PicoBlog

By David Ofshinsky Port Jervis CBD became the city’s first and only licensed adult use cannabis dispensary onn March 22. It joins only about 110 licensed adult use dispensaries in the state, and is only the second licensed dispensary in Orange County. As of 2022, recreational cannabis can only be legally sold in New York by state licensed dispensaries. Adults aged 21 and older are allowed to possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis and 0.

Explore interactive map America is seeing the greatest gap in life expectancy across regions in the last 40 years. While most people will live to 78, some Americans are likely to die more than a decade earlier if they happen to be born in a handful of other counties in the US. Average lifespan has generally been increasing over the last 40 years as advances in medicine, social factors, and quality of life have helped people live longer, however, many Americans have not seen this benefit.

[Alt text: An East Asian in her early 20s looking directly into the camera. She has dark, straight, shoulder length hair and a light complexion. She is wearing black, mesh clothing.]I believe respect should be given freely but forgiveness should be earned. I harbor more faith in ‘feel better first, forgive later’ than ‘forgive first, feel better later’. I refuse to equate withholding forgiveness to holding a grudge. I have mental fortitude so when someone says something distasteful to me, I choose to not let it get to my head and move on with my life.

Legends of Charlotte, from The Charlotte Ledger, brings you a series of fresh interviews with newsmakers from decades past who had profound impacts on Charlotte. They’re trailblazers in politics and civic life, pioneering entrepreneurs and people who captured the attention of the community and forged unique contributions. Humpy Wheeler, who served as president of Charlotte Motor Speedway for more than three decades, has plenty of colorful stories from a career in racing.

I’ve just watched Elemental, the new Pixar animated film, with my five-year-old daughter. Though the reviews were mixed, I left the cinema buzzing. The film explores so many important themes related to our relationship with our emotions; tolerance and diversity; and inter-generational trauma, that I wanted to share some reflections on what came up for me as I laughed — and sometimes cried — during this visually-stunning spectacular that — like so many Pixar films — manages to speak simultaneously to both children and adults.

With less than two weeks before 2023 comes to an end, I wanted to share my thoughts about five K-dramas I’ve watched in recent months that held my interest: • “My Dearest” ☆☆☆½ • "My Magic Closet" ☆☆ • “If You Wish Upon Me” ☆☆☆ • “CEO-dol Mart” ☆☆ • "Twinkling Watermelon" ☆☆☆ What I found interesting about these shows is that while the best of these explored life, death and identity, even the ones that I thought would be a little goofy had themes that celebrated life and second chances.

Before returning to Dartmouth, I had the privilege of seeing Eagles perform at Madison Square Garden. Vince Gill, Don Henley, Deacon Frey (original member Glenn Frey’s son), Randy Meisner, Timothy Schmit, and Joe Walsh rivaled a choir of angels. It would not be an overstatement to describe the concert as transcendental. Vince Gill’s rendition of “Take It To The Limit” had me in tears—along with half of the audience. But not all Eagles songs are so poignant; some of their songs convey weighty messages in playful, almost childlike fashion.

Note: This newsletter is supported by Rohrbach Brewing Co., a pioneering craft brewery in the city of Rochester. When I graduated from the University of Montana almost 20 years ago (holy shit, when did I get so old), beer choices were pretty limited. Typically, we reached for Kokanee, basically the western Canadian version of Labatt Blue, Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, or something local from Big Sky Brewing, Bayern Brewing, or KettleHouse Brewing.

When I was a teenager, I attended a summer camp for teens interested in politics. It was basically a mock legislature run by teenagers for a week. The best way to describe it was a mix of Lord of the Flies meets Robert’s Rules of Order. It was fascinating engaging in the political process with peers. Some were totally principled in their approach and wouldn’t compromise their values. Others blatantly sought leadership positions and were ruthless in retaining that power.