Lucasfilm used to be a company that went against the grain of your typical Hollywood socialites who just wanted more of the same. Lucasfilm used to follow through with the stories that they wanted to tell in a very unapologetic way, even if the people around the me were telling them “it’s not going to work”. Lucasfilm always found a way to make it work and reach an audience. They used to be the rebels of the film industry. They didn’t submit to traditionalism. George Lucas allowed anyone who worked on the galaxy far far away to essentially have free reign to sprout their creative flow and put their own stamp on Star Wars, because he understood that a story needs nurturing. Stories need to be brave and challenging even if others disagree. They need to bring something people never thought they needed until watching that specific project within Star Wars. And that was The Acolyte. Most importantly: the greatest thing about the Acolyte was its separation from the Skywalker royal family and focusing on completely different characters, environments, and conflicts that expanded our understanding of the universe we know and love. The Acolyte had a refreshing nature about it where we saw Lucasfilm do something original and bring that spark of boldness that they’ve always been known for.  Star Wars wouldn’t be here today if George Lucas just accepted the dominant level of “we don’t believe in your vision” that a New Hope first received. Star Wars wouldn’t be Star Wars without George Lucas’ experimenting and going against what typical Hollywood was doing. We often forget this, but Star Wars wasn’t a guaranteed success at first. It had to work and be unapologetically itself to get to the be the royal family of space opera fantasy.  The most difficult thing to confront now, is the fact that Lucasfilm decided to relent to the toxic city of the fanbase. A company that since 1997, preached individuality when it came to storytelling backed out of a story they wanted to tell because of the loud, toxic, hateful group of fans. That is not the George Lucas way. As Lucasfilm supporters, we feel betrayed and ignored. We feel for the cast and crew that were given the hope of a continuation of The Acolyte and did a phenomenal job on the first season. We feel for the fact that Lucasfilm will now be frightened in wanting to tell different stories with different characters, time periods, and storylines. We feel that Lucasfilm now will decide to back out of a story instead of allowing it to blossom. We ESPECIALLY fear now that Lucasfilm will start de-canonizing actual SW media in order to make the trolls happy.  What we see is Lucasfilm now being a shell of its former self and not fighting for its own storytelling. It used to be Lucasfilm vs Corporate, but now it’s “what will sell better and be more familiar to people?”. You are becoming the very thing you swore to destroy. The film industry is scaring more and more creators from wanting to branch out and do new things and adaptability must be something we are willing to embrace. If we continue doing the same thing, eventually it will get to a point where the charm is gone and support will rarely be a commodity. Lucasfilm, you must honor George Lucas’ philosophy and see this story through. For the cast and crew that worked their butts off, for the supporters of this series that craved something different, and to tell your creatives that their visions will be protected by you. That their backs will always be covered by you. This decision to cancel The Acolyte only confirms to people that you won’t protect them, and that you don’t desire to expand. It confirms to the people who had to deal with the cyberbullying over loving this series that their support meant nothing. If this isn’t the philosophy that you desire to adopt or preach, do the right thing and resurrect The Acolyte for a second season. Follow through with your vision and live up to the respectable standards that you have been upholding since 1997’s A New Hope. Please, and thank you. 

Our elected officials need to see that North Glastonbury residents also need their representation and protection. 

Las recientes declaraciones de algunos miembros de la comunidad Hispana local, ampliamente difundadas  por la prensa, no nos representan.  Unase a nosotros para asegurarrnos que nuestras voces son escuchadas! The recent statements of some members of the local Hispanic community, widely reported by the press, do not represent us.  Please join us in making sure that our voices are heard!

It’s important for the well being and safety of our children. Especially all that is going on in the world it would be deficient not to do so. 

Musk has made it abundantly clear that he is willing to go to any length to chip away faith in our election system in order to tip the scales politically and elect Trump. He repeatedly claims that foreigners are being flown in to commit voter fraud—a well-debunked lie. He called on the elimination of electronic voting for dubious reasons. He publicly avows his support of right-wing conspiracy theorists and influencers who have made clear their distrust in our political system and democracy. Enough is enough.  Our government should not award any future funding to the same conspiracist who is actively undermining its own integrity.  Let's be clear: It's not just us who recognize how problematic it is that billions of our tax dollars are being given to Elon Musk. In fact, some members of Congress have publicly shared these concerns. Add your name now to tell the DOD no new contracts to Musk Photo Credits: Getty Images

Please join me in getting the town of Union and the village of Endicott’s attention on these pressing issues. We can’t keep living this way!!

