Warming; BBQ; The Retail Therapy Guide 1/29/2021
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Childcare Grants Available For 75% Of Childcare Cost - But It's Complicated - Deadline February 16, 2021
/Dutchess County has made available a Childcare Scholarship Grant to residents since 2020, and is promoting it again in 2021. There are requirements and limitations of the scholarships, which limit the application pool. According to the Beacon Recreation Director, Mark Price, who runs Beacon’s After School Program in Beacon’s 4 elementary schools, users of this scholarship have been slim. “I thought this would go like hot cakes, but it hasn’t.”
Beacon’s After School Program launched a few years ago, and has been a wild success. South Avenue Elementary has seen the most participation, and is also the school associated with the most families considered in a lower income bracket.
Last year, South Avenue’s After School Program had 25 kids. This year, it has 2. During the time of the mysterious sickness that had many people out sick in January - March 2020, before the pandemic was declared - South Avenue’s program easily had 7 of 25 kids out a day, with sick kids also in attendance. As a parent in the program, it was a rotating mess of sick kids and siblings.
This year, with school on a Hybrid schedule (2 days in school, 3 days at home), and with kids split between attending on Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday combos, the number of children in one room at the After School Program is significantly lower.
Is this reduction by family safety choice? Or is it for economic reasons? This answer is unknown. The Dutchess County scholarship is designed for families in the lower income bracket. However, families in (or formerly in) a higher income may also be squeezed financially, and cannot apply.
Additionally, the scholarship requires that the parents be working, or looking for work. This seems to exclude parents who are not working by choice or circumstance, but are overcome with children at home, which can contribute to mental health declines. Dual parent families at times make the choice early on to have one parent not work, as they don’t want to spend the childcare, which can contribute to a mental health decline for the parent staying at home.
Some Trips To Applying For The Childcare Scholarship, Or Childcare In General, During A Pandemic And Economic Squeeze
There is $180,000 allocated to all of Dutchess County, not including the City of Poughkeepsie. The City of Poughkeepsie has its own $90,000 to work with, according to the Dutchess County website.
Scholarship stipulations from Dutchess County include:
1. Parent(s) or guardian(s) must be working, looking for work or in school to be eligible, unless there are extenuating circumstances and a demonstrated COVID related need for childcare despite not meeting this criterion.
2. The child cannot be receiving any other childcare subsidy or scholarship (i.e., DCFS subsidy or Dyson Scholarship. If eligible for a subsidy from the DCFS, applicants must apply for funding from that program.
3. The child must be currently enrolled in a regulated childcare facility within Dutchess County.
This last bullet of #3 is in bold on the Dutchess County website. When people sign up for a childcare program, it is presumably because they can pay for it. For Beacon’s After School Program, people sign up online (this was at first a milestone, and now is a hurdle for if the website works, and becomes a race for who can operate the Internet and their registration system fast enough - I have bee known to simply drive to the building when the website opens). This year, however, for example, there are 2 kids (out of 25) in the South Avenue Program. So there is no race.
However, in signing up, the online message is very clear in the online sales process, that one must pay the tuition in full. For a family even in a higher income bracket during a pandemic, paying over $1,000 up front for 2 kids for one semester is difficult. It takes a personal phone call to ask the people at the Beacon Rec Center if a payment plan can be worked out. And the answer is: “Of course! We just want your kids in the program!”
People who are afraid or embarrassed to ask for a payment plan or payment deferral may not make this phone call. And thus not register for the program, and not apply. And then maybe not apply for this scholarship from Dutchess County. Dutchess County requires that kids are already enrolled in a daycare program. If the family can’t pay initially, they won’t be enrolled in the childcare program.
As for requirement #1: this seems to exclude families or single parent families where the main caregiver is not working. Unknown how this works for a single parent family who would then need to prove that the other parent is looking for work. At times, communication breakdowns can happen between parents, making this a daunting task.
Dutchess County is aggressive on creating mental health initiatives. Primary caregivers who are not working and not eligible for this program may be suffering at home, under the weight of their children suddenly at home all day with very little outside stimulation provided by programs such as childcare facilities who are required to follow strict safety guidelines, which parents trust.
How Dutchess County’s Scholarship Works
Beacon’s After School Program is promoting the scholarships. Their email to previously enrolled families was:
“Scholarships are being awarded for the balance of the academic calendar year by a random selection process to low and moderate-income families. The funds will cover 75% of the tuition for each child, paid directly to the childcare facility. Families will be responsible for 25% of the tuition. Low- and moderate-income Dutchess County families with children enrolled in a regulated childcare program are eligible to apply.”
Some of Dutchess County’s language on the application is as follows:
“Dutchess County and the City of Poughkeepsie received funding through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These CDBG COVID (CV) funds are to be used to prevent, prepare for, or respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
“With schools not opening in their traditional formats, families have been challenged with the unprecedented need for childcare for their school aged children to allow parents and guardians the ability to work, look for work or attend school. The intent of this scholarship fund is to fill the gap between the number of days students will be in school and those days where students are not in school. Families are encouraged to consider their natural resources and supports and to request the minimal number of days needed so this funding can be maximized”
Income requirements are listed here on the Dutchess County application. If you do not meet these requirements, consider reaching out with questions on if an amendment can be made.
