We are committed to encouraging respectful conversations about the news we publish. We cannot include every comment in this feature, and some comments have been edited for brevity and/or clarity. Follow the link to each article or visit our Facebook and Instagram pages for the full text of all comments. Here's a link to our guidelines for comments. Letters to the Editor: I most often vote for the budgets. I think this time they need to rethink this expenditure and perhaps postpone it for a year, until we see where we are. The school taxes increase every year due to...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/comments-to-the-catch-red-hook-schools-budget-issues-rhinebeck-development-surveillance-cameras-march-23-april-5-2026/

During his 25 years as the boat captain for the environmental organization Riverkeeper, whenever John Lipscomb pulled his boat ashore after weeks patrolling the Hudson, people would inevitably ask: “How’s the river?” Lipscomb never had—and still doesn’t have—an easy answer. The Hudson, he says, has come a long way. It is endlessly beautiful and teeming with life, yet still scarred by decades of industrial use and ongoing pollution. The Keeper, a new documentary by filmmaker Jon Bowermaster, tells the story of John Lipscomb’s 25 years as a boat captain for the environmental nonprofit Riverkeeper. (Photo courtesy of Jon Bowermaster) The...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/new-documentary-the-keeper-spotlights-the-man-who-became-the-eyes-and-ears-of-the-hudson/

After more than four decades selling and curating furniture for a clientele that stretched across the Hudson Valley and beyond, Hammertown is shutting all three of its stores — in Rhinebeck, Pine Plains, and Great Barrington, Mass. After failing to find a buyer, Hammertown will close its three locations—in Rhinebeck, Pine Plains, and Great Barrington, Mass.—ending a 40-year run. (Photo courtesy of Hammertown) The decision comes as the business failed to find a buyer after looking for six years, founder Joan Osofsky told The New Pine Plains Herald. “My daughter, my son, and my son-in-law, they tried, like, anything, to...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/hammertown-furniture-to-close-after-40-years-leaving-a-design-legacy-and-a-void-in-rhinebeck-and-beyond/

Donna Jean Kryzckowski died on March 31, 2026. She was born on March 8, 1965. Donna will be remembered for her infectious laugh, her deep care for others, her love of arts and crafts, and her warmth, kindness, and generous spirit. She took pride in keeping a clean and welcoming home and found great meaning in life’s simple joys.  Donna is survived by her husband, Joseph Kryzckowski, Sr.; her children, Joseph Kryzckowski, Jr., Anna Kryzckowski, and Matthew Kryzckowski; her grandchildren, Vincent, Isabella, and Joseph; her siblings, Michael Arcarola, Nancy Mylett, Angela Tracey, Matthew Arcarola, and Tiffany Smith; and extended family....

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/donna-jean-kryzckowski-beloved-nana-dies-at-61/

When Shakespeare’s plays were staged in the 16th century, every role was played by a man. In the upcoming production of Othello for the 20th Annual Sam Scripps Shakespeare Festival at the CENTER for the Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, the director will flip the script. The all-female production of Othello opens Friday, April 10, at the CENTER for Performing Arts-Rhinebeck and runs through Sunday, April 19. (Photo by Olivia Michaels) In casting the adapted version of the play by the late Lou Trapani, the founding Artistic & Managing Director of the CENTER, Michael Juzwak has cast women in every role....

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/all-women-cast-brings-a-bold-new-othello-to-the-stage-in-rhinebeck/

Two employees at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health in Upper Red Hook have been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly using excessive force against a 16-year-old resident and attempting to falsify records about the incident. Two Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health employees face felony and misdemeanor charges after allegedly using excessive force on a 16-year-old resident and falsifying records. (Photo courtesy of Google Street View) It took three weeks for the facility to report the March 6 encounter to authorities, according to information provided to The Daily Catch by Trooper Krystal P. Paolicelli, a police spokesperson. On March 27, a...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/two-staffers-at-devereux-behavioral-health-facility-in-red-hook-charged-in-latest-alleged-abuse-case/

As government-sponsored surveillance cameras installed by the private security company Flock Safety become ubiquitous across the country, critics are increasingly concerned that the technology could be used by federal immigration authorities to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. In Dutchess County, law enforcement officials say that safeguards have been installed to prevent this from happening. Amid national concerns over how data from Flock surveillance cameras is being used, Dutchess County Officials affirm that ICE does not have access to their surveillance data. (Photo courtesy of Flock Safety) “The District Attorney’s Office has not provided ICE with access to its system data,”...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/data-from-local-flock-surveillance-cameras-off-limits-to-federal-immigration-authorities-county-law-enforcement-says/

Elizabeth (Betsy) Kissane Shequine died on March 25, 2026, after a hip injury complicated by COPD. She was born Nov. 1, 1930. A resident of Millbrook, she practiced law in Poughkeepsie and led a wonderful, vibrant life filled with hard work, leadership, and strong friendships. Betsy held a B.A. degree from Pembroke College at Brown University. She attended Villanova University Law School and received her J.D. degree from Albany Law School of Union University. She was a member of the Bar of the State of New York since 1975. She was admitted to practice before the United States District Court...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/elizabeth-kissane-shequine-town-of-washington-town-justice-dies-at-95/

On a sunny, frigid morning in February, a small group of Rhinebeck and Milan residents arrived at Albany’s Legislative Office Building. Holding homemade signs that read “New York is Not Disposable” and “People Over Plastic!”, they had made the trek to advocate for a state climate bill focused on plastic waste. They were joined by busloads of constituents from all over New York State. Members of the Rhinebeck Village Climate Smart Task Force attended an advocacy day in Albany to support the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. (Photo courtesy of the Climate Smart Task Force) “It felt good to...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/rhinebeck-village-climate-task-force-shifts-focus-to-plastics-fight-and-takes-it-statewide/

Ninth grader Hayden Stephenson knows what she wants from her education: “My No. 1 goal is to have a job that a robot can't take from me,” she said. Red Hook High School teachers Steve Hutman (right) and Dan Gall (left) are helping drive a surge in trades education, teaching woodworking, metalworking, and auto mechanics as pathways to careers educators say can’t be automated. (Photo by Claire Greenburger) At Red Hook High School, she’s working toward that goal in the school’s trades shop, where she’s learning woodworking and construction, skills she hopes will lead to a well-paying job—one that still...

https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/red-hook-schools-betting-on-increased-trades-courses-in-the-face-of-ai-job-shifts/