spartathlon (153 miles), Western States (100 miles), Badwater (135 miles) and the Atacama Crossing (155 miles). In his coaching life, Zandy works with people of all ability levels at any stage of their running journey. On the side, he has a business baking plant-based cookies.

Even if you aren't an endurance athlete, you're likely to gain something from this episode and be drawn in by Zandy's worldview.

Zandy is organizing a 10K race in association with the upcoming Beacon Bonfire festival on Nov 4-5. The Beacon Bonfireball 10K will take place the morning of Nov 4 and is sure to be a great excursion for both competitive and casual runners. Find the registration link at BeaconBonfire.com

Corey Dwyer has just started his second full school year as principal at Beacon High School. Corey attended BHS himself and has an interesting story to tell about his journey as an educator and administrator. In this interview he talks about many facets of the high school experience - including academics, clubs & extra-curriculars, mental health support, college advisory services and more.

Corey has a hearing impairment and has worn hearing aids most of his life, and I think this makes him a great leadership figure in particular for students who may face physical and other challenges as they try to learn, make friends and speak up for themselves in a big school of 850 students.

Thanks to Niche Lighting for sponsoring this episode of Beaconites. Check out their Factory Sale on Oct 7-8.

This episode was recorded and edited by Beacon AV Lab. Photo of Corey by Michael Isabell.

Our deepest thanks to all the Beaconites listeners, guests and other supporters who have helped us get to 100 episodes.

Eve Morgenstern is the founder of the Soon Is Now festival, taking place Saturday September 23 at Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park. Gary Hilderbrand is a renowned landscape architect and founding partner of Reed Hilderbrand, which oversaw the design and construction of the park.

In this episode, Gary, who grew up in Wappingers Falls and whose dad worked at the Nabisco box plant, shares memories of Beacon's waterfront from the 1960s and 1970s. And Eve and Gary talk about how artists, landscape architects and others are responding to the environmental violence wrought by climate change.

For more on Soon Is Now and how to experience this immersive day of climate change and eco-themed performance and art, visit SoonIsNow.org.

George talks about his decision to sell Dogwood to Brendan McAlpine nearly 11 years after opening the bar. Going forward, George plans to spend more time making art and focus on his other two ventures: Quinns and Untouchable (a new bar set to open in Newburgh), both in partnership with Tom and Yukie Schmitz. He also discusses his seven terms on city council, his proudest achievements and the work that remains to be done.

Dogwood's closing weekend (September 16-17) will feature upwards of 35 bands. Be there!

The Highlands Current recently published a series of features on the profound changes to Beacon, including demographic shifts, surging tax revenues, crime and policing, spiraling housing costs and other aspects of civic life. The package culminated in a conversation between Beacon's four living mayors: Clara Lou Gould (Beacon's Moses), Steve Gold (the recession mayor), Randy Casale (our first ever guest on this podcast) and current mayor Lee Kyriacou.

To recap that coverage and share his perspective on all the dizzying changes to our city, we're glad to welcome reporter Jeff Simms back to the podcast. Jeff has attended more council, planning board, zoning board of appeals and school board meetings than perhaps any other resident and shares his informed perspective on current city business and the forces that will shape Beacon in years to come.

Calli Rothberg is the owner of Passion - The Adult Dance Studio on Main Street. Calli grew up in Beacon as part of a big family. When the pandemic hit, she and all her siblings moved home to Beacon, living again in the house where they all grew up (which happens to be the second oldest home in Beacon, after the Madam Brett homestead). This disruption of her life led to a period of soul searching that in turn inspired her to open her studio in early 2022.

Noga Cabo is a talented songwriter and guitarist who grew up in a family of dedicated musicians. She has been writing songs since she was a young child, and still collaborates musically with her brothers Adam and Zohar and her mother Dassi. Her music straddles the line between folk and jazz.

Noga released her first single "Catch Me," in June and will release her debut EP "Lady Sun" in July. Her upcoming performances include an EP release show on Sunday June 30 at the Howland Cultural Center.

Learn more about Noga and hear her music at NogaCabo.com and on Bandcamp.

On the surface, One Nature is a landscape design business and nursery, but that doesn't fully describe it. Its real work, as you'll hear in this interview with Blair Patterson, is the engineering of outdoor spaces that build community and biodiversity.

Blair started working at One Nature in 2016 as a temporary nursery hand after deciding that her career in metal fabrication was not worth the physical toll. In the years since she joined, One Nature has designed more than 100 gardens in Beacon, helping to create an interlinked network of pollinator friendly zones full of native plants. And its public projects in Beacon, Newburgh and surrounding areas have brought people together. In this episode she describes some of One Nature's projects, and shares simple things listeners can do to create habitat in Beacon and the Hudson Valley.

Learn more about One Nature at OneNatureLLC.com. Follow them on Instagram at @1Nature.

Photo credit: Michael Isabell

In March, Beacon's city council passed an electrification law that will eliminate the use of gas hookups in new construction. Thomas Wright and Erin Ashoka, two founders of Beacon Climate Action Now, discuss how this legislation came to pass and what it will mean for the city. They also share BCAN's mission and talk about which sustainability issues theroup plans to tackle next. After recording this interview, NY state passed similar legislation taking effect in 2026 so this interview offers a nice overview not only for what the law means for Beaconites but also for residents across the state.

Learn more about electrification at RewiringAmerica.org.

Want to get involved with BCAN? Visit their website at beaconcan.org and follow them on Instagram at @beacon.can.

George Atkinson still lives in the same house on Locust Place where he was born in 1927. In this episode he shares memories and historical anecdotes spanning nine decades, recounting the city's changes through the Great Depression, World War 2, the economic doldrums of the 70s and 80s, and eventual renaissance. George talks about the factories that employed his father and brothers, two plane crashes on Mt. Beacon that shocked city residents, how it felt to ride the old incline railway and more. And he grapples with the meaning of "progress" as Beacon absorbs new residents and revenues. A must-listen for any fan of local history.