City Of Beacon Announces 2 Warming Centers For The Next 4 Days
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The City of Beacon issued a press release with the times and locations of 2 Warming Centers for the next 4 days of cold weather, where high wind gusts of up to 30mph are predicted for Friday evening. Wind chill values at night, according to The National Weather Service, are predicted to fall into the negatives.
These Warming Centers are open for limited time during different periods of the day, and coordinate with when volunteers can be in the locations.
Salvation Army: 372 Main Street
1/29: From 3pm-6pm
1/30: From 9am-4pm
1/31: From 10am - 1pm
The main contact at Beacon’s Salvation Army is Captain Leilani Rodríguez-Alarcón, Corps Commanding Officer / Pastor. She also the contact for their Food Pantry.
Beacon Recreation Center: 23 West Center Street (near South Avenue Elementary School)
1/30: From 9am-12pm
A Food Pantry is also open at the Beacon Recreation Center on Saturdays. Made possible by Open Arms Christian Ministries (contact is Kenya Gadsden, former School Board Member for the City Of Beacon). A Food Drive for this Food Pantry is going on now via an effort with KeyFood and Barb’s Butchery. Food can be donated to either Key Food or Barb’s Butchery. Remember: When there is a sale on your favorite products at Key Food, take advantage and double up for donation!
There is a Tiny Food Pantry located outside of the Beacon Recreation Center that you could fill up. A Tiny Food Pantry is also at Binnacle Books and at Tompkins Terrace.
Details about all Food Pantry and Free Food Distribution Opportunities are at A LIttle Beacon Blog’s Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen Guide. Learn how to contribute to them here.
Where's Bernie; Retail Therapy Guide 1/22/2021
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Happy Weekend, Everyone!
Then, Bernie came to the mats! The yoga mats of ALBB's Managing Editor Marilyn Perez, promoting her "Digital Slow Flow" and "Digital Power Beats" yoga class on Fridays for 
We've braved the belly of the beast,
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The Beacon MTA Man Arrested By FBI For Entering U.S. Capitol Emerges From Court; FIT Student Arrested; The Hopewell Man Behind Trump's Twitter
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A Little Beacon Blog does not follow police blotters, as local print publications like the Beacon Free Press and the Highlands Current usually do. The City of Beacon has begun publishing the results of its own police blotter (it’s a slimmed down version, so no competition to the more detailed notes the papers publish), as a result of police reform moves that started after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis which erupted a movement in favor of better treatment of Black people and the BIOPIC community across the nation.
When the Beacon resident, William Pepe, was charged by the FBI, and placed on a “Seeking Information” page by the FBI, several people wrote in to A Little Beacon Blog, looking for an article here. While the article was covered by both local (Highlands Current) and national newspapers (New York Times) as well as international (The Daily Mail), readers were looking for a version here as well, perhaps for historical purposes. But, as we reached out to locals who are regular readers of A Little Beacon Blog, they still hadn’t heard of these local arrests or affiliations. To our surprise. So, we will include a version here as well. Our version will take a look at a sampling of local people who have been written about in the media who contributed to the beliefs of why people stormed the U.S. Capitol.
William Pepe
According to reporting from the Daily Mail, the New York Times and the Highlands Current, William Pepe attended the storming of the U.S. Capitol, now known as an insurrection, and posted a selfie of himself to his social media. The FBI arrested him on Tuesday, (1-12-2020) and he was federally charged with remaining in a restricted government building, and also faces charges of disrupting orderly conduct of government, according to the Daily Mail.
William has worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for 7 years, and was working at the Brewster yard in White Plains when he was arrested in a bank parking lot, according to the Highlands Current, and has been suspended from his $73K/year job without pay. As an employee for the MTA, he is a federal employee and is under the protection of its union, Local 30 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, the president of which said they were “disappointed” in his behavior, according to the article. According to an MTA spokesperson quoted in the article, the MTA is considering firing William, and any action “will be disciplined in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement pending an investigation,” said the spokesperson. That spokesperson went on to say: “'This alleged conduct is abhorrent and goes against the values of Metro-North, New York and the nation.”
According to the MTA, William had called in sick on January 6, 2021, which the MTA said is a “false use of sick leave,” according to the Daily Mail. The spokesperson went on to say: 'Those who attacked that symbol of American democracy disqualified themselves from working for the people of New York,' in the article.
William appeared in court last Wednesday (1-13-2021), where he was released on $10,000 bond, and must hand over his shotgun and hunting knife, according to the article. He must wear a GPS monitoring device, and abide by a nighttime curfew.
If William is convicted, he faces one year in jail for this federal offense. “If it is found that he used or carried a deadly weapon or firearm at the time, he could face 10 years,” according to the Daily Mail.
FIT Student From Staten Island Arrested For Attack On Capitol Building
A student, Nicolas Moncada, who attended FIT was arrested in his home in Staten Island after posting social media selfies of himself “storming the Capitol” as he stated in his social media, according to Gothamist. He stated he was "Outside Pelosi's office," according to the federal complaint reported by Gothamist. According to the article, fellow students and staff identified him.
According to a photo posted by Nicolas, he attended “a protest at Mac's Public House, the Staten Island bar that defied COVID restrictions, where he held up a T-shirt reading "Stop the Steal," a reference to the baseless claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged,” according to Gothamist. The owner of that bar was arrested for allegedly ramming into a Deputy Sheriff with his car who was trying to stop him from operating his bar illegally. Allegedly, that bar owner drove with the Deputy Sherrif hanging onto the hood of his car for 100 yards. The officer was hospitalized for his injuries, and the video of the officer being driven on top of the car of Mac’s Public House was posted on the New York Post.
