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Housing is a critical need, one that should command attention

What is more basic to the ability of humans to thrive than having a place to live? Maybe good health, which is always a variable. But a home is something that is more controllable if society takes it seriously for all of its members.

In Connecticut, providing housing for all of its citizens is even more challenging than in other states across the country. As covered in the CT Mirror this month, Gov. Ned Lamont and the state Legislature are working on finding ways to help municipalities build affordable units faster, and if that can happen, there will be more local control over what is built where.

According to the CT Mirror, Connecticut lacks about 85,400 units of housing that are affordable and available to its lowest-income renters. They attribute that data to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. They also note that homelessness rose in 2022 for the first time in nearly a decade, and evictions have surged. Rents are rising statewide, and apartment vacancy rates are among the lowest in the country.

How does this play out in the Northwest Corner? Anyone who lives or visits here can see the repercussions of a lack of workforce housing. And there are multiple organizations working to find ways to meet the 10% goal the state has given cities and towns for affordable housing. See the 2022 review story by Debra A. Aleksinas in last week’s Lakeville Journal to better understand the steps each area town is taking to try to solve this ongoing problem.

In Kent, which has had its approach to affordable housing well-honed over years, there are at least 20 new units planned over the next five years. In Cornwall, a forum was held to analyze the best way to increase density in town and provide homeowners with options of sharing their space with others within zoning regulations. In Salisbury, the Salisbury Housing Committee received a donation of five acres of land designated as a site for affordable housing from former selectman and longtime resident Jim Dresser. The Lakeville Holley Block affordable housing initiative is delayed due to a court case that is scheduled to come up on the court docket soon. Keep an eye out in this newspaper for further news on that activity. The newspaper fervently hopes the court case does not delay that well-planned and funded project to the point where it will not move forward.

In New York state, the towns just over the border in Dutchess County have the same challenges, and Amenia has found that despite the fact that the new Silo Ridge luxury housing should also include a percentage of workforce housing, the owners can pay a fee and forego that requirement. This has created pushback from various groups that see the lack of foresight in that approach. For more, go to www.tricornernews.com, and read a news analysis by our reporter Judith O’Hara Balfe in The Millerton News of Dec. 15, 2022.

In order for this region’s communities to continue to not only survive but thrive, more access to affordable and workforce housing is critical. More access to transportation would also help those who wish to work here. Keep watch on our ongoing coverage in 2023 and weigh in with your opinions on these topics in these pages.

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Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notice

Notice of Formation of Kaits Kleaning LLC. Art. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 05-22-2026. Office Lo-cation: Dutchess county. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 24 Attlebury Hill Road, Standfordville NY 12581.

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In December 2024, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially established the Standard of Identity for American Single Malt Whisky. It was the first new classification in more than half a century, creating new possibilities for American distillers. One of the distilleries taking advantage of this new landscape is Wassaic’s Tenmile Distillery. It is well positioned to make history because Tenmile has always honored traditional whiskey-making practices.

Single malts are often associated with Scotch whisky. Perhaps that’s why, years before the new standard was adopted, Tenmile hired Shane Fraser, a Scottish master distiller with 30 years of experience at some of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries. Fraser began designing the distillery from the ground up. Alongside owner and general manager Joel LeVangia, he emphasized time-honored traditions, favoring hands-on craftsmanship over the increasingly automated methods used by larger producers. When it comes to making the best whisky possible, Tenmile believes in learning from the past. That philosophy extends beyond the distilling process.

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Since the summer of 2025, Sinclair has been baffling local audiences at the Hughes Memorial Library in West Cornwall, but her magical run comes to a close at the end of August.

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“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

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Renée Fleming, Andris Nelsons and Thomas Hampson.

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On Friday, July 17 at 8 p.m. in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood, two of the greatest American voices of their generation, soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson, join Music Director Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a performance of excerpts from John Adams’ groundbreaking opera “Nixon in China.” The piece, performed earlier this year in Boston and at Carnegie Hall in New York City, is a highlight of a program that also includes “Meditations on Grace” (2024) by BSO Composer Chair Carlos Simon, and the melodic and technically demanding Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber.

Fleming is internationally celebrated for her vocal and dramatic artistry, as well as for her advocacy for the powerful impact of the creative arts in health. Hampson has long been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians of our time and has received countless international honors for his singular artistry and cultural leadership. Both performed in “Nixon in China” earlier this year at the Paris Opera under the baton of Kent Nagano.

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The cast and crew of “Rebeltown: The Musical.”

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John Alan Segalla was working in Boston a few years ago, giving historic tours at the site of the Boston Tea Party. Now, as America celebrates 250 years as a nation, the Canaan native is about to debut a new version of his original musical, “Rebel Town,” inspired largely by the Boston Tea Party, the protest that helped launch the American Revolution.

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Provided

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