Hudson Mohawk Magazine

Amazon workers in Staten Island, NY made history with their vote to unionize on April 1, 2022. The workers at JFK8 Amazon warehouse are the first-ever Amazon facility in the US to unionize. In this labor segment, HMM Roaming Labor Correspondent Willie Terry provides background information on that struggle and excerpts from a press conference of Amazon Labor Union (ALU) leader Chris Small.

Every week, Street Soldiers in Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer provide everything from food (for humans and pets) to arts and crafts to medical supplies for people in need. Hudson Mohawk Magazine's Caelan McPherson went to Academy Park in Albany to report on Street Soldier's weekly event.

For more info, and how to get involved, see streetsoldiers.community

On April 19, the Media Sanctuary is co-sponsoring the virtual event "Ending the Prohibition of the Mind: A Mushroom Symposium." Noah Potter, a psychedelic policy consultant, is one of the presenters. He discusses the movement to decriminalize psilocybin with Mark Dunlea for the Hudson Mohawk Radio Network.

Today, on the Hudson Mohawk Magazine,

We begin with a look at the ongoing debate over economic development funding in the state budget.

Then, we hear about the upcoming Women against War’s Friday event for peace in Ukraine.

After that, we have an interview with City Council President Carmela Mantello about her proposed quality of life task force initiative.

Later on, we caught up with Ellie Irons as she was removing asphalt to expose the soil underneath as part of her Lawn Lab project.

Finally, we finish with an interview with Dennis Kitchen, who will be one the speakers on the April 19 virtual forum on Ending the Prohibition of the Mind: A Mushroom Symposium.

Explore the world of publishing! Brea Barthel is talking about books with Emily Sper who writes, illustrates designs, and -- after years working for Scholastic and other major companies -- even publishes her own books. Learn how a background in the book biz led to Emily becoming an independent publisher. For more info about her children's books on Judaica, Jewish holidays, adult flower mandala coloring designs, and lots more, visit emilysper.com.

On Thursday, April 7 during its regular meeting, the Troy City Council will vote on a resolution implementing a Quality of Life Task Force for the City of Troy to address better coordination among city departments to address some of the most common problems raised by Troy residents that impact our quality of life. HMM correspondent Corinne Carey spoke with City Council President Carmella Mantello about the resolution she proposed, and what she hopes it will accomplish.

Dennis Kitchen, a licensed mental health councilor in NY State, created The LEnS, a mental health agency, in the image of a church to approach psychotherapy with evidence based processes to increase wellbeing and reduced suffering, anxiety, panic, and depression. Kitchen spoke with HMM's Andrea Cunliffe about psilocybin and the treatment of mental conditions by verbal communication and interaction.

The LEnS is a co-sponsor of the upcoming event "Ending the Prohibition of the Mind: A Mushroom Symposium" on April 19 from 7-9pm. More information: https://www.mediasanctuary.org/event/mushroom/

Women, dressed in black, standing in silence will be Women Against War's demonstration to call for peace in Ukraine on Friday, April 8th, on the State Street steps of the Legislative Office Building at 11am. Maureen Aumand of Women Against War talks about the event with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Radio Network.

Address: 198 State St., Albany

Does the $10 billion the state currently spends on an array of economic development programs create jobs for New Yorkers or does it largely benefit millionaires, billionaires, and big businesses? Ron Deutsch of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness describes efforts to increase accountability for what many describe as corporate welfare. With Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Radio Network.

Removing turf and asphalt is part of the rewilding process that is the Lawn (Re)Disturbance Laboratory, or Lawn Lab for short. Areas of removed lawn are marked by yellow pyramids of metal bars next to the Collard City Growers garden.

During the the removal of a patch of asphalt, Sina Basila Hickey caught up with artist Ellie Irons (and helper Azuré Keahi) to ask about this art-science experiment of lawn rewilding.