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Politics
Dutchess County Rep. Lawler Admits Donning Blackface As 'Hero' Michael Jackson In NYT Exposé Dutchess County Rep. Lawler Admits Donning Blackface As 'Hero' Michael Jackson In NYT Exposé
Dutchess County Rep. Lawler Admits Donning Blackface As 'Hero' Michael Jackson In NYT Exposé New York Rep. Mike Lawler – a freshman Republican hoping to defend his battleground congressional seat in the Hudson Valley – admitted to once donning blackface, The New York Times reports. The 38-year-old Lawler darkened his skin and dressed up as Michael Jackson for Halloween while he was a sophomore at the now Manhattan University in 2006, photos obtained by the outlet show. In a statement to the New York Times, Lawler said the costume was meant to be “truly the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to my musical hero since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom’s ki…

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by Michael Mashburn
Police & Fire
High School Put Into Lockdown After Accidental Alarm Activation In Hudson Valley High School Put Into Lockdown After Accidental Alarm Activation In Hudson Valley
High School Put Into Lockdown After Accidental Alarm Activation In Hudson Valley Authorities raced to a Hudson Valley high school after an alarm was accidentally tripped, police said. The incident happened in Putnam County just after 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, when authorities responded to a lockdown alarm activation at Mahopac High School that indicated it was "not a drill," according to the Carmel Police Department. As a result of the alarm, both Mahopac Middle and the Mahopac Falls schools were also put into lockdown.  Officers from Carmel Police and the Putnam County Sheriff's Office quickly arrived at the high school, as well as those who had already be…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Man Caught Snorting Cocaine In Car In Hudson Valley: Police Man Caught Snorting Cocaine In Car In Hudson Valley: Police
Man Caught Snorting Cocaine In Car In Hudson Valley: Police A 32-year-old Connecticut man was apprehended after authorities caught him snorting cocaine inside a vehicle in the Hudson Valley, police announced.  The arrest was made on Monday, Aug. 26 just before 3 p.m., when a man was seen snorting a white powdered substance while sitting in the driver's seat of a car in the Putnam County town of Southeast, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said on Monday, Sept. 30. According to the Sheriff's Office, the man's vehicle was found to have a Virginia license plate that expired in 2016. A search of his car undertaken by members of the Sheriff's Offic…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Animal Cruelty: Chickens, Ducks, Roosters Found In 'Deplorable' Conditions In Hudson Valley Animal Cruelty: Chickens, Ducks, Roosters Found In 'Deplorable' Conditions In Hudson Valley
Animal Cruelty: Chickens, Ducks, Roosters Found In 'Deplorable' Conditions In Hudson Valley A 57-year-old man faces criminal charges after neglecting several chickens, roosters, and ducks on his Hudson Valley property, authorities announced. The man was arrested in Putnam County on Monday, Sept. 23 following an investigation conducted at his Mahopac residence, the Putnam County SPCA announced on Friday, Sept. 27. According to authorities, on the day of the man's arrest, SPCA Law Enforcement Division members met with caseworkers from the county's Child Protective Services at his Mahopac address.  There, the caseworkers had already been investigating the care of a teenager at …

