The Love Our Land Parade is a peaceful protest scheduled for Sunday, September 21, aimed at drawing attention to overdevelopment and environmental concerns in the Town of Fallsburg. The event, organized by Brett Budde of Majestic Farm in Mountdale, will feature a community marching band, live performances, and a dog costume contest.

"We've been working to help move the town of Fallsburg to take our overdevelopment issues seriously. Having a large group of people show up lets the town know that citizens care and expect action," Budde told Radio Catskill.

Budde highlighted the ongoing water shortages and infrastructure challenges affecting Fallsburg residents:

"We have over 71 miles of water mains, many installed in the 1940s. They can't handle more than two fire trucks without collapsing. Three weeks ago, we had a water main break during our busiest weekend, and one tank was down to one foot of water."

He stressed that high-density development in areas like Rec 1 could worsen the situation:

"When 100 acres get developed with 200 units, the town seems to think we don't have a water issue, but we know that's not true."

The parade also serves as a call for community participation, including volunteers for crowd management and local musicians for the marching band. Budde encouraged families and residents from surrounding towns to attend:

"We want this to be an exciting and fun event while highlighting the serious issues affecting our town."

For more information about the Love Our Land Parade, follow Brett Budde on Instagram and Facebook, or email [email protected]. Details about Fallsburg town meetings and planning are available at townoffallsburg.com.

 Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti has officially launched her campaign for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, challenging Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan in what’s expected to be one of the most closely watched elections in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Cognetti, who first won office in 2019 as an independent before switching to the Democratic Party, said her campaign will focus on corruption, health care, and transparency. “As Scranton Mayor, one of the main things I ran on was fighting corruption,” Cognetti said in her announcement. “Now I’m bringing that fight to Congress.”

Cognetti’s record in Scranton

Cognetti rose to prominence in Lackawanna County when she ran as an independent against Scranton’s Democratic machine in 2019, branding her campaign as “Paige Against the Machine.” Since then, she has governed as a Democrat, but often at odds with local party insiders.

“Someone who has run not necessarily as a staunch establishment Democrat coming into this race for Congress makes it super interesting,” said Liam Mayo, news editor of the River Reporter, which covers Pike and Wayne counties. “That gives her a certain background that a lot of people wouldn’t necessarily have.”

Cognetti enters the race with the backing of former U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, who represented PA-8 until losing to Bresnahan in 2024. Cartwright praised Cognetti’s “proven leadership in Scranton, commitment to transparency, and innovative policies” in his endorsement.

Bresnahan under fire in Northeastern Pennsylvania

Bresnahan, a Republican businessman from Luzerne County, defeated Cartwright in 2024 with 50.94% of the vote—just over 7,000 votes separating the two candidates.

Cognetti is already targeting Bresnahan over congressional stock trading and health care votes. While campaigning in 2024, Bresnahan pledged to ban stock trading by members of Congress. Since then, he has drawn criticism for continuing to make high-profile trades.

“He has continued to do a lot of high-profile trading in ways that he has caught a lot of flak for,” Mayo explained. In a comment to WVIA, Bresnahan defended his decision, saying: “What would I do with my money? Just leave it in all the accounts and just leave it there and lose money and go broke.”

Cognetti also blasted Bresnahan for supporting a health care bill that restricted access to Medicare and Medicaid.

A tight race shaping up

The Bresnahan campaign dismissed Cognetti’s announcement, calling her run a “vanity campaign.” In a statement, they said: “Paige Cognetti launching a vanity campaign for Congress while still running for a new term as Scranton Mayor tells you everything you need to know about her priorities.”

But early polling suggests a competitive race. A recent survey from Public Policy Polling showed Cognetti leading Bresnahan 45% to 43%, with 13% undecided. Nearly half of voters polled (47%) said they were still unfamiliar with Cognetti.

“With stock trading controversies and healthcare votes dogging Bresnahan, it’s entirely possible the seat is in play for 2026,” Mayo said.

Bresnahan’s role on the farm bill

While the campaign heats up, Bresnahan is also shaping national policy as a member of the House Agriculture Committee. He has been working alongside Chairman Glenn Thompson on the upcoming farm bill, highlighting the importance of family farms in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“The average farm in our district is 179 acres with over 95% of them being family farms,” Bresnahan said.

The bill is expected to include provisions strengthening SNAP benefits and supporting local food distribution. Farmers in Wayne and Pike counties have expressed support for Bresnahan’s Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities Act, which would connect local growers with food assistance programs.

Still, critics point to the congressman’s past vote for cuts to food assistance programs as a contradiction.

What’s next for PA-8 voters.

The 2026 race for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, and Wayne counties, is already shaping up as a competitive matchup between two candidates with outsider reputations.

