Radio Chatskill

A casual conversation in a small Catskills café has led to a holiday jazz collaboration at The Parlor in Narrowsburg this weekend. Local group The Treble Makers will perform with Broadway standout Margo Seibert, turning familiar tunes—and a few surprises—into intimate jazz arrangements.

Seibert recalls how it all began. “I was in Calicoon visiting the Naven Koken, a little Scandinavian and German café, which is RIP no longer, but they’re doing pop-ups now, and met the owner,” she said. “She was talking to me about her husband. He had a little jazz set and he was looking for a singer, and I was chatting with her about the fact that I am a singer and a performer and looking for more opportunities to perform locally here. And so she connected me with her husband.”

Their first meeting took place at Two Queens in Narrowsburg. “We were talking about, you know, what venue do we think…who might be interested in this kind of music, and Susan Mendoza overheard us at Two Queens,” Seibert said. “She was like, ‘Did you say venue?’ And immediately said, ‘Follow me,’ and walked us downstairs to The Parlor…why don’t you give it a try here.”

From a simple town chat came “this really kind of organic meeting of the minds,” Seibert said. “So we’re excited to play together. That’s what it’s all about. Like, you just coming together organically like that.”

The setlist mixes classics and unexpected choices from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. “We just kind of get together and play through the chart and see what we can do to make it ours,” Seibert said.

President Donald Trump returned to Northeast Pennsylvania on Tuesday, rallying supporters at a casino and resort in Mount Pocono with a message centered on the economy — even as protesters challenged his claims and called the visit out of touch.

Inside, Trump insisted inflation is “no longer a problem” and accused Democrats of turning affordability into a political “hoax.” His remarks frequently drifted toward familiar grievances and revived first-term immigration rhetoric.

Outside, the tone was sharply different.

“The protest we were at was organized … outside a ShopRite that was along the path of the motorcade,” said Liam Mayo of the River Reporter. “There were between 50 and 100 people I’d say … and the people we asked for their thoughts on Trump coming to speak about affordability considered it a little bit ludicrous, saying like generally he didn’t really know about affordability or painting him as out of touch.”

Many demonstrators pointed to the irony of the former president delivering an affordability-themed speech at a casino.

Among those protesting was Pike County resident Isabelle Hodkin Smith, who has helped organize demonstrations in Milford since April. She criticized both Trump and Rep. Rob Bresnahan, the Republican representing Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District.

“It’s pure BS,” she said. “Essentially he doesn’t care about affordability. He’s here to try to get Bresnahan re-elected, who has done absolutely nothing except hurt the county. And he knows that Paige Cognetti is a much better candidate and so he's starting here and trying to hurt as much as he can in Pennsylvania.”

Cognetti, the Mayor of Scranton, is challenging Bresnahan in the 2026 midterms.

Wayne County resident Julie Pease also voiced frustration, citing economic strain and what she described as the fallout from Trump-era tariffs.

Pease said the price pressures are obvious. “Everything is more expensive now,” she said. “If you just go to the grocery store then you feel the impact of inflation, of the affordability crisis we’re in.”

She also pointed to what she said were the tariff impacts on her brother’s steel manufacturing business.

“And these tariffs have killed a lot of business,” she said. “My brother is an independent and he is in the steel manufacturing industry. His business is dead because he did a lot of business overseas and now with the tariffs, they're not buying.”

Inside the venue, the Scranton Times-Tribune reported a packed crowd.

Singer-songwriter Jesse Terry will join Craig Bickhardt, Hallie Neal, and Sam Robbins for Songs, Stories and Sleigh Bells, a festive holiday concert at The Arts Nest this Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. 

Terry, an award-winning songwriter known for his heartfelt performances, said the holiday shows hold a special meaning.

“They’re a little more intimate,” he said. “Because I only get to do a few weeks of this every year, it feels extra special to be part of someone else’s holiday tradition and holiday season.”

Performing with friends and longtime collaborators adds to the experience.

“Oh yeah, well that’s like a few of my best friends,” Terry said. “Craig is like a mentor, a father figure and legendary songwriter. Sam is an old friend I’ve toured with, and Hallie has sung all the harmonies on my last record. It’s fantastic to have all of them there.”

Terry’s love for holiday music stems from its timeless melodies and personal significance.

“I’ve always loved Christmas songs — some of the most beautiful songs ever written, with incredible melodies and changes,” he said. “I’ve got two young kids, so the season feels extra special. During COVID, a fan offered to fund a double holiday album, which gave me the motivation to start this yearly tradition.”

Beyond performing, Terry teaches as interim director of the Contemporary Musicianship and Entrepreneur Development (CMED) program at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, drawing inspiration from his students.