Hopewell Man, Dan Scavino, Runs Trump’s Twitter Account
Dan Scavino, who hails from Hopewell Junction, was hired to run Donald’s Trump Twitter account, before it was banned in 2021. Dan started as golf caddie for Trump since at least 2010, worked for the golf course renamed Trump National Golf Course Hudson Valley (unknown why “national” and the local name is there), when Trump purchased the course previously named Branton Woods Golf Course.
Dan has been loyal to Trump’s voice via Twitter, and Dan’s own personal Twitter account, since working for him while in the White House. You can read more about Dan at the Times Herold-Record Online, and through other Google searches.
Some of Dan’s Tweets read like this:
Beacon's Mayor Lee Kyriacou's Comments Concerning The Storming Of The U.S. Capitol
/Just days after the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol, Beacon’s City Council met for its regularly scheduled Workshop, where they would discuss regularly scheduled items like if the new building owner of the Kitchen and Sink building that was formerly Ella’s Bellas could build a 4th floor if he created enough public outdoor space for the public in exchange; or the debate on what is a viewshed; or how investment tools that the City uses are invested, Mayor Lee Kyriacou addressed the insurrection on January 6, 2021 with a moment of silence for the fallen officer of the Capitol Police, who died during the riot while defending the Capitol.
Mayor Kyriacou went on to give his memories of his time at the U.S. Capitol building, as a college student studying law. At time, his voice wavered, possibly pushed with emotion, or just with seasonal wavering. His full remarks are at the beginning of the replay of the meeting here in this video, and some are quoted below.
“My visit to the Capitol at that time did what it does to every 20-year old going there for this first time….It leaves you in awe. It gives you this incredible sense of the power of democracy, and the importance of that symbol.
“I was a History Major, and also an Economics Major. As a History Major I studied 20th Century World History, in particular, the period between the two World Wars.
“The Big Lie in Nazi Germany was that Germany had not lost WWI; that it was due to the betrayal of the leadership and the military leaders, and of course, the conspiracy of the Jews. That lie just kept on going. And built up steam, and eventually brought those to power. Which led to about 4 weeks after the installation of Chancellor…of the National Socialist Party, the Burning of the Reichstag, which was the German equivalent of the Capitol Building. I was reminded of that in the last week.
“I’m not going to go any further. I think we have all watched somewhat in amazement and with obviously many many different reactions. Mine is still the same, which is my belief in democracy is unchanged. I think there are enough people in this country who put democracy first, and our constitutional obligations that all of us as elected officials swore allegiance to. And I think we go on. I don’t want to be making political calls, as much as pointing out those are the things that have happened. They do have historical precedence, and I do think our democracy held.”
City Of Beacon To Vote Tonight On Resolution Condemning "Attack On January 6 Of The U.S. Capitol and Congress" and Supports Accountability
/Today, Tuesday, January 19, 2021, Beacon’s City Council will vote on a Resolution officially “Condemning The Attack On January 6 Of The U.S. Capitol and Congress,” which they will vote upon during tonight’s regularly scheduled City Council Meeting, which is a public meeting that meets on Zoom and YouTube, where members of the public can speak for up to 3 minutes on any topic during the first 30 minutes of the meeting, and last 30 minutes of the meeting.
The Resolution in its entirety has been republished below for easy reading, and can be accessed here at the City’s website. You can attend the City Council Meeting digitally via the links found on the City’s website here.
During last week’s City Council Workshop meeting on January 11, 2021, Mayor Lee Kyriacou contributed comments to the January 6th event that were historically based on his studies in college as a History Major on the time period between the two Word Wars. You can read some of those comments here.
While some police officers in departments around the country (NPR) and within the Capitol Police itself (CNN) are being reported as to having participated in the riot, A Little Beacon Blog has inquired last week with the City of Beacon by way of the Mayor, City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero and new HR Director Gina Basile to see if the Police and Fire Chiefs have issued a statement describing if they have looked within their own departments for any participants, or if they have held team meetings to have group talks about the event, and how it makes everyone feel. Inquiry has been made again today. Should a response be received, this article will be updated.
CITY OF BEACON CITY COUNCIL
Resolution No. of 2021
RESOLUTION CONDEMNING THE ATTACK
ON JANUARY 6 OF THE U.S. CAPITOL AND CONGRESS
WHEREAS, on January 6, 2021, there was a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and on the U.S. Congress, described succinctly by USA Today: “As a shocked nation watched..., a pro- Trump mob battled police, broke into the U.S. Capitol, and sent members of Congress fleeing as lawmakers were counting Electoral College votes.... Now, five people are dead, including a U.S. Capitol police officer.” And
WHEREAS, this attack on the U.S. Capitol and Congress was caused by the current President, as stated by third-ranking House Republican Liz Cheney, “The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing.... There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.” And
WHEREAS this attack on the U.S. Capitol and Congress followed the November national election with more than 150 million Americans exercising their constitutional right to vote, and thereafter by the counting and certification of votes by state election officials, as well as the meeting and voting by the Electoral College, and also by the adjudication of many dozens of court challenges by the current President that affirmed all the election results; and
WHEREAS, this attack on the U.S. Capital also followed months of assertions without proof by the current President that elections in states where the President lost were somehow unfair, which were repeated and amplified by the current President, culminating in and repeated at a White House rally immediately preceding the attack on the U.S. Capitol, which attack was largely perpetrated by individuals attending that rally; and
WHEREAS, the practical demonstration of a true democracy is the peaceful transfer of power from outgoing to incoming officials, which for President and Vice President of the United States has occurred peacefully and as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution after every national election since 1788 – until now; and
WHEREAS, each elected representative of the City of Beacon takes an oath of office, which includes supporting the Constitution of the United States;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Beacon condemns the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and Congress, and supports all actions to ensure accountability for those inciting and conducting the attack.