“In a way, you could see the upcoming election as a newer more outside Republican candidate versus a newer more outside Democratic candidate,” Mayo said.

Labor Day is behind us—and flu season is already ahead. After last year’s record-breaking spike in cases, doctors say now is the time to get protected.

“Last year in New York State was actually a record high number of cases—about 55,000 in a single week,” said Dr. Michael Traub, primary care physician with Crystal Run Healthcare. “We are definitely preparing.”

Why Get the Flu Shot?

• Protect yourself: Each year’s vaccine targets the strains most likely to spread.
• Protect others: Getting vaccinated helps stop the virus from reaching vulnerable neighbors.

Who’s Most at Risk?

• Adults 65+
• People with asthma, COPD, diabetes, or heart disease
• Pregnant women
• Nursing home or group home residents

Flu or COVID? How to Tell

Both bring fever, cough, and congestion. Key differences:

• Flu: Vomiting or diarrhea is more common.
• COVID-19: Loss of taste or smell may show up.
  👉 Best bet: Get tested within 2–3 days of symptoms.

Other Healthy Habits

• Wash your hands
• Stay home if you’re sick
• Consider masking in crowded spaces
• Keep chronic conditions under control

Can You Get Flu, COVID, and RSV Shots Together?

Yes. All three can be given in the same visit—though you may want to space them out if you’d rather not have two sore arms at once.

The Bottom Line

“Just remember to get your shot,” Dr. Traub said. “I usually recommend patients do it by Halloween.”

More info at crystalrunhealthcare.com.

Singer-songwriter Brad Cole and his band Bossa Blue are bringing James Taylor: Reimagined back to the Towne Crier Café on Friday, offering a fresh take on Taylor’s beloved catalog with a blend of Bossa Nova, Samba, Jazz, Rock, Soul, and Blues.

Now in its third year, the performance has become a local tradition at the iconic Beacon venue.

Cole says the idea started as a simple cover project.

Why James Taylor?

The choice to focus on James Taylor came not from Cole himself, but from a fan suggestion.

Cole describes Taylor’s catalog as “a treasure chest of melody and storytelling,” noting that his reinterpretations don’t attempt to copy the originals.

Reimagining the Songs

Audiences can expect surprises throughout the setlist. For example, Cole’s band transformed the upbeat “Mexico” into a minor blues.

Even with new arrangements, Cole says the heart of Taylor’s music remains intact.

The Band Behind the Sound

Bossa Blue brings together accomplished musicians from across genres.

• Aaron Johnston, drummer, plays with the band Brazilian Girls.
• Peter Calo, guitarist, was music director for Carly Simon.
• Mark Dann, bassist, is Cole’s longtime producer.
• Eric Nice, pianist, brings what Cole calls “our very own Bill Evans” to the group.

Keeping the Tradition Alive

For Cole, the show is both a tribute and a reinvention.

The third annual James Taylor: Reimagined concert with Brad Cole and Bossa Blue takes place Friday at the Towne Crier Café in Beacon. Tickets and details are available at towncrier.com and more about Cole’s music at bradcolemusic.com.

The start of a new school year always brings lots of planning, excitement, and maybe a few nerves. For Rockland Central School District students, families, and staff, this year marks an even bigger fresh start after Livingston Manor and Roscoe Central school districts merged into one unified school district in 2024.

Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar spoke with Superintendent John Evans of Rockland Central School District about what students and families should know about the upcoming school year.

 Festus, presented by the interdisciplinary ensemble Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble, invites participants to play games, solve puzzles, and share stories—all of which are transformed into live music, movement, and theater in real time.

Strike Anywhere’s Leece Walker and Ralph Sturm spoke with Radio Catskill about what audiences can expect. “We’re going to invite folks to join us in some art making,” said Walker. “We’ll be playing games, doing writing, drawing, cutting paper, and possibly even making shadow puppets. Anything that the audience creates becomes fodder for us to sound paint with during the show.”

Sound painting, explained Walker, is a universal sign language for live composition. “I’ll be signing to performers—dancers, musicians, and actors—who respond in improvisation according to the signs. I can pump up the volume, ask an actor to improvise as a newscaster, or go quietly, and the performers react immediately.”

Sturm, who will be among the performers responding to these live instructions, described the process as “magical.” He said, “You have to be in the moment, eyes and ears open, because you don’t know what the sound painter will sign next or how others will respond. It’s very direct and improvisational, but not necessarily comedic—it can be abstract or poignant.”

Festus is a departure from Strike Anywhere’s previous community-based projects, Walker explained. “In the past, we’ve spent weeks engaging communities to gather content for shows. This is fast-paced—a flash content gathering style where audience contributions are woven directly into the performance on the spot. This is development in action, happening here for the first time at NACL.”

Audience members will have the opportunity to create shadow puppets in response to prompts, which will immediately be incorporated into the live performance.