“I’m always getting input from students about what matters to them and how they prepare for careers,” he said. “I’m learning a ton — things I wish I learned in college.”

One holiday song that evolves for him every year is O Little Town of Bethlehem.

“For me, it paints a beautiful picture,” he said. “The harmony and imagery are so strong. I love coming back to it every year.”

Get ready to deck the halls with laughter. "Vickie and Nickie, the alter egos of sisters Lisa and Lori Brigantino, are returning to The Muse in Rosendale for a festive holiday show this Thursday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m.

“We just happen to get away enough time from our husbands and our kids to get on the road because we're musicians, but we do it in our spare time… We're going to be doing a show that's about, oh, I don't know, 75 minutes to a half an hour and a half long. We do your favorite holiday songs, your standards and classic holiday songs with a little twist to them, and then we do some original holiday songs and then we do some pop songs,” Lisa, who plays "Nickie" said.

Hailing from Hibbing, Minnesota, "Vicky and Nickie" have been keeping fans coming back for more for over 20 years. 

“We started it around 2002,” Lisa said. “We had been doing singer-songwriter stuff since we could make sound growing up and playing instruments together.”

Their iconic characters were born out of a creative mash-up of theater, music, and comedy. “We were just like, ‘God, that would be fun to play characters and do music playing the character,’” Lori said.

Lisa  added, “I have an acting background. I did off-Broadway and independent films. And Lisa just happens to be, aside from being a phenomenal musician, a natural comedian.”

Sullivan County legislators have moved their vote on whether or not to approve the 2026 county budget after residents pushed back during two public hearings at the Government Center in Monticello.

Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar attended the hearing on Dec. 9 and brings us this report.

Our resident science guy Joe Johnson is back with this week’s *Science Stories*, diving into the latest cosmic discoveries, cutting-edge tech inspired by nature, and updates on the comets lighting up our skies.

Fast Radio Bursts Illuminate the Universe

Johnson kicked things off with fast radio bursts, or FRBs, the mysterious, ultra-brief flashes of radio energy that have captivated astronomers. “These are extremely powerful flashes of radio energy, literally more energy than our Sun releases in several days, but they only last micro or milliseconds rather,” he explained.

While most FRBs originate from galaxies far, far away, scientists recently detected some within our own Milky Way. “They’re probably produced by magnetars, which are neutron stars with intense magnetic fields, literally hundreds of million of trillions of times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.”

Though incredibly powerful, FRBs are faint by the time they reach Earth—“about a thousand times weaker than a cell phone signal sent from the moon to the Earth. So they're barely there, but they are detectable,” Johnson said.

Using these signals, astronomers have been able to map the intergalactic medium, the thin gas network connecting galaxies. “By studying how these fast radio bursts are changed by passing through this intergalactic medium, they can estimate how much gaseous matter the radio waves encountered,” he explained. The results show that 76% of the universe’s normal matter lies between galaxies, 15% in galactic halos, and only 9% within stars and gas inside galaxies—a cosmic census of matter for the first time.

**Necrobotics: Spider Legs and Mosquito Nozzles**

Next up, Johnson explored a field called necrobotics, where engineers use biological structures in machines. “The best example that I could find was what they called a biohybrid pneumatic micro gripper that was actually made from the legs of deceased spiders. They control them with air pressure and they use these devices to pick up, you know, tiny little electronic pieces in manufacture.”

A recent study takes this a step further by using mosquito proboscises—the tiny straws female mosquitoes use to drink blood—as micro-nozzles for 3D printers. “These three printers can print structures as small as 20 microns across. A micron is a millionth of a meter or a thousandth of a millimeter. And just for reference, your skin cells are about 30 microns across,” Johnson said. He added, “These mosquito nozzles can outperform plastic or metal alternatives… and they’re also cheaper. Finally, a good use for the mosquito. Yes, finally. Getting their due.”

This technology has applications in microelectronics, tissue engineering, and biomedical research, enabling scientists to print tiny circuits and cellular scaffolds with precision previously impossible.

**Comet Updates: Lemon, Swan, and Interstellar 3I/Atlas**

Johnson rounded out the segment with updates on comets currently in our skies. Comet Lemon (C/2025 A6) was the easiest to spot in October but is now fading. “Right now it’s fading fast, it’s a magnitude 8… Pretty soon it’s only going to be visible down on the southern hemisphere.”

Comet Swan (C/2025 F2) disintegrated in late October, while the interstellar visitor 3I/Atlas continues to intrigue astronomers. “This did not originate, you know, close to home. It’s moving too fast and it’s moving on a path that tells us that it’s not gravitationally bound to the sun,” Johnson said. He cautioned against online speculation that it’s a spacecraft: “One of my heroes, Carl Sagan, famously said that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and I don’t think we’re at that point yet.”