What Businesses Need To Do To Stay Open If People Are Afraid To Come Inside During A Pandemic
/Do you own a business, have made investments to adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines, but people aren’t coming in yet? There are a few easy things you could do to turn this around.
A Little Beacon Blog has two sister companies: Tin Shingle and Katie James Inc. Both specialize in digital marketing. From a business perspective, with the right education, people can stay safe during a pandemic, and still shop and see people. Businesses and institutions can stay open - as long as their practices are safe - and their messaging is safe.
This article is written with our marketing hats on, from both Tin Shingle and Katie James Inc. Methods that we have used for years and years, that can work - if you are actively engaging in safe measures and acknowledging the pandemic.
Share How Your Business Is Being Safe By Providing Social Distancing
If your business has been closed since forever, and now it’s open, YAY. Now you need to share how it is being safe. If you don’t do this regularly, you may be missing out on a lot of business.
GOOGLING:
When people Google your business, they are getting a few options: Phone to call, and Website to click. They are going to call first. If you don’t feel like answering the phone, or if you have a a voicemail answer for you with directions on what numbers to press to get to a person, then include this entire message of safety on that voicemail. If you don’t, customers who are watching that Dashboard of active COVID-19 cases might not come. Because you didn’t make them feel safe. This is your responsibility in these times.
VOICEMAILS:
When a customer calls your place of business, your voicemail or auto-answering service needs to tell them how your business is being safe. Don’t assume people know what regulations you needed to follow. People like to hear the reassurances.
Are your doors open for ventilation? Did you invest in air-purifiers? Do you use fans? Does your staff wear masks? Do your customers need to wear masks? Do you have reduced % capacity? If so, state what that is. Do you have a waiting policy? Do your customers need to wait in the parking lot for when their turn is ready? Do you have a deep-clean system? Great! State all of this. Yes, it’s a huge pain for you as a business to do this. But your customers do want to hear it. They will feel reassured, and most likely will come to your place of business.
WEBSITE:
All of your COVID-19 safety measures need to be stated on your website in a special section called COVID-19. Not sure it this is required by an Executive Order of any kind, but for regular people searching to feel good and safe, this is required if you want them to walk through your doors. Sure, you may think: “My customers feel safe no matter what.” Well, there are plenty of other customers who are not coming in because they don’t know your drill. If you have a drill. You have a drill, right? : )
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Fill your social feed on Instagram, Facebook and/or TikTok with pictures of your safety moves. Make them fun! Safety is sexy! If you don’t have time to do this, hire someone to do it for you. Visit A Little Beacon Blog’s Business Directory in the Branding or Social Media sections. Or hire Katie James, Inc. to do it for you! We are great ghost writers and visionaries with photos. We can write in your brand’s style and personality.
NEWSLETTERS:
The most feared marketing tool that a small business has, and the most effective. Sending your customers newsletters - as well as random people who signed up for your newsletters - is so important. The personal inbox has always been, and remains to be, a sacred space. Use it. Your people want to hear from you.
THE MEDIA:
Yes, the media is looking for COVID-19 stories. Did you make a big investment in equipment to make your business more safe? Did you make a big pivot move? Did you save your staff? Did you not take PPP money because you told your staff to stay on unemployment to get the extra Pandemic Insurance? Did you close for the winter, with hopes of opening back up in the spring?
Any special thing you are doing because of the pandemic - pitch it to the media. Tin Shingle educates business owners on how to pitch the media (ahem…publicists…you should follow along as well, because we see lots of pitches from publicists that are not on the mark…you must get creative, timely and very on target!).
You got this, businesses! We got you. We want to buy from you. Keep going. Put the messaging of safety and what you need out there.
Latest Active Case COVID-19 Numbers 1/18/2021 For Beacon, Fishkill, Wappingers, and Poughkeepsie
/Dutchess County has been busy with their website of dashboards, to keep people informed about the different numbers available from New York State, Dutchess County, and drilling down into our own communities/municipalities. There are currently several types of dashboards identified on the Dutchess County Department Of Community and Behavioral Health web page dedicated for all things coronavirus (COVID-19).
This weekend, locals on the street were exchanging numbers: “Did you know there are 100 active cases in Beacon?” one man said to another. So we thought we’d take a look. Here at A Little Beacon Blog, we don’t refresh the numbers every day. That said, the numbers have taken quite a jump over time. Surrounding communities have been posted below.
Today (Sunday), the Beacon City School District robo-called called district families with 2 new cases in the district that do require the impacted school buildings to go Remote tomorrow (Tuesday) after today’s MLK Day holiday. South Avenue Elementary School and Rombout Middle School have a new case each, and this time, will require a switch to Remote. A move which has been rare among the 6 district school buildings, as most new cases at different school buildings have included a student or staff member who had already been isolating at home, or were in the 100% Remote program already.