This would be a very effective change of course for this property.   * Funding: Sen Chuck Schumer was instrumental in securing over $3.4+million dollars for this facility's upgrade. A small part of this very public funding could be used/offset as thanks for this funding/generosity and the continued confidence in Central Hudson's use/management of what are very public waterways.  *Community Investments: Central Hudson, along with its parent company Fortis, have made very public their intentions for continued community investment projects. This could be one such project that is already within their ownership! They own the land, a large portion of it is already used for recreation purposes (for CH employees only currently), and as state above - very generous public funding has been made available - earmarked for this location. Local town/County partnerships could easily ensure this type of property's upkeep and maintenance - if not existing maintenance that is already in place.  *Safety: Over the years there have been some really close calls with some people fishing - walking along, parking along the highway there. Kids are fishing there all the time and love it! Its time to consider allowing for more accessible means of enjoying this waterway and addressing a known safety issue too!  * Not just for residents, but Central Hudson customers!:  These aren't strangers. The people who live in this are (currently over 180,000 Ulster County residents) are Central Hudson customers. 

The safety and wellbeing of our children is a priority! 

Local governance is a time honored American tradition.  Local governments know what is needed and what is best for their communities.  HB 2127 is extreme government overreach and should be repealed.

Trump knows that more and more voters are learning about Project 2025 and he's trying to distance himself from it by claiming to not know anything about Project 2025 or who's behind it. That is a lie. Many members of Trump's former administration and Trump allies are involved with Project 2025, and in 2022, when talking about the Heritage Foundation, Trump said, "This is a great group, and they're going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do and what your movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America." Trump has a track record of inciting the deadly white supremacist-led January 6 insurrection, attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, packing the Supreme Court with MAGA Republican judges who have stripped away our freedoms and bodily autonomy over and over again, giving tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, hurling racist, sexist, Islamophobic attacks, and more. Harris has tirelessly advocated for and fought for our communities and freedoms. She has fought to raise the minimum wage, protect our voting rights, make higher education tuition-free, reform the cash bail system, expand access to health care, hold sexual abusers accountable, protect our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, protect the LGBTQIA+ community, and so much more. Harris has a proven track record of putting people over corporations by taking on fraudsters trying to cheat the American people—and winning, successfully going after Big Oil, greedy pharmaceutical companies, and predatory mortgage lenders to deliver wins for working people. This is why she is ready to show up to the debate on September 10, with or without Trump. Will you sign the petition to tell Trump that voters expect him to stop playing games and show up to debate Vice President Kamala Harris NOW? 

La contratación de mataderos y la falta de supervisión de estos contratistas por parte de los municipios de toda la isla es inhumana y se considera en todo el mundo como un signo de una sociedad incivilizada. La cantidad de injusticias contra los animales en Puerto Rico que han ganado atención mundial sigue creciendo y hace que Puerto Rico sea un lugar indeseable para visitar. El dinero que se destina a los contratistas de matanza se puede gastar de manera humanitaria en coordinación con organizaciones 501c3. El apoyo a las leyes para frenar el crecimiento de los animales callejeros no le cuesta nada, pero le ahorra enormes cantidades de dinero. __________________ The contracting of killing and the lack of oversight of those contractors by municipalities island-wide is inhumane and seen world-wide as a sign of an uncivilized society. The number of injustices against animals in Puerto Rico that have gained world-wide attention continue to grow and deem Puerto Rico undesirable as a place to visit. The money that goes to the killing contractors can be spent in humane ways in coordination with 501c3 organizations. The support of laws to slow the growth of strays costs you nothing but saves you massive amounts of money. Please leave a comment for 𝐑𝐚𝐦ó𝐧 𝐋𝐮𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚.

This issue is important because having clean water to drink and bathe in is a basic human need.