After being shot, Richie left his career as a corrections officer to become a gardener. He worked his way up in the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation to become director of the Citywide Nursery. While there he cared for the Survivor Tree, a Callery pear that was crushed (but not killed) in the 9/11 terror attacks. In Beacon, he founded the Sargent-Downing Garden.

Since she was 18, Tina Brown has foster parented children and teens. Over the years she has cared for more than 100 kids including her two biological children.

In this special 50th episode of Beaconites, we examine the proposal to build a new gas-burning power plant across the river at the 70-year-old Danskammer facility. Guests include Bill Reid, CEO of Danskammer Energy; Hayley Carlock, director of environmental advocacy and legal affairs at Scenic Hudson; and Emily Ellison and Harvey Weiss, two residents of the hamlet of Chelsea.

Paloma Wake is running for an at-large seat on the City Council and has been endorsed by the Beacon Democrats and Working Families party. In this episode she talks about her work with Beacon4BlackLives, Mutual Aid Beacon, Beacon's Human Relations Commission and other organizations, and she shares her ideas for meeting the basic needs of people living in Beacon. Contact Paloma at [email protected]

Chief Frost, a 37-year veteran of the Beacon Police Department, talks about policing reforms, the role of race in policing and his enforcement priorities. New city administrator Chris White discusses business currently before the city and his plans for 2021 and beyond.

Scenic Hudson has protected huge swaths of land in and around Beacon, including Mount Beacon, Fishkill Ridge, Madam Brett Park and of course Long Dock Park. In this episode, Sullivan describes the legendary environmental group's mission, its operating model and its priorities for 2021 and beyond.

Joe Robitaile bought Homespun from previous owner Jess Reisman in late fall 2019, a few months before the pandemic struck and overthrew his plan for the business.

Our guest Steve Schwartz is a longtime captain of the sloop Woody Guthrie. He talks about Pete Seeger's vision to bring people closer to the Hudson River as expressed through three projects: the sloop Clearwater, the smaller Woody Guthrie and River Pool.

John Vergara is the owner of Lord of the Strings, a musical instrument building and repair shop that he founded in 2013. John works with a wide range of stringed instruments, including the Arabic oud, the Puerto rican cuatro, classical style guitar and violin. As part of this interview he performs tunes on the Oud and guitar.

Claire talks about the waves of home buyers moving to Beacon in recent years, the current rental shortage and what's changing in 2020.