On a Saturday morning in August, 15 volunteers gathered in the tall grasses of a recently acquired 140-acre Winnakee Land Trust preserve in the Town of Clermont. Working inside a one-acre deer enclosure, a fenced plot designed to protect saplings from hungry animals, the volunteers removed buckthorn, a stubborn invasive that had spread thickly through the understory. Every invasive they pulled opened space for young native trees.  The effort reflects a new mission for Winnakee: restoring land it acquires in ways the conservancy hopes can serve as a model for the Hudson Valley, at a time when much of the...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/beyond-easements-winnakee-builds-a-new-model-for-active-land-management-in-the-hudson-valley/

Hudson Valley rush hour commuters will have options for faster rides between New York City and Poughkeepsie starting Monday, as Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced that the “super-express” trains, at less than 90 minutes, are ready to launch four months ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates Metro-North, announced a 4.5% increase on monthly and weekly tickets, as well as an 8% increase on all other ticket types, effective in January. That means a one-way peak ticket between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central will increase from to roughly . The faster train runs affect three morning trains...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/super-express-metro-north-trains-between-poughkeepsie-and-city-to-start-monday-ahead-of-schedule/

After officials thought they had resolved the problems plaguing Red Hook’s wastewater treatment plant, the facility once again fell out of compliance this past summer, Village officials informed residents at a community meeting on Tuesday.  “We discovered that, due to simple human error, the wrong parameters were tested from June through August,” said Les Coon, the plant’s lead operator and senior area manager of H2O Innovation. The issue surfaced when H2O Innovation reviewed lab data and discovered that, from June through August, staff had tested for CBOD, or Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand, instead of BOD, or Biochemical Oxygen Demand, as the...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/red-hook-wastewater-plant-back-on-track-after-summer-mix-up-pushes-it-out-of-compliance/

A Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health employee was arrested on a felony charge of physically abusing a resident during a transportation detail on Monday. The arrest took place Tuesday and the staff member, Samuel I. Ezechukwu, 49, of Red Hook, was charged with Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person in the First Degree, a class E felony. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to four years in prison, along with a potential term of five years of probation and a substantial fine.  The Rhinebeck Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), part of the State Police, handled...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/devereux-employee-arrested-on-felony-charge-of-hitting-resident-during-transportation-detail/

This morning, Americans wake up to the news that the federal government has shut down. The Daily Catch wants to know: Are you affected? How? Please send us your stories. Whether you work for the U.S. military and may miss a paycheck, or are threatened with losing your job in another U.S. agency, we care. If you receive government services that are at risk, please share that information with us. Please email Editor Emily Sachar: [email protected] or text 718-644-5789.

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/are-you-affected-by-the-federal-government-shutdown-share-your-story/

The Town of Rhinebeck and the Sisters of St. Ursula have formally agreed to work together to find a purchaser for the religious order’s prime 51-acre piece of property on the Hudson River known as the Linwood Spiritual Center. Under an agreement approved by the Town Board on Monday, the Sisters and the Town will market the property to prospective purchasers with a shared “vision” for the property. The agreement states that Town and the Sisters want to redevelop the property with a use that will maximize the sale price for the Sisters, guide the development into one that will...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/town-of-rhinebeck-and-sisters-of-ursula-present-shared-vision-for-linwood/

The Town of Red Hook has taken the first step on the long road to potentially lowering Town speed limits. On Sept. 9, the Town Board approved hiring an engineering firm to study the current limits on all Town-owned roads. The firm, Creighton Manning, will assess the safety of the current limit of 35 miles per hour (mph) by gathering data on past accidents and average driver speeds. The Town hopes to use the study to convince the New York State Department of Transportation to lower the limits.  “[The Town’s] intention is to lower as many roadways as the science...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/town-of-red-hook-takes-first-step-to-lower-speed-limits-hiring-engineer-to-review-59-miles-of-roadway/

Hosting a largely friendly crowd, officials with the development dubbed Six Senses Hudson Valley gathered business leaders and citizens from Rhinebeck, Clinton, and Hyde Park for an event at Terrapin Restaurant Friday evening in part to counteract concerns about the luxury brand’s hotly debated project. The session, which featured Neil Jacobs, former CEO of the hospitality brand Six Senses, came one day after Six Senses Hudson Valley cleared a procedural hurdle that allows the project to continue review before the Town of Clinton Planning Board. The proposed development would be located on a 236-acre property that is largely located in...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/a-friendly-crowd-gathers-in-rhinebeck-to-support-the-controversial-six-senses-luxury-resort-project/

Letters to the Editor:      I urge voters to elect Kara Gerry as Dutchess County Court Judge. Kara’s career – as both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer – makes her particularly well-suited to this position. The fact that she has worked on both sides of the criminal justice system gives her a clear and thorough appreciation of fairness and practicality in criminal cases. As Kara has said, “[a]s both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, I’ve witnessed the devastating impact of crime and the critical importance of fairness and respecting constitutional rights in our courts.”      Kara’s opponent, current...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/comments-to-the-catch-county-fair-local-elections-amtrak-parking-lot-sept-8-19-2025/

A startling green tide, a so-called harmful algae bloom, has overtaken miles of the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Hudson, prompting warnings from scientists and Dutchess County health officials who hope to deter swimmers and dogs from entering the water. But Rhinebeck Mayor Gary Bassett told The Daily Catch Saturday that the local drinking supply that serves 6,000 residents of Rhinebeck Village, Rhinecliff and portions of the Town of Rhinebeck is safe. There is no magic cure for the problem, he added. "There isn't a pill to drop into the river to get it to clean itself," said Bassett, who...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/massive-harmful-algae-bloom-paints-the-hudson-river-green-for-miles-researchers-call-it-unprecedented/