According to the latest Ways and Means Committee meeting, the Orange County government in New York collected 17 percent more sales taxes than budgeted in the first quarter.  Sales taxes are the county’s lifeline, accounting for nearly 45 percent of its estimated revenue.  Nearly $394 million in sales taxes were budgeted for this year.  The…

Middletown police officers arrested two men for illegal drug possession after a month-long joint investigation with the district attorney’s office, according to a March 24 police release.  The investigation aimed to disrupt the illegal trafficking of cocaine and heroin in the area.  One of the defendants, Noah Stark-Morris, was also caught with an illegal firearm. …

David Johnson was indicted by a grand jury on March 17 for allegedly robbing and beating a pedestrian in downtown Middletown, according to the county district attorney’s office.  The random, violent attack on a downtown sidewalk in broad daylight is a rare occurrence in the city, according to crime stats provided by the police department.  The…

A long-planned $81 million renovation of Twin Towers Middle School in the City of Middletown, New York, will start construction in June.  Built around 1940, and currently serving about 1,000 students, the middle school building is deemed by school officials to be operating above functional capacity.  Student enrollment at Twin Towers has been declining by a few dozen…

Since Yi Shan moved to the Middletown, N.Y., area about five years ago, she dreamed of sharing her traditional Korean culture and home cooking with the community.  Once married to a descendant of King Gyeongsun of Silla, she was trained by her former mother-in-law in some of the most traditional Korean rituals and cuisines.   Her dream…

A group of residents living near a proposed residential development on Orange Terrace in Middletown, New York, pleaded to the Zoning Board of Appeals not to greenlight a variance on Feb. 15.  A zoning variance is an exception, granted on a case-by-case basis by a local government, to normal zoning laws that require that a property match the…

The City Council of Middletown, New York, adopted a new three-year sales tax sharing contract with Orange County on Jan. 17. Middletown now gets the largest share of sales tax among all three cities in the county, largely due to its population advantage. Based on the 2020 census, Middletown has a population of just over…

The city of Middletown in Orange County is seeking public comments on its 2023 action plan for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annual community development grant. Primarily designed to improve living conditions for low-to-moderate-income residents, the program offers money to qualified communities based on census data, such as population, poverty levels,…

In the newly passed $1.7 trillion federal appropriation bill, a sum of $21.2 million was earmarked for 11 local projects in Orange County, according to a review by The Epoch Times.  Federal earmarks are money for specific local projects at the request of congressional members.  Residents in three municipalities—Middletown, Newburgh, and Kiryas Joel—saw the most money for local governmental and…

Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano grew up two blocks away from the now vacant O&W train station, a symbol of the railroad industry where his Italian grandparents once earned a living. As the railroad and manufacturing industry waned in the second half of the twentieth century, his city soon suffered another blow from the development of…