COVID-19 Active Case Numbers By Neighboring Communities
The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health web page for COVID-19 has evolved, and now has more items organized, like Executive Orders, Vaccine Information, etc. The Dashboard of current cases by community is currently (1/18/2021) at the bottom of their webs page.
Active COVID-19 Cases around our region as of 1/18/2021 are as follows:
To give perspective, in April 28 2020, these were numbers were this. Beacon was at least 100 active cases then, and continued even until May. In the summer, Beacon’s numbers lowered into the two digits, hitting 47 or into the 20s.
Now we are back up into the 100s. Could be that more people are getting themselves tested. Whatever the reason, people’s personal stories exist, of the near-play-date encounter of a family who all of a sudden got it, and a grandparent died. Or of COVID Long Haulers. For those looking at numbers, the numbers we also consider at ALBB are the hospital bed numbers across the country, as we work to keep local hospital numbers down. Poor L.A. County in CA. Heartbreaking over there.
Beacon: 105
East Fishkill: 313
Fishkill: 200
Fishkill Village: 24
LaGrange: 121
Pleasant Valley: 64
Poughkeepsie: 400
Poughkeepsie City: 329
Rhinebeck: 97
Rhinebeck Village: 27
Wappingers: 232
Wappingers Falls Village: 57
Mayor Kyriacou on 1/11/2021 at the beginning of a Workshop meeting, said this about Beacon’s confirmed cases: “Cases are up of COVID. I know it’s getting hard for everyone because the numbers are up. Our New York numbers are up bove where they were in March in terms of confirmed cases. The silver lining in that is that we have learned a lot. The hospitalizations and death rates are significantly lower given those numbers. And that’s exaactly what I think the Governor and the CDC and others were hoping for. That we could whether this without totally shutting down our economy. By getting enough prevention for those that are most at risk. I think we’ve managed that. I know the numbers are scary. I will point out that the Beacon numbers are consistently better than the County. I think that means that you all in the community are doing our part, and we need to keep doing that. We are exposed more than than other parts of the County for those who need to commute to the city (NYC).”
MLK; A Legal Note; And The Retail Therapy Guide; Retail Therapy Guide 1/15/2021
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KIDS CLASSES
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MLK Day In Beacon: The Webinar Version From Springfield Baptist Church & Beacon Sloop Club: "Keep The Flame Alive"
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The light is not out for the annual MLK Day Parade in Beacon presented by the Springfield Baptist Church and the Beacon Sloop Club (via Pete Seeger before his passing)!
In lieu of the parade, you can participate from home for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Virtual Zoom Celebration on Monday, January 18, 2021 from 11am - 1pm. The theme is "Keep The Flame Alive" and all are welcome.
From the presenters: "Join us for a fun-filled morning of Civil Rights, Gospel & Inspirational Music, Quotes from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a message from Rev. Dr. Ronald O. Perry, Sr., Pastor of Springfield Baptist Church. All attendees are welcome!"
MLK Day Of Service
Springfield Baptist Church & Beacon Sloop Club Present: "Keep The Flame Alive"
Dates: Monday, January 18, 2021
Time: 11am-1pm
How To Log On: The Webinar ID, Passcode and Phone Number are in the flyer above.
In A Win For Strangled Restaurants, Molinaro Restricts 3rd Party Delivery Apps From High Delivery Charges
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Dinner delivery.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin
Restaurants who are still open almost a year into the pandemic, after having been forced to shut down, and then open up with limited capacity, and now must close at 10pm, are relying on delivery and pickup in order to stay in business. Some restaurants have incorporated 3rd party apps like GrubHub and DoorDash, like Max’s on Main, Sukhothai, Isamu and Heritage. The apps can be a quick fix for a restaurant not needing to manage their own drivers or pay additional commercial auto insurance, but the quick fix can come with a price, to the tune of 30% of an upcharge as well as changing of the price on the app’s version of the menu, according to Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, a Republican, who just signed into emergency temporary law that that upcharge must be lowered.
Homespun, Meyers Olde Dutch (MOD) and Eat Church are using their own websites and POS systems (point of service) to publish their menus on, and avoided the 3rd delivery apps, partially based on avoiding the high take.
As Molinaro has been working to help struggling businesses throughout the pandemic, he took a highly targeted action today that regulates the business models of these technology companies by temporarily limiting how much money they can make off of the restaurant. A Little Beacon Blog is inquiring as to how this will be enforced, and if the change is showing up on the apps already.
The measure was encouraged by Beacon based Dutchess County Legislator, Nick Page (Democrat) . The press release issued by the County Executive’s office describing the action and reasoning behind this bipartisan move is in its entirety is below:
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro today signed Local Emergency Order No. 13, which supports local restaurants by temporarily capping service fees charged by third-party food delivery companies to no more than 15 percent of the cost of the food order.
Third-party food delivery companies, such as Grubhub and Door Dash, among others, provide customers with easy-to-use apps for ordering food online. These apps are vital for restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they are more reliant than ever on takeout and delivery orders. However, fee structures used by these companies, which can be as much as 30 percent for delivery orders, are cutting into local restaurants’ profits during this time of hardship for the entire food services and hospitality industry.
The Executive Order also prohibits third-party delivery services from publishing restaurants’ menus on the services’ apps and increasing the price of a food item to include an delivery fee – an additional concern that was brought to the County’s attention.
