Author Archives: Ed Kowalski

When someone is experiencing a mental-health crisis, the presence of a trained behavioral-health professional alongside law enforcement can mean the difference between treatment and incarceration, de-escalation and confrontation—even life and death. That is why Putnam County should find a way to preserve its Co-Responder Team. The program began in 2024 with the help of aContinue reading “Putnam County Should Not Allow Its Co-Responder Team to Disappear”

Yesterday, while driving home from my office in Jersey, I spent nearly an hour on the phone with my long-lost cousin Geraldine. Somehow, it felt like only a few minutes. We talked, laughed, and shared old family stories—the kind of memories that can instantly transport you to another time and place. I was so gratefulContinue reading “A Conversation That Felt Like Home”

When I heard about the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, my first response was not as a fan of television or film. It was as a father. I thought about how young thirty-six truly is. I thought about her daughter, her father, and everyone who loved her away from the cameras. Most of all, IContinue reading “When a Parent Hears That Another Child Is Gone”

There is something almost magical about modern delivery. Tap a screen in the morning. A package appears at your door that evening. Most of us never stop to consider the complicated network of warehouses, drivers, small businesses, software and deadlines that made it happen. New York City government has. And now it wants to rebuildContinue reading “Mamdani Takes On Amazon—but Who Will Pay for the Package?”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative There comes a moment when public policy stops being an abstraction. It becomes the empty chair in your family. For me, that moment came when my 17-year-old niece was murdered by someone who was in this country illegally. She was a child. She had a future. She had people who lovedContinue reading “My Niece Was Seventeen — And She Was Not a Statistic”

This wasn’t the first time I sat behind a microphone with Cuban Americans and asked them to talk about socialism. Before my recent conversation on Hudson Valley Focus, I had welcomed Cuban Americans onto my show for an earlier discussion about something that, for them, isn’t an abstract political philosophy, a campaign slogan, or theContinue reading “They Warned Us Before — It’s Worth Listening Again”

Across Connecticut, serious questions are being raised about a judicial system that appears increasingly unable—or unwilling—to hold itself accountable. Felony cases can drag on for seventeen months, leaving defendants, victims, and families trapped in legal limbo. Nearly 2,000 complaints have reportedly been filed against judges, yet the disciplinary machinery meant to protect the public seemsContinue reading “When does a courtroom become a dead end instead of a path to justice?”

The Valley Viewpoint There is something deeply unsettling about the latest chapter in the Luigi Mangione case. Not because we don’t know who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Luigi Mangione has now admitted that he did. In federal court, Mangione acknowledged shooting Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk in December 2024. There is no longer muchContinue reading “The Killing He Admitted To — And the Murder Conviction That May Never Come”

This morning on Hudson Valley Focus, I had the opportunity to sit down with two Cuban Americans and talk about a word that seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance in American politics: Socialism. And I have a suggestion for the Democratic Socialists of America, including those organizing right here in the Hudson Valley:Continue reading “Hudson Valley Broadcast Features Cuban Americans Warning Against Romanticizing Socialism”

A young friend of mine, long ago, once looked at me and asked a question that stopped me in my tracks: “Will my mom still love me… even after she’s gone?” I didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” I told her. “Absolutely. A mother’s love doesn’t end when her life does. It becomes part of you.” You carryContinue reading “There’s a Song in the Heart of Every Woman”

The tax machine is always hungry. This week, Jen Metzger unveiled a proposal for an income-based surcharge on higher earners in Ulster County — a plan that would target residents making over $200,000, or couples making over $400,000. County officials say the measure could generate between $10 million and $20 million annually. (spectrumlocalnews.com) And thereContinue reading “Valley Viewpoint: The Hudson Valley Tax Machine Never Stops”

Returning to my New York City office has reminded me of something I had almost forgotten: Manhattan may be the greatest people-watching city in the world. Unfortunately, nobody is watching anybody anymore. They’re watching their phones. Walking through Midtown these days is like participating in a giant human obstacle course populated by twenty- and thirty-somethingsContinue reading “Ed in the City”