NO means YES: The Tusten cannabis public referendum

At the end of 2021, the Tusten Town Board opted OUT of allowing cannabis dispensaries, as well as on-site consumption establishments in Tusten. In response to the town board opting OUT, voters had the legal right to have a public referendum where the public decides. 

After numerous folks in town signed two petitions to allow voters to decide this two-part issue, the Tusten Public Referendum was drafted by the town attorney. 

The Tusten Cannabis Public Referendum will be on the ballot on Election Day, November 8. It will be broken down into two propositions, one for dispensaries and one for consumption establishments. But the language is a bit confusing and difficult to understand. 

Ordinarily, we vote NO if we don’t support something. But in this case, voting NO means you SUPPORT cannabis dispensaries and/or on-site consumption establishments to be permitted in Tusten. You get a vote for each option. 

If the majority of Tusten voters vote NO, which means YES, Tusten would get four percent OF ALL REVENUE from any dispensary and/or on-site consumption establishments located in Tusten. Since adult-use medical and recreational cannabis is now legal in NYS, why not opt IN for a financial boost to our town? VOTE NO!

Brandi Merolla
Town of Tusten, NY

Dr. Oz stands for life and freedom

Dr. Oz deserves your vote in November. Initially, I did not know a lot about his political views, but I did some research, and found out he has taken a firm stand as pro-life, pro-second amendment and pro-individual freedom from government intrusion. He has stood up to the currently ruling authorities and is telling the truth about COVID-19. He won’t be afraid to take on the medical establishment to reduce the cost of expensive prescription drugs and skyrocketing medical bills.

No politician will ever deliver 100 percent of what each individual would like to see in an elected official, but when you look around and see how our state and our country have been destroyed in the past four years, ask yourself this—Which candidate will put America first, bravely fight for our freedoms and tell it like it is?

Not Fetterman; the lieutenant governor has two official duties, to serve as the president of the state senate and as the chairman of the board of pardons. For this, he receives a salary of $169,451. He has failed miserably at both.

Fetterman failed to preside over the Board of Pardons meetings 33 percent of the time in 2019 and 2020, attended only 50 percent of the meetings in 2021, and 44 percent of the meetings in 2022.

With respect to his duties to preside over the state senate, twice he was removed from the Senate floor for failing to follow the Senate rules and conducting the hearings in a partisan manner. Sen. Corman was quoted at the time as saying, “When you don’t follow the rules, anarchy and chaos will follow,” but maybe that’s the Fetterman game plan—get out there and wave your pro-pot “Don’t tread on weed” flag and hope that chaos and anarchy follow.

Pennsylvanians deserve better. That’s why I am voting for Dr. Oz and I hope you do too.

Lynn Homer
Matamoras, PA

Truth: my vote matters

It’s easy to be cynical these days about both truth and voting. But my experience is my truth. I benefit from my vote. Medicare was originally formulated by Democrats and continues to be expanded and supported by Democrats, including recent drug price reductions. If the GOP wins a majority in the House and/or the Senate, their stated objective is to privatize Medicare and put our Social Security contributions that pay for it into the hands of private insurance corporations, which run the medical system for profit—not for patients. Recently, Medicare allowed my sister, who was hit by a car and hospitalized, to escape mountains of medical debt. It is an incredible benefit for older Americans. The only way to guarantee that you will have Medicare when you need it is to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. Your vote counts!

Lyn DelliQuadri
Kingston, NY

Utility scams back in full force

The October 4 reporting, “Phony Utility Scams are Back,” was a sad reminder of an unreported utility scam that is also transpiring in not just the Hudson Valley, but all over New York.

The reported scam has been aided by some utilities’ gross negligence in repeatedly issuing erroneous bills and taking eons to fix them. So the customers are more likely to believe the scammers, because many don’t know exactly what’s going on with their bills. 

Skyrocketing energy prices from expensive, volatile fossil fuels are literally adding fuel to the fire.

Some of these utilities, like NYSEG and Central Hudson, that stand to gain the most by keeping us hooked on polluting and planet-cooking fossil-fracked gas, are themselves perpetrating a lesser-known scam. They both belong to an industry front group called New Yorkers for Affordable Energy, whose mission is to keep energy unaffordable, keep utility profits growing, and scuttle New York’s climate goals. Earlier this year, this group helped gas utilities derail major legislation that would have set us on a path to cleaner and more affordable heating—cold-climate heat pumps, like the one in my home, use two to four times less energy than gas furnaces.

Now, as the state’s Climate Action Council is set to issue its final scoping plan, white-collar scammers unleashed by these gas utilities are back in full force to pressure Gov. Hochul into watering down the plan with delays and false solutions. This time, we can’t let them get away with it.

Samrat Pathania
Co-chair, the Climate Reality Project, Hudson Valley Region
Town of Rosendale, NY

Thank you for the fireworks

To the family whose house overlooks the Delaware near Shohola/Barryville.

Thank you so much for the colorful fireworks the night of October 8.

