Jenny Morgan, Entering the Field At Night
Jenny Morgan s paintings are a striking combination of realism and surrealism––creating mesmerizing female faces on canvas. I think painting is a kind of magic, Morgan says. In her upcoming solo exhibition, To Bathe the World in a Strange Light at Mother Gallery in Beacon––opening on April 17––Morgan explores the notion of a mental landscape playing with different sides of femininity like witchcraft and spirituality. I am looking for that spirit and ghost in people, that emotion and that invisible energy, Morgan says. Morgan painted
Entering the Field at Night during March and April of last year, just as the lockdown began. I worked on this piece deep into the new orb of isolation, she says. Living in the city is isolating in itself, and I think that many people turn to painting landscapes because we crave it. There s the idea of being in a field in this sort of
click to enlarge If you ve scheduled a doctor s appointment in the last year, chances are you ve had a virtual appointment. With hospitals and medical practices on high alert for the spread of Covid, minor ailments and health concerns that didn t require an in-person visit shifted largely onto computers and smartphones, where a provider could talk you through your symptoms and even provide a diagnosis from the comfort of your own home. It s hard to believe, then, that prior to the pandemic, many healthcare providers simply didn t offer virtual appointments. We didn t do telehealth because New York State didn t cover it at the time, says Dr. Ronald Pope, Vice President of Medical Services, Care Centers for Columbia Memorial Health (CMH). There were many states that had been working with telehealth previously, but every state was different, and New York had to ramp up pretty quickly when Covid hit.
While recreational marijuana has just been legalized in New York it'll take some time for the retail scene to catch up. But a quick trip over state lines will bring you to a multitude of dispensaries in the Berkshires.
Bearsville Theater Last month marked a full year since the lockdown went into effect in New York State, putting a freeze on musical performances as part of the overall effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19. But on March 3, the governor s office announced that arts, entertainment, and events venues statewide could reopen on April 2. The resumption carries with it some strict regulations: Until further notice, venues can only operate at 33 percent of their usual indoor capacity, with a limit of 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors, and all attendees must wear masks and maintain social distancing. (Admission limits would be increased to 150 indoors or 500 outdoors if all audience members have tested negative before entering.) We checked in with several Hudson Valley venues to see how they ve been holding up and how they plan to negotiate the restriction easements.
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For many small businesses in the Hudson Valley, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been a lifeline during the pandemic. Few people understand how important it was for small businesses to be able to continue operating quite like Doug Sturges, CEO of Sawyer Savings Bank, a financial anchor in the area celebrating its 150-year anniversary this year.
As a local bank, Sawyer Savings Bank was nimble enough to jump right into the PPP process, helping to support hundreds of small businesses by providing over $8 million in PPP loans all while continuing to employ its entire staff and providing essential services at all three of its branches in Saugerties, Marlboro, and Highland. It was weeks of long hours through the weekends, but that s just the way small banks operate, says Sturges. I m proud of how our team met these challenges in the past year.