Author Archives: Ed Kowalski

For generations, Americans accepted an unwritten bargain. Work hard. Stay loyal. Your employer will provide health insurance, a retirement plan, and a measure of security for your family. That bargain helped build the American middle class. Today, however, it is quietly transforming the American workforce—and not necessarily for the better. A recent opinion piece arguesContinue reading “When Benefits Become the Job”

There are two words that can send a chill through any property owner: Eminent domain. It doesn’t matter whether you own a family farm, a small business, a neighborhood home, or a nonprofit organization built by generations of volunteers. The notion that government can simply decide it needs your property more than you do shouldContinue reading “The Two Most Dangerous Words a Property Owner Can Hear”

“Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! For ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.”— Luke 11:46 There comes a moment in nearly every life when we first collide with the legal system. It might be buying a first home, navigating aContinue reading “The Cost of Justice: Why So Many Americans Lose Faith in the Courts”

The news that WKIP has laid off Uncle Mike is disappointing—not just because another familiar voice has left local radio, but because people like Mike are becoming increasingly rare. You can tell everything about a person by how they treat those who can never pay them back. That’s why I want to recognize someone whoContinue reading “When Local Radio Loses People Like Uncle Mike, We All Lose”

A big thank you to my friend Zolz for the Yankee tickets. It was a thoughtful gesture, and I’m really looking forward to the game. Assuming, of course, I can actually get to the tickets. There was a time when heading to Yankee Stadium from the Hudson Valley was easy. Someone handed you two paperContinue reading “Valley Viewpoint: Zolz Got the Yankee Tickets. Now If I Can Just Find Them.”

Beginning July 1, 2026, New Jersey has implemented a new law (P.L. 2026, c.23) that could create a significant new cost for employers with 50 or more employees. Under the law, employers may be required to pay an annual assessment when an employee—or even one of their dependents—is enrolled in a New Jersey Medicaid program.Continue reading “New Jersey Employers: There’s a New Healthcare Assessment You Need to Know About”

Justice in America is supposed to be blind. It isn’t supposed to matter whether you’re a construction worker, a police officer, a politician—or a judge. When someone intentionally interferes with law enforcement, there are supposed to be consequences. Unless, apparently, you’re wearing a black robe. This week, former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was sentenced afterContinue reading “Valley Viewpoint: Equal Justice Shouldn’t Depend on Wearing a Black Robe”

Every time ICE conducts an enforcement operation, the protests begin. Politicians hold press conferences. Activists denounce the agency. Social media fills with accusations that the men and women enforcing our immigration laws are somehow the real threat. That response has always struck me as backwards. The real question isn’t whether ICE should be accountable. EveryContinue reading “Valley Viewpoint: When Politicians Protest ICE, Who Speaks for the Victims?”

The Hudson Valley has always been a place built on institutions that outlast any election cycle. Family farms passed from one generation to the next. Houses of worship that have served the same neighborhoods for over a century. Volunteer fire departments. Veterans organizations. Local schools. Town boards. Civic clubs. These institutions matter not because theyContinue reading “Valley Viewpoint: When Definitions Disappear, Communities Don’t Stand for Long”

There is a time for political debate. There is a time to criticize our leaders. There is a time to argue about taxes, immigration, policing, foreign policy, or the economy. The Fourth of July is not that time. On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Americans weren’t celebrating perfection. They were celebrating anContinue reading “On America’s 250th Birthday, New York’s Mayor Couldn’t Bring Himself to Celebrate America”

Senator Rob Rolison’s statement on the proposed ICE detention facility in the Town of Newburgh is a perfect example of the political double-speak that has come to define the immigration debate. He begins by saying he has received “no official confirmation” regarding the project. Yet, just a few sentences later, he declares that he supportsContinue reading “You Can’t Campaign on Border Security and Then Oppose the Means to Enforce It”

When a town’s own former attorney files suit against the Town Supervisor, every taxpayer should stop and ask one simple question: What is going on in Red Hook? Albert Trezza, who previously served as Red Hook’s Town Attorney and knows exactly how municipal government is supposed to operate, has now filed a lawsuit alleging thatContinue reading “Valley Viewpoint: When a Former Town Attorney Sues His Own Town, Taxpayers Should Pay Attention”