Strike Anywhere, founded in 1997, has evolved from director-driven productions to deeply community-focused work. “About 10 or 12 years in, we started working directly with communities, deriving the content of the show from their experiences rather than from the director’s brain,” Walker said. Past projects have tackled topical issues like fracking, engaging local residents in the creative process and taking the resulting performances to other communities and even international venues.

Sturm emphasized the ongoing importance of community engagement. “Wherever we go, we conduct new interviews to understand what’s happening in that community. The performance is tailored, timely, and can spark dialogue and action even after the show ends.”

Festus will be performed at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday at NACL. For more information on the ensemble and the event, visit strikeanywhere.info and nacl.org.

The Village of Liberty approved a local law on Aug. 21 to prohibit camping or sleeping in Village parks, sideways, and other public areas. The local ordinance came with mixed input from community members. Some residents said the law was necessary for tighter public safety regulations, while others said the law criminalized homeless residents.

Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar was at the public hearing held right before the full Village Board passed the local law and brings us this report.

Environmental advocates and farmers in New York state are preparing to organize to stop the construction of the Constitution Pipeline that would bring fracked gas from Central Pennsylvania into New York and parts of New England.

They’ve been here before, winning a long fought legal battle in the 2010s. But with the Trump administration’s  forceful intervention in state's energy sources, the Hochul administration may be willing to concede to the construction of the pipeline.

Radio Catskill’s Genevieve Hartnett spoke with Anne Marie Garti, attorney and environmental activist about the suspicious ways this pipeline is being moved to construction and the widespread rejection to the pipeline among land owners in Upstate New York.

Pennsylvania lawmakers blew past the state’s June 30 deadline to pass a budget, and as the impasse stretches into late August, local leaders in Northeast Pennsylvania are bracing for possible impacts.

“The Pennsylvania state budget has a legal deadline of end of June, early July,” said Liam Mayo, news editor of The River Reporter. “And given that it’s almost September now, that budget or that deadline has very clearly come and gone and Pennsylvania does not yet have a finalized budget.”

Without a budget, state payments to local agencies are on hold. “The budget is what authorizes the state to sort of spend the money that it has. And without a budget agreement in place, the state can’t send out any of that money,” Mayo explained.

The major sticking point is transit funding. “Both Republicans and Democrats want to increase the amount of funding that goes to public transit in Pennsylvania, but there’s sort of disagreements on where that funding could come from,” Mayo said. “Either way you cut it, that’s leaving a hole in the budget somewhere, and there’s still this disagreement on where that hole should be.”

So far, impacts in Wayne and Pike have been limited. “In general, the people we talked to said that they either haven’t sort of felt these missed payments yet or they have enough money in reserve to weather a couple of missed payments or both,” Mayo reported.

Pike County Commissioner Matt Osterberg told The River Reporter there had been concern that the Carbon Monroe Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission could be unable to provide services, but opioid settlement funds have been used to bridge the gap. Still, Osterberg said, “This is basically politics and I think it’s a shame that political disagreements can cause such havoc on the local level. This is always disruptive to an entire community when they do this.”

Wallenpaupack Area School District Superintendent Keith Ganassi told The River Reporter the district “has not been negatively affected at this time,” noting that local property tax revenues will see the district through the delay.

Michelle Young, director of the Wayne County Family Center, told The River Reporter her agency has weathered past budget stalemates without shutting down. “Regardless, I’ll rest easier when the budget is passed and funding is released for all the schools and vital programs that need this money,” she added.

County officials are watching closely. “Everybody is preparing to potentially make some changes in services or preparing to shift some money around to make sure that services are not disrupted,” Mayo said. “But as of right now, they’re still looking at, okay, we may need to do this in a couple of weeks — not we are needing to do this on a large scale at this moment in time.”

Wayne County Clerk Andrew Seder told The River Reporter department heads have been put on notice about the budget delay but have not yet been asked to cut services. “If the budget impasse goes on a couple more weeks, the county will have to talk about what steps it could take to weather the storm,” Seder said.

At the state level, Sen. Lisa Baker, who represents Wayne and Pike counties, defended the Senate Republican proposal to prioritize roadwork. In a recent statement, she said the plan “recognizes the need for mass transit funding, but not at the expense of the rest of the Commonwealth. The plan turns a necessary corner in the right direction by prioritizing equity in funding, ensuring small communities in rural areas also receive resources.”

Mayo said the uncertainty itself is weighing on local communities: “Even though people might not be feeling direct immediate impacts, just the idea that this is something people need to prepare for is something that’s weighing on people’s minds in a way that it wouldn’t necessarily need to if politicians at the state level could find more easy agreement.”

You can read Liam Mayo’s full reporting on the state budget impasse at riverreporter.com
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