County Executive Molinaro said, “The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted many industries, but none more so than the foodservice and hospitality industry. By temporarily capping the fees to no more than 15 percent, the Emergency Order will provide much-needed relief to struggling local businesses and help ensure the survival of our local restaurants. I thank Legislator Nick Page for bringing this important issue to our attention.”
Between November 2019 and November 2020, employment in the leisure and hospitality industry dipped by more than 25 percent in the Dutchess-Putnam counties region; this was the largest drop in employment in the region among all of the tracked sectors. The struggles facing this region are indicative of a national crisis for the industry. A recent survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association found on average, sales were down nearly 30 percent, and 81 percent of respondents reporting staffing levels remain below normal levels. As of December 2020, 17 percent of restaurants nationwide – or over 110,000 establishments – had closed.
Gregg Pulver, Chair of the Dutchess County Legislature, said, “The misrepresentation of small businesses by third-party apps is a disruption of carefully curated business strategies. We support local entrepreneurs and will do everything we can to ensure a level playing field. I’m pleased the County Executive is exercising his authority to place local restaurants back in charge of their own products. As this is likely a statewide issue, Albany must act effectively and quickly to enact a permanent resolution.”
During the Local Emergency Order, the County will work with the restaurant industry and our local delivery drivers to manage any unintended consequences and ensure the best outcome for our community and our economy.
Assistant Minority Leader of the County Legislator Nick Page said, “I applaud the County Executive for enacting my caucus’ initiative to prioritize the survival of local restaurants in their time of crisis. Acting together, we can best weather the storm.”
In addition to the latest Emergency Order, Dutchess County Government has taken active steps to support local restaurants and other small businesses. In December, it was announced Dutchess County partnered with Community Capital New York (CCNY) to provide $430,000 to assist microenterprise businesses negatively affected by COVID-19. In June, the County Executive issued an order waiving local regulations and requirements to expedite the opening of outdoor dining. Throughout the last year, County staff has provided guidance on State requirements, advocated for support for small businesses from the Federal government, and worked with New York State officials to help provide foodservice establishments with flexibility and relief from onerous mandates.
County Executive Molinaro said, “Our local restaurants are part of the fabric of this community — they employ thousands, support local charities and organizations, and add to the character of our County — and we cannot sit by and do nothing as they struggle. We will continue to support small businesses in any way we can, whether it is working to find solutions on the local level, to provide flexibility to serve their customers in creative ways, provide direct support, or advocate for them at the State and Federal level.”
Beacon City School District Presents Plans On How It Will Stay Open After A Successful First Half
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The Administration Building of the Beacon City School District.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin
Superintendent Matthew Landahl addressed families in the district Wednesday evening via webinar call about how the district would be moving forward in the second half of the 2020/2021 school year. Beacon has been one of the only districts in the region to begin and remain on a Hybrid model, which means that kids can chose to either be Hybrid (attending school 2 days per week on a Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday rotation), or be 100% Remote. Students with Special Needs are in school 4 days per week. All students are home on Wednesdays for Remote Learning.
The part-time in-person model for Hybrid was decided upon in order to comply with social distancing requirements set by the state. With the school’s population, as compared with other smaller, sometimes private schools, this needed to be done, Dr. Landahl has said consistently throughout the school year.
Dr. Landahl discussed the latest on staff vaccinations; Dutchess County guidance on changes in what is required to quarantine should a student or staff member test positive for COVID-19; decisions on when schools go remote temporarily; and the introduction of the voluntarily testing program intended to get a read on positivity rate in the district for asymptomatic students or staff.
Teacher & Staff Vaccinations
Dr. Landahl said that unlike another vaccination situation he worked through as the Principal of Greer Elementary School in Charlottesville, VA during the H1N1 period, vaccination are selective and not made possible through school roll-outs.
He told A Little Beacon Blog: “They did mass vaccinations by school at the time. The current vaccine is not set up for children. The vaccine right now is definitely being distributed on a very individual basis for 1B people, meaning every individual has to set up their own appointments. I dont have the ability to organize a vaccination event in the district for district staff and faculty. Vaccinations will be administered to staff in medical facilities when staff makes an appointment at such a facility.”
Governor Cuomo announced on Monday (1-11-2021) that teachers (along with other group types of people) are able to be vaccinated now, in accordance with Governor Cuomo’s prioritized roll-out he designed. However, according to the Governor, due to federal supply levels, New York State does not have that many vaccine doses, so the opportunity to get vaccinated may be slow. All people are instructed to call their health care provider to get their vaccine, or select pharmacies who offer it, like CVS, and appointments are required.
When A Required Quarantine Is Needed If Exposure To Student or Staff
When a student or staff tests positive, the district communicates directly with the person to find out if they were already isolating, or if they were in a school building. Dr. Landahl said that based on feedback from these contact tracing learnings, most students were already isolating at home, or were already 100% Remote. If the parents or caregivers were aware of someone else in the house who tested positive, families for a large part kept their children home.
Dr. Landahl indicated that based on feedback from families throughout the results of contact tracing the last half of the year, settings such as being in a gym class together, or other wide space, might be too broad and should not trigger a quarantine for people near the positive person. Dutchess County, it seems, has relaxed its guidance, which Dr. Landahl included during his presentation:
“Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH) will work with schools to determine the specific exposures within the classroom and school settings by identifying only those individuals who must be considered ‘close contacts’ as subject to the mandatory precautionary quarantine. The definition of close contact includes spending 10 minutes or more with a confirmed COVID-19 case while standing within 6 feet of the individual. Wearing cloth masks does not impact exposure.”