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by Ben Crnic
News
New Update: Support On Rise For Fatal House Fire Victim's Family In Hudson Valley New Update: Support On Rise For Fatal House Fire Victim's Family In Hudson Valley
New Update: Support On Rise For Fatal House Fire Victim's Family In Hudson Valley In the days after a tragic house fire that left a man dead in the Hudson Valley, a community is making sure his family gets what they need to start their rebuilding process.  The blaze, which happened in Putnam County on Sunday, Sept. 22, began at around 5:40 a.m. at a Lake Carmel residence at 16 Marion Way and ended up fully engulfing the home, according to the Kent Police Department. Earlier Report - 1 Killed After House Fire Breaks Out In Lake Carmel One of the home's occupants, Joseph Hunt, was killed in the blaze, while two other residents were hospitalized. A fami…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
32-Year-Old Man Accused Of Selling Cocaine, Prescription Meds In Hudson Valley 32-Year-Old Man Accused Of Selling Cocaine, Prescription Meds In Hudson Valley
32-Year-Old Man Accused Of Selling Cocaine, Prescription Meds In Hudson Valley A 32-year-old man from the region faces a long list of charges for selling cocaine and prescription medication in the Hudson Valley, authorities announced.  Ulster County resident Kevin Lamastro of Highland was arrested on Saturday, Sept. 21 on an outstanding warrant related to his alleged sale of narcotics in Putnam County, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office announced on Tuesday, Sept. 24.  According to the Sheriff's Office, in 2023, an investigator with the Narcotics Enforcement Unit learned that Lamastro was allegedly involved in the sale of cocaine and prescription medica…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Car Bursts Into Flames, Shuts Down I-84 Stretch In Hudson Valley Car Bursts Into Flames, Shuts Down I-84 Stretch In Hudson Valley
Car Bursts Into Flames, Shuts Down I-84 Stretch In Hudson Valley A stretch of Interstate 84 in the Hudson Valley was temporarily closed to traffic after a car went up in flames on the shoulder.  The blaze happened in Putnam County on Saturday evening, Sept. 21, when a vehicle caught on fire on Interstate 84 West in Brewster, according to the village's fire department. The blaze caused a stretch of the interstate to shut down briefly as crews worked to put out the flames.  The flames sent a large pillar of smoke up into the sky and completely consumed the car, as seen in photos of the fire released by the fire department.  No injuries wer…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
1 Killed After House Fire Breaks Out In Hudson Valley 1 Killed After House Fire Breaks Out In Hudson Valley
1 Killed After House Fire Breaks Out In Hudson Valley A resident was killed in a blaze at a Hudson Valley home that left two others hospitalized.  New, updated report - New Update: Support On Rise For Fatal House Fire Victim's Family In Lake Carmel The fire happened in Putnam County on Sunday morning, Sept. 22, when a blaze broke out at a Lake Carmel residence at 16 Marion Way, according to the Carmel Fire Department. Fire crews that arrived at the burning home encountered "challenging conditions," the department said.  Despite this, they still made their way inside the home to look for those trapped inside and successfully re…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Warning Issued For Crime Pattern Involving Package Deliveries Throughout Hudson Valley Warning Issued For Crime Pattern Involving Package Deliveries Throughout Hudson Valley
Warning Issued For Crime Pattern Involving Package Deliveries Throughout Hudson Valley Authorities in the Hudson Valley are warning residents to watch out for package thefts in the wake of a crime pattern involving deliveries.  In an announcement this week, Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville warned residents to watch out for suspicious activity in their neighborhoods involving package deliveries.  McConville's announcement came ahead of the launch of the new Apple iPhone 16 on Friday, Sept. 20, an expensive product that will likely be delivered to many households in the area.  According to the Sheriff's Office, authorities have been made aware of an "…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Trapped Driver Rescued After Crashing Into Swamp In Hudson Valley Trapped Driver Rescued After Crashing Into Swamp In Hudson Valley
Trapped Driver Rescued After Crashing Into Swamp In Hudson Valley A driver was flown to a hospital after crashing into a swamp in the Hudson Valley.  The crash happened in Putnam County on Wednesday, Sept. 18 around 8:15 p.m., when a vehicle left the roadway at the intersection of Route 6 and Route 312 in Brewster and crashed down a 20-foot embankment into a swamp, according to the Brewster Fire Department.  Arriving first responders soon discovered that the driver was trapped inside their vehicle and began stabilizing the car to help them out. However, the swampy conditions made this process difficult. Thanks to the expertise of firefighters f…

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by Ben Crnic
News
School Threat Leads To Delayed Start For District In Hudson Valley School Threat Leads To Delayed Start For District In Hudson Valley
School Threat Leads To Delayed Start For District In Hudson Valley A school threat led to a delayed start for a district in the Hudson Valley. At 5:55 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in Putnam County, administrators were notified of a "possible, non-specific threat made by an individual" in the Carmel High School community. This information was immediately shared with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office so that it could be investigated, according to a statement by the Carmel Central School District. "This threat was not directly related to Carmel High School or any district school, but was a statement made on a group chat on Discord regarding a school threat,"…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Trio From Out Of State Nabbed With Illegally-Possessed Guns In Hudson Valley: Police Trio From Out Of State Nabbed With Illegally-Possessed Guns In Hudson Valley: Police
Trio From Out Of State Nabbed With Illegally-Possessed Guns In Hudson Valley: Police Three suspects from another state face charges after they were caught with four illegally possessed handguns during a Hudson Valley traffic stop, police announced.  The arrests were made in Putnam County on Saturday, Sept. 7 around 3 p.m., when police saw a blue Nissan SUV with a Texas registration allegedly fail to use its turn signal while turning onto Route 6N from Mahopac Plaza, the Carmel Police Department announced on Monday, Sept. 9.  Officers then pulled the SUV over and found a loaded handgun in one of the passenger's waistbands. Police then eventually found three more lo…

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by Ben Crnic