Those communities where things have been worst, such as Ellenville/Wawarsing with its 18 percent unemployment, have been welcoming to most that's come their way, be it casino gambling possibilities, Walmart, or almost anything other than a few items we'll be coming back to... often, it seems. Those where things have not been affected as much by the downturn, from the Rondout Valley to those communities that are part of the Pine Bush School District, have found themselves outraged by big new projects threatening the status quo in large and sometimes even small ways.

In local elections a few months back, one interpretation of the big picture was to note a wave of support for Democrats in what is becoming — at least in county, state and national legislative terms — a blue-leaning district. But closer looks showed a more basic anti-incumbency sentiment in many places... as well as a wish to find representation that was more responsive to electorates... and often more attuned to newer attitudes regarding the local economy, the sharing of services between towns, and sustainable, green opportunities.

Unless those things included those certain elements alluded to earlier.

In January, everyone was still arguing over gun rights and the national response to the school shooting tragedy in Connecticut, trying to figure out whether it would be safer to have less guns or more armed people. Environmental hopes were aired for the old Colony Farm in Wawarsing and discussion started getting louder about the state and nation's new Common Core educational standards... and various means of auditing success in districts, as well as testing accomplishment in students. Developer Shalom Lamm reintroduced revised projects in the Wurtsboro area as the Rural Community Coalition doubled down on its efforts against Lamm's Bloomingburg town house development and set its aims on local zoning. Then we let him speak his mind in our pages. The Spring Glen off-road vehicle park south of Ellenville got bigger... and approved, despite protests. Roseanne Sullivan started in her new role as a legislator in Orange County, the Ellenville ShopRite had a fire and closed for a number of weeks, flu season proved worse than expected, the investors behind a possible Nevele revival announced they'd be opening offices, and a public space, off Liberty Square, and everyone started wondering whether Ulster County legislative chairman Terry Bernardo was aiming for higher office.

In February, gun issues continued to dominate meetings and our letters while we looked closer at how the state aided schools, and the choices being faced by district administrators. There were prescription drug overdoses, one fatal in Ellenville, and worries about closing down schools for safety reasons in Rondout Valley. The Mohonk Preserve started celebrating its 50th anniversary as a landmark preservation and outreach effort and Pine Bush's cheerleaders made it to the national level for championships again. New York City teardowns for buyouts of leaked-into homes along the Delaware Aqueduct in Wawarsing started, sadly, and the issue of a statewide wetlands remapping was raised. March saw local business and political leaders backing the Nevele's bid, and the Nevele itself get its downtown Ellenville space in gear for an early April community bash. Meanwhile, the idea of video lottery terminals at other Rondout Valley resorts was floated... ending up in a fight between Rochester political leaders and Bernardo, who was also in the news for past tax favor problems. The UFO Fest in Pine Bush got straightened out, organization-wise, and both hopes and concerns started rising over the pending Walmart in Napanoch. Village elections saw a major but expected upset in Bloomingburg while the Rondout Valley's three-town center idea moved forward and the local school again saw threats of violence. In Wawarsing, people protested a zoning change to allow a new development along Route 209, saying the developer had already been granted enough changes... and favors. And yes, people kept yelling about guns.

In April, the state budget out of Albany spelled just enough relief for local school districts to shift emphasis off budgets onto candidacies... and personalities (as well as board tone, as reflected in meetings). ShopRite reopened in Ellenville to many oohs and ahs while the Bernardo troubles in Rochester deepened alongside a soon-quelled rift between that town's older resorts and the Nevele's casino plans. We spoke at length with Paula Medley, honored for her work with the Basha Kill Area Association, the region's leading environmental organization; we looked into how the federal sequestration was hitting local governments and, more importantly, those in need throughout our readership area; we noted local opposition to a merger between the Canadian company Fortis and Central Hudson (which went through, nonetheless); and helped everyone get ready for the coming summer's invasive species, from benign but loud Cicadas to knotweed, barberry and ticks.

May was the month when bigger issues started emerging and taking hold. It started off with reports on local job training successes and local agriculture's efforts to better school lunches... and share local bounty with area residents better. Mamakating's RCC started voicing concerns about density issues in their town and its villages and Cragsmoor hit the front pages via protests against a long-planned Buddhist monastery in town, along with a sizable grant for its esteemed land trust. Snap decisions by the governor made it look like the Nevele would be out of the running for a casino... but then local politicians started coming to the project's aid. School board elections showed status quo wins across the board... as well as a request by students that they be heard a bit more in education talk in the future. Rosendale's long-controversial Williams Lake development project got an okay... the first of several over the year. There was a concern that a company supplying Pine Bush with its school bussing would be challenged out of the district, while in Rondout Valley parents wondered about a number of administrative shifts in their schools. Finally, there was the first news of China City, a $6 billion project pegged for Mamakating and Thompson...

That issue kept coming back in June, via a swarm of letters and a closer look at what might be in store for the area. Terry Bernardo's chances of reelection started to get questioned on her home turf, a plane went down near Ellenville, and the Wawarsing/Ellenville reval project got an update. Pine Bush saw its longstanding school superintendent retire, and its annual Relay for Life event raise more money than ever... or anyone else in the area. The idea of a new local currency came up, then disappeared. We looked into Family of Ellenville's community garden and charted concerns over a patio being built at a kosher camp in Wawarsing, eventually approved despite people's fears that something more was in the works, along with bitter language on all sides. The governor said a second casino would be okay in the Catskills, reviving the Nevele's hopes... and local residents' trust in its developers' powers of persuasion. Some started questioning the idea of the Rondout Valley's proposed three-town community center for government purposes... and Empowering Ellenville somehow dragged forth a story about eighth graders getting punished that got everyone worried about lawsuits and worse before it vanished as mysteriously as it arose.

