Millerton News Editorial

Just as New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley Region enters Phase 4 of reopening, much of the rest of the country seems to be shutting down again, as many states in the U.S. unwisely reopened way too quickly while still in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zoning. It may sound unimportant in your day-to-day life. After all, it’s kind of technical. Boring, even. We get that. Most people hardly think of zoning codes and land-use regulations, until they need them, that is. And then, well, that’s when zoning becomes so very, very important. 

No matter when it happens or under what circumstance it occurs, one’s high school graduation is a rite of passage. On that, we can all agree.

It’s been heartening to see so many people — of all races, of all socio-economic groups, of all ages — take to the streets throughout the Hudson Valley, the state, the country and the globe to peacefully protest systemic racism and all that it stands for in the 21 days since the May 25th death of George Floyd.

According to the Minnesota newspaper, the Star Tribune, organizers of the social justice group, Black Visions, who are charging the Minneapolis Police Department “can’t be reformed through initiatives like training and body cameras” and therefore should be dismantled, are working to envision a “police-free future.” According to Star Tribune repo

Getting out the vote is not always the easiest task for people. It seems that some voters need a little nudge, a little push, to head to the polls. We get that, even if we don’t understand why, exactly. Let’s just put it down to human nature. Procrastination, possibly.

Some disturbing news was first reported in the The New York Times on Wednesday, May 20, based on a study from Columbia University: If the U.S. had responded to the coronavirus pandemic just one week earlier, there’s a possibility that 36,000 lives could have been saved through early May.

The outbreak of the coronavirus has forced many changes across the globe since last December — from the shutting down of whole economies to the closures of schools and universities to the cancellations of sporting events and concerts.