Beaconites!

We're back! Beaconites returns to regular episodes with this interview with Rachel Saunders, who is running for Dutchess County Family Court Judge. Rachel describes how her local upbringing and legal career have prepared her for the often wrenching cases that come before our county's family court system.

Jonny Taylor and J Brooks Marcus compose and record music together under the name Obsidian Soundsystem. Among their music creations is the Beaconites podcast theme - a tune called Heliographs. On August 6, they are releasing Heliographs along with a bunch of other new music.

Matt and Emily Clifton are home cooks and life partners who publish original recipes, give food advice and write cookbooks – including a new one on dutch oven cooking. A funny episode about life, work and scotch eggs. 

Sara MIlonovich had her professional debut at the age of 12. Along with her band Daisycutter, she's just released her seventh album, "Northeast." The songs are sad, yet instrumentally textured and uptempo  "That's the bluegrass formula. You play horrifically sad stuff, but if you do it really fast nobody notices." 

A gifted singer in church choirs, Sharlene Stout was recognized by Pete Seeger who recruited her to join his folk group. She toured with him for more than six years, from the age of 14 into her 20s. Later she formed the Southern Dutchess Coalition mass choir, an interfaith vocal group drawing from churches across the city. Sharlene shares memories of Beacon from the 1960s to the present.  

This week on Beaconites, we hear from the two candidates running for Beacon city court judge in the upcoming primary: Tim Pagones, the three-term judge and lifelong Beaconite, and Greg Johnston, a public defender with 17 years' experience who has been endorsed by the Beacon Democrats. The primary takes place on Tuesday June 22. Vote!

Beacon's independent movie theater opened in 2019, but it's not only a theater. Mike and team have built a full-on community around the appreciation of movies. He talks about how the project took off and what his team has done to keep the business alive during Covid. 

Edwin Torres is an accomplished poet who has published more than 15 poetry volumes. During the 1990s he was a member of the The Nuyorican Poets Café, a creative meeting place and cultural institution for the vibrant community of Puerto Rican artists living in New York City. This episode alternates between interview and readings. 

Pastor Perez is a co-chair of Beacon's police reform committee. He talks about the work being done to transform how the force operates. His committee has recommended replacing some traditional enforcement tactics with alternatives like community outreach, mental health intervention and restorative justice. 

Jennifer Clair is Beacon's foremost expert on food and cooking and the founder of Home Cooking New York, a culinary school founded in New York City. She is the author of a cookbook and has held many jobs in food-related media. In this episode: shopping for food in Beacon, why Jen would never open a restaurant, and how home cooks can overcome burnout. 

Sember Weinman is the executive director of Common Ground Farm, which oversees the Beacon farmer's market. The market is moving to a much bigger location at the DMV parking lot, capable of supporting far more vendors. She talks about the change and the coming season at common ground farm.  

Dogwood owner and city councilman George Mansfield was the last guest we had in studio before Covid shut everything down. He's reopening the bar this week and comes back on the podcast to talk about it. He also dishes on city business and what the summer might look like in Beacon.

After being shot, Richie left his career as a corrections officer to become a gardener. He worked his way up in the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation to become director of the Citywide Nursery. While there he cared for the Survivor Tree, a Callery pear that was crushed (but not killed) in the 9/11 terror attacks. In Beacon, he founded the Sargent-Downing Garden. 

Since she was 18, Tina Brown has foster parented children and teens. Over the years she has cared for more than 100 kids including her two biological children.  

In this special 50th episode of Beaconites, we examine the proposal to build a new gas-burning power plant across the river at the 70-year-old Danskammer facility. Guests include  Bill Reid, CEO of Danskammer Energy; Hayley Carlock, director of environmental advocacy and legal affairs at Scenic Hudson; and Emily Ellison and Harvey Weiss, two residents of the hamlet of Chelsea. 

Paloma Wake is running for an at-large seat on the City Council and has been endorsed by the Beacon Democrats and Working Families party. In this episode she talks about her work with Beacon4BlackLives, Mutual Aid Beacon, Beacon's Human Relations Commission and other organizations, and she shares her ideas for meeting the basic needs of people living in Beacon. Contact Paloma at hello@paloma4beaco...

Chief Frost, a 37-year veteran of the Beacon Police Department, talks about policing reforms, the role of race in policing and his enforcement priorities. New city administrator Chris White discusses business currently before the city and his plans for 2021 and beyond.

Scenic Hudson has protected huge swaths of land in and around Beacon, including Mount Beacon, Fishkill Ridge, Madam Brett Park and of course Long Dock Park. In this episode, Sullivan describes the legendary environmental group's mission, its operating model and its priorities for 2021 and beyond.  

Joe Robitaile bought Homespun from previous owner Jess Reisman in late fall 2019, a few months before the pandemic struck and overthrew his plan for the business.

Our guest Steve Schwartz is a longtime captain of the sloop Woody Guthrie. He talks about Pete Seeger's vision to bring people closer to the Hudson River as expressed through three projects: the sloop Clearwater, the smaller Woody Guthrie and River Pool. 

John Vergara is the owner of Lord of the Strings, a musical instrument building and repair shop that he founded in 2013. John works with a wide range of stringed instruments, including the Arabic oud, the Puerto rican cuatro, classical style guitar and violin. As part of this interview he performs tunes on the Oud and guitar.

Claire talks about the waves of home buyers moving to Beacon in recent years, the current rental shortage and what's changing in 2020. 

Guy has dedicated himself to making the world a better place. He volunteers on local issues ranging from environmental cleanup to animal rescue to education. He talks about the method to his madness. 

Marika Blossfeldt has written two books on nutrition that are also books about living well. Her latest, "Cooking with Marika: Clean Cuisine from an Estonian Farm" provides a framework for eating wisely and maintaining gut health. 

Beacon's high school theater productions are amazingly good. Program director Anthony Scarrone talks about the close community of cast, crew and families that have put on shows ranging from Peter Pan to A Chorus Line. And he describes staging Godspell against all odds in the middle of a pandemic.  "It's just a beautiful show that embraces love. And it also made a statement that even in the worst o...