Highlands Current Audio Stories

About Highlands Current Audio Stories

The Highlands Current is a nonprofit weekly newspaper and daily website that covers Beacon, Cold Spring, Garrison, Nelsonville and Philipstown, New York, in the Hudson Highlands. This podcast includes select stories read aloud.

Publisher

Highlands Current

Category

arts · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Jan 2024

Latest episode

11 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

1,036 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Over the River, Through the Woods

   Scenic Hudson opens Highland Falls park The newest way to appreciate Philipstown's scenic beauty is to leave Philipstown. On Oct. 3, Scenic Hudson cut the ribbon on the Highlands Falls Preserve, a 32-acre riverfront park that offers a picnic area, a 0.7-mile mossy trail that winds through pitch pines and rocky ledges and a view of the Hudson River with the Philipstown Recreation Center, the Garrison Institute, Sugarloaf Hill, and Benedict Arnold's escape route beyond it. "If people are used to hiking in Hudson Highlands State Park, this offers a unique vantage point," said Seth McKee, executive director of the Scenic Hudson Land Trust. "You're looking back at Philipstown, so it shows you a whole new perspective on the Hudson Highlands." Shortly after the ribbon was cut, toddlers, Boy Scout troops, senior citizens with hiking poles, and a drum circle filled the park, while elected officials marveled at the crowds. The enthusiasm was understandable: Oct. 3 was also Highlands Falls' 120th anniversary, but the village has never had a waterfront park. In the 19th century, a steamboat captain, Stephen Roe, owned the land. His son, a major general at West Point, later lived on the estate, which is long gone except for a stone greenhouse chimney visible on the trail. More recently, four siblings from Ontario owned the parcel. McKee said Scenic Hudson worked with the family for years to preserve the property. The deal closed in 2020 and construction began in 2025. Much of the planting and trail building was completed by 80 volunteers who met monthly for workshops led by such groups as the Jolly Rovers, who specialize in stonework. Scenic Hudson also recruited West Point cadets. Together the crews moved 19,000 pounds of stone and built a 26-step staircase to the picnic area. "It's a slow process when people are doing it by hand, and it's only once a month, so it takes a lot of patience," said Scenic Hudson's Heather Blaikie. "But this was the better way to build it. When people have ownership of the process, they're more appreciative. Everyone in the village felt like 'We all built this together.' " Photos by B. Cronin One thing the site doesn't have is ample parking, by design. The preserve sits behind the C-Town Supermarket on Main Street, and is a 10-minute walk from the village center. (Those who don't want to walk downhill on Havens Road and then up the stairs can enter from the back of the C-Town parking lot.) "We provided a couple of spaces, but we're inviting people to walk from the village, from their homes, from their businesses, to be able to enjoy this," said McKee. "When you add the attraction of the site's West Point history, it really adds value to the walkability and the history that the village already has." The contrast between the village and the preserve's classic Hudson Highlands landscape adds to the appeal, Blaikie said. For those unfamiliar with the preserve, stumbling upon it behind a supermarket parking lot can be a surprise. "You're in the village, you're on Main Street, and then suddenly you're transported to a really different place," she said. "That's what makes it magical." Highland Falls Preserve, at 20 Havens Road, is open from dawn to dusk. For more information, see dub.sh/HF-preserve.

2. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Nine Months Later, Ryan Celebrates Law