In July, hot weather got everyone thinking about swimming pool problems... although farmers said they were doing just fine. Ellenville had its biggest Independence Day parade and fireworks in memory while folks got the message that the Governor's new Start Up NY program for economic development using SUNY campuses wouldn't stretch as far as Ellenville. Yama Farms in Napanoch was touted on a county level for its centennial and that Tibetan monastery in Cragsmoor broke ground. The Dem's caucus in Wawarsing was noteworthy as much for who wasn't re-nominated as who got nods, getting everyone interested in the coming elections. The Rainbow Diner ruins in Rochester became a political issue and folks gave a nod to the continuing importance of libraries as local chambers started expressing optimism openly for the first time in years. Terry Bernardo decided she would force a Republican primary.

August saw China City return as a college, and no longer a business/timeshare residential/theme park city. Dollar Generals seemed to be popping up everywhere as the big new business for our region and we spoke with Shalom Lamm again after he started building his developments, including a new municipal sewer system, in Bloomingburg. The Ellenville airport got a big federal grant, which got everyone talking about its rising hopes, and the village looking into cleaning up its own look; Walmart opened a hiring office, promising 200 jobs; and Rochester saw its election line-up of candidates expand. Everyone realized that despite dead buildings, the area's manufacturing sites were still viable, and as many looked at the entertainment of a Kevin Cahill/Mike Hein fight over sales tax, we got excited about the new Gander Inn's plans for a brewpub and local hops production... not to forget the Governor's announcement of $3 million windfalls for local towns to better deal with persistent flooding problems.

In September, school started back in session smoothly, despite continuing parental and board concerns over Common Core problems. China City, now only in the Town of Thompson, drew new letters from folks concerned that it was being fast-tracked by those hungry for huge local investments, and a shift in post office protocol started effecting local delivery... including our papers. More state funding for local initiatives got announced, and our two part look into details of the Affordable Care Act drew screaming responses from those wanting to bash Obamacare. Anger at the Wawarsing GOP caucus again pointed out the high tension election fast approaching, while a rabbinical college proposal in Wawarsing and ARC housing in Rochester drew more concerns. The big Bloomingburg build-out became apparent; folks in Cragsmoor fought over a proposed arts school. And the regional Pattern For Progress analysts issued a report on how young Americans were looking for rentals over home ownership now.

October saw all these concerns blossom into hot elections in many local towns, voiced via mean and constant ad campaigns and lawn signs, bland but tense meet the candidate events, and roaring rumor mills. There was much action over the casino gaming proposition on state ballots, including rallies for and letters against, while the annual budget process moved along quietly, devoid of controversy due to the mandated tax caps of recent years. Proposals for a new resort at the old Tamarack in Greenfield Park had many talking about a reviving Borscht Belt, albeit of a more Orthodox and less entertaining bent, while others looked to the LGBTQ population to jump on Ellenville and force its revival via mid-century and deco building pick-ups. Finally, it seemed that both Mamakating and the entire Pine Bush school district suddenly woke up to its new developments, in the works all year, with angry meetings and questions, particularly when people realized that a private girls' school was being proposed in the midst of their beloved school district... and the Bloomingburg village and planning board hadn't met in quite some time.

All this exploded in November, first via a host of election upsets in Wawarsing, Mamakating, Rochester and Rosendale, including the ousting of Terry Bernardo; and then when the New York Times ran a front page article on a lawsuit against the Pine Bush School District (reported on in our paper over a year earlier) charging anti-Semitism. Talk about a match to tinder... the school community reacted with night rallies alongside regular protests against the Hasidim planning to move into the new Bloomingburg townhouses, despite their developer's claims that no one group had signed up for the real estate yet. Lawsuits got threatened, schools lawyered up, and meanwhile readers in Ellenville wondered how things would move at the Nevele now that gaming had been approved. Meanwhile, we looked into the effects of food stamp cuts on our local population in need, attended the first big scoping session for China City... whose developers brought in a squad of local dignitaries as key advisors, and started a series of stories about religious belief in our region, hoping to reiterate the historic and continuing diversity of our towns and counties.

Finally, in December, the holiday season started cooling some out a bit. Wawarsing held its second annual Wassail, a huge success, while the Nevele continued its push towards eventual approvals, and investment, by working out new deals with SUNY. Big state economic development grants landed on the region for rail trails and the NY Rising flood remediation projects started yielding new pacts between towns, and a new sense of how to live with the changing nature of our region. Bloomingburg planners finally met and turned down that proposed private school, which also seems pegged for a turn-down in nearby Otisville, with lawsuits threatened and townhouse building continuing. Some towns faced battles over planning board and rescue squad protocols, like a hangover from the national anti-bureaucracy fights our national media loves, while it was revealed that Kohls is trying to get out of its tax payment agreements.

Most of what's happened will make for continuing stories as 2013 bleeds into 2014. Onward into the future!