For amateur astronomers, Johnson recommends checking official agency updates: “NASA and the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency will be releasing all kinds of pictures of it. So, if you want to see good pictures, go check them out.”

Image by jcomp on Freepik

Pennsylvania’s 8th District Representative Rob Bresnahan brought a well-known guest to the region Friday: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. The two met with hospital executives and local health officials to hear directly about the challenges facing healthcare providers across Northeast Pennsylvania.

“The purpose of the visit was for them to talk with local representatives and local healthcare officials and hear about what the needs of the region were and bring that back to Washington to potentially help get local health systems in rural parts of Pennsylvania and elsewhere across the country the help that they need,” said Liam Mayo, news editor of The River Reporter.

Much of the discussion centered around the Rural Health Transformation Fund, a $50 billion program included in this year’s federal budget aimed at bolstering rural healthcare systems. “A lot of what Bresnahan and Dr. Oz talked about was ways that they were hearing to make sure that money was going to be effective in actually helping the needs of health systems and health care in rural parts of the country,” Mayo said.

At a press conference following a closed-door roundtable, local healthcare leaders shared their perspectives. Jim Pettinato, CEO of Wayne Memorial Hospital, highlighted the challenges faced by smaller hospitals. “It was nice to be able to sort of hear very clearly what the expectations were of the metrics… and to be able to sort of talk about some of those metrics,” Pettinato said. Mayo added, “Hearing from Wayne Memorial specifically as a smaller hospital and making sure to adjust the metrics… understanding that Wayne Memorial Hospital is a smaller hospital and can't necessarily do some of the things in terms of IT deployment that larger hospital systems would be able to do.”

In Pike County, which lacks a hospital or urgent care facilities, the focus was on emergency services. Mayo said, “That puts a lot of burden on the county's emergency services, its ambulances… because there aren’t those resources more locally.” Pike County is partnering with Northwell Health to open two primary care facilities—first in Dingmans Ferry, then in Hawley—and eventually hopes to develop a “micro hospital” to provide more comprehensive local care.

Bresnahan and Dr. Oz also addressed concerns about the potential expiration of enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Mayo explained, “Projections from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation indicate that in our listening area, there would be about a 110% increase for the holder of a mid-tier health insurance plan.” Bresnahan expressed support for a two-year extension with reforms, while Dr. Oz emphasized system reforms over additional funding. “His concern was more about reforming the system than about extending those credits,” Mayo said.

The visit also comes amid a contentious national debate over healthcare policy. “I think it’s a visit that is very much taken in full understanding of that political landscape… It’s both him being in the district and doing the job and listening to local leaders. And it’s something he’s doing knowing that this is going to be one of the biggest questions he’s going to be asked in about a year’s time when voters go to the polls,” Mayo said.

Coverage of the healthcare roundtable and press conference can be found at The River Reporter, riverreporter.com.

Cold winter weather is driving up energy use across New York, leaving families struggling to heat their homes. More than 175 organizations—including clean energy advocates, local businesses, and low-income assistance groups—are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to act.

They’ve launched the Building Electrification Equity Platform, a set of immediate policies aimed at lowering energy costs while moving the state toward a cleaner, more affordable energy future.

Rising Costs Hit Hard

Betta Broad, Campaign Director at New Yorkers for Clean Power and  Director, Advocacy & Organizing at Association for Energy Affordability, said the crisis is urgent.

She highlighted the strain on vulnerable households:

Long-Term Solutions: Weatherization and Efficiency

Broad says programs like Empower Plus and the Weatherization Assistance Program help families reduce bills and improve home comfort.

Concerns Over State Decisions

Recent delays and approvals worry advocates:

• All-electric building law delayed:

• New gas pipeline approved despite environmental concerns:

Clean Energy as an Affordable Future

The platform calls for:

• Expanded solar incentives and tax credits
• Low-interest loans for households narrowly missing program eligibility
• Investments in heat pumps, insulation, and energy efficiency

Broad says a clean energy transition would benefit all New Yorkers:

Full details are available at beepny.org.

For 18 years, Into the Light has captured hearts with its life-size puppets, vibrant dance, and universal story of hope. This December, the beloved Vanaver Caravan and Arm of the Sea Puppet Theatre production returns to the Rosendale Theatre for performances on Saturday, Dec. 13, and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

A Timeless Story of Light and Joy
“This is 18 years old, and it still has a huge following,” says Miranda Wilde Way of Vanaver Caravan. At the heart of the show is Lucia, a young girl navigating the darkness of winter—and of life itself. “The whole show is a metaphor for becoming depressed and then finding joy in the people of the world,” Wilde Way explains.