   Anchorage restrictions passed in December Nine months after it took effect — and a month before Election Day — Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat and former Ulster County executive whose House district includes Beacon, held a news conference on Oct. 9 at the Poughkeepsie waterfront to celebrate the passage of a bill he co-introduced, the Hudson River Protection Act. The law, signed in December by President Donald Trump, effectively bans new barge anchorage grounds. "We recognize that a lot feels outside of our control right now," said Ryan, who is campaigning for a third term. "But this is an example where we refused to accept that; we all came together, and we had a really important victory." Supporters of the law hope that its enactment marked the end of an 11-year battle in which the U.S. Coast Guard and the Tug & Barge Committee of the Port of New York and New Jersey repeatedly attempted to create anchorage grounds despite pushback. "It was like a zombie," said Ryan. "Just when you think you've stopped these barges and the folks trying to push it, they figure out how to sneak around the rules." The saga began in 2015, when Rhinecliff and Port Ewen residents complained about the noise and stadium-style lights from barges anchored in the river overnight. That prompted the Coast Guard to remind the Tug & Barge Committee that Hyde Park was the only approved anchorage ground north of Tarrytown in the "navigable waters of the Port of New York." The Tug & Barge Committee replied that, because a ban on American crude oil exports had been lifted, it needed more "long-term" anchorages. The Coast Guard responded with a plan for 10 anchorages between Yonkers and Kingston, including one for five barges between Beacon and Newburgh. When the Coast Guard asked for public input, 10,000 people replied, nearly all opposed to the plan. One concern was that "long-term" was undefined, raising concerns that tanker captains would wait in the river until oil prices peaked, then rush to the Port of Albany to cash in. There were also concerns about the barges' impact on river wildlife and drinking water. Although the Coast Guard backtracked in 2018, Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat whose district included Philipstown and Beacon, introduced a provision to the annual defense funding resolution to ban new anchorages. When Congress overrode President Trump's veto of the spending bill, Maloney stood on the banks of the Hudson and announced that the river was safe from new anchorages "forever." Two years later, the Coast Guard announced that its research showed the "navigable waters of the Port of New York" extended only 25 miles from the Statue of Liberty. Effective immediately, barges could anchor anywhere north of Tarrytown, for any length of time, if they had adequate lighting, deep water and space to turn around. After another outcry, and pressure by House members from the Hudson Valley, including Ryan and two Republicans, Mike Lawler (who defeated Maloney in 2021) and former Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, the Coast Guard withdrew the change. Soon after, Ryan and Molinaro introduced a bill to clarify the Port of New York definition. It was included in the fiscal 2026-27 defense funding act, which Trump signed in December. "Amidst a historically unproductive Congress these last two years, this is one of the few bills that actually passed the House, passed the Senate, and was, believe it or not, signed into law by this president," said Ryan. Ryan was more cautious about the word forever. Although the bill tries to prevent any "shady" reinterpretations of the law, he said there may be attempts to sidestep the regulations. "There is a very active, incredibly well-funded barge lobby," he said. "But I would hope by now the message has been received."

3. 

   10 Oct 2026

   Cellist to Premiere Sonata at Chapel

   Inbal Segev will perform with pianist Yalin Chi Pianist Yalin Chi made plenty of friends at The Juilliard School and added many more during her subsequent musical journey. This access to a pipeline of talented chamber musicians has helped transform the Chapel Restoration in Cold Spring into a showcase for youthful creativity. On Oct. 18, in the second-to-last concert of 2026 in the Chapel's Sunday Music Series (which returns in April), Chi will accompany cellist Inbal Segev as she premieres an untitled three-part cello sonata. The duo has worked together before. Segev, a mainstay with major orchestras, is passionate about new music and hopes to "reinvigorate the repertoire and find out what's possible on the instrument," she says. "We've been playing Bach and Beethoven for hundreds of years, and the great masters will never go away, but audiences today, especially in New York, expect something contemporary on the program," says Segev. Soon after the pandemic hit, Segev commissioned a 20 for 2020 series of compositions, some with topical titles like "Exhale" and "Elegy for the Victims of Indifference." Composer Timo Andres' contribution, "Agita," gives the cello a physical workout as the bow dances across the strings. In a video recording, Segev's left hand leaps around the neck, sliding and playing hard, almost shredding like a lead guitar player in a heavy rock band. The video editing is as edgy as the music. Sometimes, the top of Segev's head is cut off. Camera angles can be odd, and a glowing red light bathes the studio. The piece mines microtones, the sounds between the white and black keys on a piano. They are typically associated with Arab and Indian music scales, although rock and blues guitarists often bend notes and squeeze out subtler tones. "It sounds scarier than it is," says Segev. "They're tonal passing notes that combine Western and Middle Eastern approaches, yet the piano is in tune so it's like the human cello versus the mechanical." The first movement of Segev's new sonata, "Be Neutral," experiments with the space between major and minor keys. During the Oct. 18 concert, Segev will perform Cello Suite No. 4, one of the Bach's six solo pieces that she calls "the bible for cellists." Compositions by Schumann and Shostakovich are also on the bill. With the music series operating on a shoestring budget, Chi donates her time as booker, pianist and member of the nonprofit's board. "There's no money in music," she says. "We do it because we love it, and the concerts are free, which is insane these days," though donations are welcome. On Nov. 15, Chi will perform with Sheryl Staples, associate concertmaster at the New York Philharmonic (the second-ranking violin), including selections by Beethoven, Debussy and Lili Boulanger, who died in 1918 at age 24. "We played together a few years ago, and people still talk about having her back, so here she is," says Chi, who released a new album, Dream, this month. "Live music will never die," she says. "The connection between who we are and how we communicate from the stage to the audience is primal and cannot be experienced on a recording. All the time, I hear: 'With the world the way it is, we come here to forget about it all for an hour.' People need it." The Chapel Restoration is located at 45 Market St. in Cold Spring. The Sunday concerts begin at 4 p.m.

Who has been a guest on Highlands Current Audio Stories

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Evan Zucarelli
• Andrew Buder
• Catherine Lisotta
• Rich Dewey
• Jeffrey Seidman

Podcast Authority Score: 51 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

89

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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