Now that we have had so much rain, it was much safer for them to go off.  Hearing the sound reverberate along the river valley was “awesome.” What a lovely surprise!

Linda Harding-Buchmann
Shohola, PA

Thank you, River Reporter

Although I am a Wayne County resident, I am an avid reader of the fine photography and journalism that the River Reporter brings to my inbox.  

Being somewhat of a traditionalist, I think I prefer a hard copy that gets my digits dirty; will have to pursue that avenue.

Keep up the good work.

Hedy Schneller, Founder, illumia skincare products
Honesdale, PA

Praise for Jonathan Fox

Thank you so much for the article by Jonathan Charles Fox (“Mazel tov!”, October 6-12). Reading it while sitting on the porch, bundled up, looking at the colorful fall leaves, brought a feeling of warmth.

In the past, I worried about embedding Jewish themes into my writing. There is the notion of covert and overt anti-Jewish sentiments, a fear that unfortunately is sometimes grounded in the actions of others.

Please share a thank you to Jonathan Charles Fox on his eloquent column. He’s given me a smile.

Onwards to creating the first public menorah for Parksville. That’s taking place thanks to a Sullivan Renaissance grant. 

Best wishes to one and all and thank you for the River Reporter.

Hope Blecher, Ed.D.
Parksville, NY

Roe your vote

After a half-century of Roe, will 21st-century American women be willing to go back to a kind of figuratively “walking behind” a man?  This November’s national election will be the first post-Roe. Likely, it will be a kind of social and political test of voters, especially female voters. 

Following this proactive conservative Supreme Court’s stark and capricious action (Dobbs), one that ended a woman’s right to choose, how will the American electorate respond? Will the Roe era end with a whimper and a redefinition of a new normal for American women?  Are women going to “go quietly into the night” and accept the loss of their rights regarding any personal choices in their own pregnancy? I seriously doubt there will be much in the way of women whimpering. But will they be moved to “rise up”?

I think it is likely that an electoral storm is brewing for November. She (the storm) could be called a “pink pussy” storm, but that’s probably a bit too Hollywood. I think it will just be American women finally given a chance to express their frustrations about all of the “mansplaining,” and to specially send a message to the SCOTUS: “Feel my wrath, back off,” from the court’s latest unpopular and transparently political machinations. 

Sometimes a quiet message of strength makes it crystal clear that you are “mad as hell and you’re not gonna take it anymore.” Voting might be just the mechanism for such a message to this court. 

Whatever your choices, be sure to vote on November 8.  

John Pace 
Honesdale, PA

In support of Congressman Matt Cartwright 

As a taxpayer and property owner on the Lackawaxen River, and as an enthusiast for all the recreational opportunities on the Delaware, I am urging support for the reelection of Matt Cartwright in the 8th Congressional District. 

Congressman Cartwright has been in the forefront as a leader for the protection, preservation and promotion of the Upper Delaware River. Our river is not only a source of joy and recreation for residents, it has become a serious economic engine through all the recreational opportunities associated with river use. We have a world-class fishery that attracts enthusiasts from all over. These folks spend money in the river corridor area and those dollars multiply in our local economies.

Matt Cartwright is a champion for our river and environment, and earns your support every day with his work in Washington. His work across the aisle makes him particularly effective for your interests and mine. I urge you, please vote for and support Matt Cartwright.

Andrew Boyar
Eldred, NY

Pat Ryan and Josh Riley for Congress

I’m writing to express my support for Pat Ryan for Congress in CD-18 and Josh Riley for Congress in CD-19. Voting Democrats into Congress this midterm is crucial to codify into law the provisions of Roe v. Wade—to keep abortion safe, legal and accessible to all women in need. 

According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research group, while the rates of abortion steadily declined from 1973 to 2020 (think contraception), 25 percent of women will still have an abortion by the end of their childbearing years, due to unintended pregnancies, pregnancies resulting from rape and pregnancies that become unviable at some point.

My best friend’s daughter became pregnant two years ago with an ectopic pregnancy. One out of every 50 pregnancies is ectopic; that is, the egg becomes fertilized outside of the uterus, such as in one of the Fallopian tubes or in the cervix. An ectopic pregnancy is NEVER viable; the fertilized cells must be evacuated.

Fortunately, this happened while Roe v. Wade was still national law. Her ectopic pregnancy was removed. But there are states now where abortion has been outlawed and that includes for ectopic pregnancy. An untreated ectopic pregnancy is a medical emergency, threatening the life of the mother. If my friend’s daughter had not had the necessary abortion to terminate her unviable pregnancy, she might not be alive today, and she would not be mother to a beautiful, healthy one-year-old baby.

Democrats are fighting to preserve abortion rights and will codify Roe v. Wade into law at the federal level. If Republicans win the majority, they will ban abortion nationwide. I’m voting blue this year to protect women’s health and wanted pregnancies. I hope you will, too.

Beth Kneller
Esopus, NY