Orange County, NY, Middletown | featured news

MONTGOMERY – Three women who claim they were silenced and bullied by village Mayor Stephen Brescia during a meeting about Medline last month are filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in White Plains alleging their First Amendment rights were violated.The lawsuit, filed by Goshen lawyer Michael Sussman, asks the court to hold a jury trial and award both compensatory and punitive damages to the three plaintiffs if the court finds in their favor.The plaintiffs are [...]

The Orange County Industrial Development Agency has rescinded $1 million in Heritage Trail funding.The state Authorities Budget Office reportedly told an attorney for the IDA that providing the seven-figure funding for the Heritage Trail was not an allowable expense for the IDA because it did not fall under the ABO’s definition of a project, staff members from the IDA said Friday."The IDA didn’t just change its mind," said Laurie Villasuso, IDA chief [...]

TOWN OF WALLKILL - 150-pound men versus 1,800-pound bulls.Bull riding is no joke for the 25 professionals who competed for Friday night’s $5,000 winning payout at the Orange County Fair Speedway’s first-ever Stampede Rodeo."This is so awesome," said Connie Kosheff, of Bergen County, N.J., who was kicking sand with her 2-year-old grandson before the start of the rodeo."He loves trucks and he loves animals, so this is going to be a great thing for [...]

New York’s legislature recently passed a pioneering bill, putting the state in the lead nationally for regulating hemp extracts such as cannabidiol.But participants in the state’s hemp industry worry the bill needs significant revisions to prevent killing the hemp extract industry, which is still in its infancy.And it’s unclear whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo will sign the bill without requesting amendments, which could potentially delay it from taking effect [...]

WEST POINT – Due to a forecast of scattered thunderstorms this evening, West Point will postpone the Independence Day celebration and fireworks show at the Trophy Point amphitheater, featuring the West Point Band, until 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

The "Revolutions" concert by the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight at Boscobel House and Gardens, 1601 Route 9D in Garrison, has been postponed until tomorrow night at the same time.     

Regional Economic Community Action Program (RECAP), an Orange County designated anti-poverty organization, received a $29,000 grant from the Dyson Foundation, according to a press release.The money was used to purchase essential items for children, including diapers, wipes, underwear and infant formula, that were distributed to local schools and organizations, the release stated."The items we distributed are hard for our low-income population to purchase," said Francine Tavares, [...]

It’s not your imagination. The nation really is politically polarized.A June 19 report by the Pew Research Center, "Public Highly Critical of State of Political Discourse in the U.S.," found that about half of the people surveyed said that "talking about politics with people they disagree with politically is ‘stressful and frustrating,’" to the point where many people prefer to avoid those discussions. A significant majority of those surveyed said political [...]

Sen. Charles Schumer and New York representatives from both parties are opposing a Trump administration proposal to cut Medicare payments to hospitals in expensive states like New York and divert the funds to those in areas with the lowest incomes.The Senate’s Democratic minority announced Monday with two congressmen – Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican, and Brian Higgins, a Buffalo-area Democrat – that they were leading opposition by New York’s entire [...]

GOSHEN – The Great American Weekend kicked off a two-day celebration of the nation’s independence in the village on Saturday.Visitors to the 38th annual festival had to cope with some rain early in the afternoon on day one, but that didn’t spoil the party; it just put it on hold for a few minutes.A short but intense cloudburst shortly after 12:30 p.m. sent everyone scurrying for the shelter of the nearest tent or tree. A few might have ducked inside the [...]