The Local Edition

The Deep Water Literary Festival returns to Narrowsburg this weekend and Radio Catskill is proud to be a media partner. Every day this week we’re featuring authors and events from the festival.

When Jennifer Kabat moved from London to the Catskills in 2005, she had no idea it was the site of the "Anti-Rent War," an 1840s episode of American rural populism.

Wandering the mountains, and building friendships within the local community, Kabat’s book, The Eighth Moon, weaves a multilayered meditation on history, resistance, and nature in a part of upstate New York that has long been a refuge for New Yorkers in search of a rural idyll.

Kabat will be in conversation with Deep Water Literary Festival co-director Aaron Hicklin this Saturday at 530pm in Krause Hall, presented in association with the DVAA and Radio Catskill.

She spoke to Tim Bruno on Radio Chatskill.

A record-breaking heat wave envelopes the northeast this week with temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The duration of the heat wave is notable with blazing temperatures lasting several days.

Tim Bruno spoke to Mark Pellerito a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's New York office and the heat wave.

 Early Tuesday morning, a select circle of state senators began filing into the office of Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, on the fourth floor of the state capitol building in Albany. They were there for a meeting of the Senate’s Working Rules group, a body so secretive that even some of their fellow senators didn’t know it existed until New York Focus reported on it last week. 

WJFF's Jason Dole talks to Chris Bragg and Sam Mellins from NY FOCUS.

Penn State Health is discontinuing kidney and liver transplant programs, citing ‘ongoing challenges’ and federal scrutiny.

The decision casts doubt on the success of the health system’s extensive efforts to rebuild the programs.

Jason Dole talks to Wyatt Massey of Spotlight PA’s State College bureau and Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PA.

Older adults are frequently seen as easy targets for scammers for a variety of reasons. They might be less familiar with modern technology and the methods employed by fraudsters. Additionally, factors such as loneliness or cognitive decline can increase their vulnerability to manipulation.

Lise-Anne Deoul, the Director of the Office for the Aging for Sullivan County, discusses with Radio Catskill's Patricio Robayo how older adults can avoid scams.

NY FOCUS recently reported that The Push for Public Power in New York State has spread to the Hudson Valley. Local lawmakers have introduced a proposal for the public takeover of Central Hudson, the region’s scandal-plagued gas and electric utility. 

Radio Catskills Jason Dole speaks to Colin Kinniburgh of NY FOCUS about the issue.

Kevin Scot Graham has been named Sullivan County's fifth poet laureate, serving from 2024 to 2026.

Graham's artistic talents span music, visual arts, and poetry, with the latter being a constant in his life. He plays multiple instruments, including the guitar and a six-string ukulele. After earning a music degree, he moved to New York City and worked as a performer and producer. His documentary photography gained recognition in *Art in America*, and he received two Emmy awards for lighting direction. In 2016, Graham relocated to Narrowsburg, where he exhibited his artwork at the Narrowsburg Union and performed in the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance Salon Series.

His teenage summers were spent in the Canadian wilderness through an experiential education program, where he became certified to guide younger teens through rugged terrains. This period exposed him to nature-focused Indigenous spirituality, personal responsibility, and group dynamics, deeply influencing his values and igniting his passion for working with youth.

Graham's profound connection to nature and his wilderness experiences are central to his poetic inspiration. This affinity with the natural world drew him to Sullivan County, where the forests and "the smell of the pines" continually inspire him.

He is currently working on a poetry book, expected to be published in early summer. A strong advocate for inclusivity in the arts, Graham is particularly interested in supporting marginalized voices. "Sharing my love for reading and writing poetry, I feel reverence and honor when I get the opportunity to inspire someone," he said.

Graham is passionate about nurturing creativity in others and believes in the artistic potential of everyone. He sees art as a powerful tool for connection and is eager to use his position as poet laureate to build bridges among different community groups in the county.

The poet laureate program is largely funded by the Decentralization Program, a regrant initiative of the New York State Council of the Arts, with support from the NYS Governor’s Office and the NYS Legislature, and managed by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance. The Sullivan Public Library Alliance oversees the project with additional backing from local libraries, Friends of public libraries, and individual arts patrons.

Greg Goldstein, Chair of the Republican Committee in Sullivan County reacts to Trump’s verdict said,

Anne Hart, Chair of the Democratic Committee in Sullivan County reacts to Trump's Verdict. 

According to an investigation by NY FOCUS, New York state prisons have prohibited access to articles from The New York Times, New York Magazine, and several local newspapers, often justifying these bans by claiming that the content could incite disobedience.

Jason Dole interviewed NY FOCUS's Rebecca McCray to delve deeper into this issue.