Dr. Landahl clarified that simply wearing a mask while standing within 6 feet of someone did not excuse a person from needing to quarantine if they were within 6 feet of the individual for 10 minutes or more.
Dutchess County guidance continued: “DBCH may consider other factors including virus strain, as part of the case investigation to determine the risk of exposure on the particular circumstances of the exposure. DBCH and/or New York State Department Of Health (NYSDOH) reserve right to issue and enforce mandatory quarantine orders for classroom-based exposure incidents when necessary.”
BSCD’s Goal Is To Stay Open - Uses These Factors To Decide On Going Temporarily Remote
Feedback from parents and caregivers during the meeting via the chat session in Zoom was mixed between wanting the district to close and go Remote only; fearing that the district would close and go Remote only; liking and approving of the current system; and wanting the district to open for more days during the week.
Dr. Landahl emphasized that in New York State, the decision to close temporarily or full is up to each district. There is no formula for closure. While Governor Cuomo had been using color codes before, Dr. Landahl said, the Governor had not been referring to them lately. Dr. Landahl said that the state and the county do look at hospitalization rates to indicate a direction, and that Dutchess County may have other information that may trigger guidance to a particular district. Otherwise, there is no formula or requirement for closure.
From the presentation, factors that impact the decision to go remote include:
Time needed to conduct contact tracing. If the knowledge of a positive case happens late and night, and there is indication that exposed people are involved, a temporary closure could happen, simply to give time the next day to reach out to individuals, and reduce risk of further unknown/known exposure.
Number of people quarantining. If a large number of staff is quarantining, for instance, it would be impossible to keep a building open to function.
"Most of the confirmed cases we get now, the individual has been out of school for a number of days,” Dr. Landahl stated in his (these) bullet points.
Department of Health. If the county issues guidance based on information they have.
State guidance or regulations. If New York State issues guidance.
Voluntary Testing
The Beacon City School District has voluntarily signed up to participate in the ability for staff and students to get tested for free at a location at one of the buildings, the first may be at the Beacon High School. This is a voluntary offering and not required by students to undergo. Parents will be able to be with their children during the test. The first students to be offered it will be Hybrid students, who go into school buildings, and then depending on usage of the tests, may be expanded to Remote, Dr. Landahl said.
The purpose of the testing is to get a better picture of if there is an asymptomatic positive cases in the buildings. These tests will be the “rapid” tests, which have been talked about as not being as accurate as the PCR lab tests. Dr. Landahl said that from his reading, the rapid tests are more prone to give false negatives, and that if it delivers a positive response, he said, the result will be taken into consideration.
This may start the week of January 25, 2021, targeting the days of Mondays and Wednesdays as testing opportunities, which would be open to all ages from the Hybrid in-person group. A testing center may be set up at Beacon High School, either inside or outside. A Virtual Consent form will be sent out next week, and FAQs and a video as well, said Dr. Landahl, to help people understand the offering.
Dr. Landahl mentioned how long the line was at Pulse MD when he got tested one day, which has been consistent with A Little Beacon Blog’s findings as well, since before Thanksgiving, which is when lines at several urgent cares filled up with people who wanted to merge households over the holidays. The closet location to get a free test for Beaconites is Bear Mountain, despite the marketing that that Governor Cuomo does that indicates getting a free test is easy.
A Little Beacon Blog doesn’t usually make recommendations, but in our experience, PM Pediatrics continues to be the best choice for testing kids (adults who accompany them can also get tested; walk-ins accepted), Caremount for adult testing, and patients of Sun River Health System (previously HRH Health Care on Henry Street in Beacon) offers testing to their patients only (no walk-ins, and appointments are needed).
Local District Response To Closures - Up To Districts, Not To State Standardized
Chatter amoung some parents in social media has been that the school will be forced to close for some reason. Dr. Landahl answered that as of now, and as of the whole time during the pandemic after the schools opened for the new 2020/2021 year, the decision to close has been at each district level, which indicates that local communities can know how things are working, and make safe decisions. He stated that he appreciated that local decision ability.
Most Cases Are Coming From Home, Not School
A question from a participant on the call was if the students were safer doing 100% Remote Only. Dr. Landahl stated that he believes the opposite to be true, that children are safer in the schools where social distancing is enforced, from their classroom to the cafeteria to gym to recess. At home, parents and caregivers can get lax.
This writer can attest - as a person who got COVID-19 - it walked through my front door at home - not from the school, but from us not recognizing the symptoms of an achy back - where it could have been picked up from a number of places (office building, gas station, who knows).
Fortunately. My husband is tested regularly for free by his job, and that is how we knew we had positive cases in the house. When we learned of his positive result, I kept my children home and out of school, even before they got tested. Once they got tested and one positive result came back for 1 of my 3 children, they had already been isolating, and our case did not warrant a closure of the school. It did trigger a robo-call from Dr. Landahl, however :) (no one’s names are ever mentioned, but we knew it was us - we made the robo-call!).
The school nurse called to check on us regularly, and did the math on our quarantine release date, if our symptoms had stopped, which they did.