Life-Size Puppets and Stunning Visuals
From a Cap Dancing Skeleton representing death to a lovable bear puppet guiding Lucia out of hibernation, the production is a feast for the eyes. “The puppets themselves are all worn by dancers. So the dancers are absolutely life-sized. And yeah, visually it is just a stunning show,” Wilde Way says.

A Celebration of Global Traditions
The show travels the world through light-based celebrations. This year’s performances feature Kwanzaa, Diwali, Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, and indigenous tales, with guest artists bringing authentic music and dance to each scene. “We look at all these different cultures throughout the world that have used the lighting of candles to bring hope and inspire hope and connection,” Wilde Way says.

Tickets and More
Wilde Way says audience members leave inspired, many saying, “I really needed this. I really needed this.”

More information rosendaletheater.org and vanavercaravan.org.

As more residents across the region turn to crisis hotlines and community support networks, a new center in Wayne County is preparing to open its doors with the goal of meeting growing mental health needs.

The Center for Community Resources (CCR), which operates in 37 Pennsylvania counties, is launching the Northeast Regional Crisis Stabilization Center in Honesdale. An open house is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 12, to introduce the public to its expanded services.

“Our goal is to connect people to those community resources and supports that improve their everyday life within their individual communities,” said Victoria Toomey, the center’s outreach coordinator. “We are in 37 counties, so it looks different in each of those, but I would say just getting people the support that they need.”

CCR was founded in 2002 as a centralized hub for people navigating their mental health journeys. “Initially, the goal was to be a resource hub — a place where anyone going through their mental health journey could come to and get connected to providers or just local community resources that could be helpful,”  Toomey said. “And then over time, we evolved into that provider role.”

Today, CCR offers a wide range of services, including early intervention, intellectual and developmental disability support, and crisis intervention — the focus of its newest expansion in Wayne County.

First-of-its-Kind Crisis Center in Wayne County

The new stabilization center will provide a homelike, non-clinical environment for people experiencing a mental health crisis — a model that Toomey said sets the center apart.

“It’s the first of its kind in Wayne County, so that’s really exciting,” she said. “The center does a really good job of feeling very comforting and not very clinical. We want people to come in and just feel kind of at home.”

The crisis program includes a 24/7 phone hotline, mobile crisis teams that meet people where they are, and around-the-clock walk-in services at 616 Main St. until the new facility is fully open.

Once the Park Street location begins operations, the center will offer two programs under one roof: a walk-in crisis urgent-care model on the ground floor and an upstairs crisis residential program with eight voluntary beds for stays of up to five days.

“The goal is to give people a place to go — an alternative to the emergency room during a mental health crisis — where they can come in and immediately meet with a specialist,” Toomey said. The residential program, she added, is designed to support people before they need inpatient treatment.

No Cost, No Insurance Needed

Toomey stressed that the walk-in center is open to anyone, regardless of age, insurance, or income.

“It is also no cost. You can walk in 24/7,” she said. “Even if you just need a place to kind of sit down and ground yourself when you’re going through a tough emotional time, we want to provide that space.”

Building Awareness and Trust

One of the biggest challenges, Toomey said, is simply making people aware that crisis services exist — especially in tight-knit or underserved parts of the county.

“I would say that a lot of times I’ll go to an event and talk to somebody and it might be their first time hearing about what crisis services really are,” she said. “In Wayne County specifically, it’s a very tight-knit community. A big way to connect people is just sitting down face-to-face and talking with them.”

Toomey said the upcoming open house is one more way to meet residents where they are.

“People can come and meet the team, take a tour of the facility, and just learn a little bit more about those services,” she said. “We’re so excited for people to see the building.”

Growing to Meet Community Needs

While funding and staffing are challenges for many mental health programs, Toomey said the center has benefited from strong county support and a growing workforce.

“We’re lucky that it has been going well, but we just want to keep growing,” she said. “There’s already been so much growth, but with this new center, now there’s a new place for people to go and continue to learn about our services and help break down that stigma.”

Toomey encourages anyone unsure about seeking help to simply make the first call.

“It doesn’t have to feel like the end of the world to make that call,” she said. “We have amazing crisis workers that are there 24/7. They can help you figure out what that next step might look like for you.”

More information is available at ccrinfo.org or by calling the Wayne County crisis line at 833-557-3224.

“Even if you’re just looking for community resources or local providers, don’t hesitate to call that number,”  Toomey said. “We just want to serve our community.”