A Virtual Town Hall for Hudson Valley on the New York Health Act Will Be Held January 28th
/Guaranteed Comprehensive Healthcare for All New Yorkers is Closer Than You Think is a free, virtual event, open to the public, organized by Hudson Valley Demands New York Health, and hosted by the Newburgh Free Library and the Desmond-Fish Public Library, on Thursday, January 28th, 7pm. Attendees will learn about the bill, its legislative trajectory and why it is important for New Yorkers to demand its passage in 2021. The panel discussion will focus on how the bill would affect various aspects of the healthcare system, including patients and healthcare providers, as well as the cost to municipalities. The keynote speaker will be NYS Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, followed by a panel discussion including Dr. Reena Agarwal (MD, MPH, FACP), Darius Shahinfar (Albany City Treasurer), and Lynn Esteban (patient/healthcare activist), and moderated by Jess Robie (RN). The event will be facilitated by Jeff Mikkelson (Co-Founder, HVDNYH). Registration for the event is required to attend: bit.ly/NYHealthActJan28.
Affordable, accessible, healthcare is an important issue for many Americans. Although most New Yorkers have health insurance, many people have long struggled to afford premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and the high cost of prescription drugs. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the dysfunction and inadequacy, as well as the racial and class inequality, of our current healthcare system.
If passed, the New York Health Act would guarantee comprehensive health coverage to every New Yorker while eliminating premiums, deductibles, and co-pays, and would help address the structural inequalities of our current system. It would also save money for individuals, local governments and New York State.
This public education event is organized by Hudson Valley Demands New York Health (HVDNYH), a coalition of grassroots groups and individuals working to guarantee comprehensive healthcare for all New Yorkers by passing the New York Health Act (NYHA).
WHAT: Guaranteed Comprehensive Healthcare for All New Yorkers is Closer Than You Think: A Virtual Town Hall on the New York Health Act
WHERE: Virtual Event, Register Here: bit.ly/NYHealthActJan28
WHEN: Thursday, January 28, 2021 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Speaker Bios
Jessica Gonźalez-Rojas, NYS Assembly Member
Jessica Gonźalez-Rojas was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020 to represent the 34th Assembly district, which encompasses several diverse communities in Queens. She has been an unapologetic leader for social justice on the national and local level for over two decades. For 13 years Jessica served in the leadership at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. She has fought for immigrant rights, racial justice, and gender equity. Prior to running for the Assembly, Jessica served as a community liaison for Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez. As a long time leader in community and electoral politics, Jessica has received numerous proclamations for her advocacy work.
Reena Agarwal, MD, MPH, FACP
Dr. Agarwal is a primary care physician trained in Internal Medicine. She completed her residency in Social Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and a residency in Public Health/Preventive Medicine at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She also has an extensive background in quality improvement. She has spent her career working in New York Hospitals and Community Health Centers where her focus has been on providing care for the underserved as well as teaching resident physicians.
Darius Shahinfar, Albany City Treasurer
Darius Shahinfar is the elected Treasurer and Chief Fiscal Officer of the City of Albany.
His work as City Treasurer led him to research the effect of health care financing on municipal budgets and local property taxes. He has testified on this subject to the NYS Legislature and has spoken on these issues to numerous organizations. He believes strongly, not only in the moral imperative of universal health care coverage, but also that single payer will result in dramatic tax and cost savings. He is a graduate of Bates College, and Albany Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Albany Law Review.
Lynn Esteban, Patient/healthcare activist
Lynn Esteban is an artist and activist who lives in Poughkeepsie with her family. A bout of Mono (Epstein Barr virus) in 2011 triggered a chronic illness, the severity of which has left her unable to work. She has had a protracted and challenging battle with the healthcare system to reach a correct diagnosis and effective treatment. Lynn is a disability activist and volunteer with MEAction, an international advocacy organization that educates physicians and the public about managing post-viral conditions.
BCSD Superintendent To Host Zoom Town Hall Call On Latest Reopening Details 1/13/2021 7pm
/Beacon City School District’s Superintendent Landahl will host a digital Town Hall on Tuesday, January 13, 2021 at 7pm on the latest strategies moving forward for the second half of the school year, as the district maintains its Open status via a Hybrid/Remote model.
For the entire school year so far, students have been able to elect if they want to attend school 2 days per week, or to remain at home remotely 100%. For everyone, Wednesday is an at-home day, where a longer day of programming delivered via Google Class Rooms is planned.
There have been several COVID-19 cases of students in the district, namely at the high school and middle school, with a few at the elementary schools. For the most part, students who test positive for COVID-19 had already been isolating, and some were already in the Remote program, so were never at the school. Buildings have rarely closed, but if the student or staff had been at school near other people, then a Remote model takes place for a select number of days, announced by the Superintendent.
Dr. Landahl has emailed the district families with, what seems to be, each case reported into the school, and the decision to keep that particular building open or closed. That call seems to come in within a day or two of when the district learns about the case, as per Dr. Landahl’s framing of the message.
During tonight’s Town Hall, Dr. Landahl will address the following interest areas, as well as attempt to take questions via Chat in the Zoom setup. The link to the Zoom call has been emailed to parents, and the latest correct link is on his email dated today, 1/13/2021.
Latest on staff vaccinations
County guidance on close contacts/contact tracing/quarantining
Decisions on when schools go remote temporarily
Outline of our surveillance testing program
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The City of Beacon entered into a contract with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley to provide increased access to Beacon tenants facing eviction. They may also be able to help with sources of rent arrears assistance. Call the paralegal, Steven Mihalik at 845-253-6953 to inquire.
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