This may offer support for the notion suggested by some that the photos of the graffiti-covered house were the product of AI (they were not), but today almost all of the graffiti is gone, hastily covered over with the new coat of white paint. But some of the messages remain . . . on the fence and on the front doors.
Only in Hudson will the anarchist "A" symbol appear next to a call for an "audit"... and then the mayor tries to turn it into a race issue...
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if everyone upset about this unlawful vandalism and "attack" on the mayor will support HPD when they want/need to install more security cameras in town.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_symbolism
Carole, could you give us an update, or at least the gossip as to who did this?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteRecall the April 25, 2025 Gossips story where a HPD Arrest Report was reprinted with photos by Gossips and an original title:
ReplyDeletehttps://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2025/04/were-not-as-gentrified-as-some-may-think.html
At the time several readers, apparently, wrote to Gossips complaining about the title of the post, and the comment section lit up. At the time you commented:
"Two questions: the title makes one wonder if we were “as gentrified as some may think” would local youth not be at risk for gun violence? And…does Gossips have a criteria for which press releases from the HPD it chooses to cover?
Crime reporting is tricky.
If Gossips reprints a story with photos (especially of certain minorities) then some are up in arms. If Gossips does not report, then other residents are up in arms. If the City of Hudson and area blogs do not report at all then how do residents find out about area shootings, petty theft, and also the many great actions that HPD takes every day to serve us.
If HPD issues a special press release for some crimes and not others, some residents will be upset. And HPD has to follow several laws and also unique-to-NY policing practices for ongoing investigations. Hudson has several "not for profits" who take turns attacking HPD for essentially doing their jobs. Remember when Kamal and DePietro wanted to cut the HPD budget by more than 10% when nothing changed in Hudson on the ground, purely opportunistically due to unrelated national events.
Separately, the Hudson mayor also appoints the Police Chief, but what if, theoretically, the mayor commits a crime? (Other cities have a 3 person elected police commission to avoid this issue, but that goes the Charter issue)
But back to crime reports... a well run City with a competent mayor / City Manager, would simply have a unified website where all City departments host a simple (sub) blog that is open for all to see, and where a consistent and objective protocol is followed regarding what type of event/activity is covered or not covered.
It is still unclear why the Youth Department (which you lead for a long time) runs its own IT infrastructure, for example. Or why residents have to follow the Mayor on FB for critical infrastructure announcements.
Of course, other cities who pay less tax per resident have it figured out:
See Portsmouth, NH:
https://www.portsmouthnh.gov/police
Also see their DPW: https://www.portsmouthnh.gov/publicworks
Right now if residents wanted to know more about HPD's actions they'd likely have to log into Facebook and visit the HPD page, or use the broken City of Hudson "hub" app. Or personally reach out to HPD leaders. This is inefficient... creates more work for HPD, and in some ways leads to your reasonable question today, Nick, seeking an update.
This is of course not the fault of our Police Chief, who by all accounts does an incredible job in a City that specializes in scrutinizing police more than criminals.
This is yet another suboptimal City of Hudson government issue, where a common sense and proven solution exists... but the City of Hudson does not follow it, leading to friction for residents and more work for City employees. Now today the burden and criticism falls on Gossips.
Nick, I am curious... would you want Gossips to publish "gossip," as you requested, on all police investigations, or just this one?
Would you also request that Gossips publish "gossip" on the recent shooting in the 2nd ward? Would you request Gossips publish the recent arrest log of HHA commissioners? Or what if Gossips published, at the time, the name of the person who threw dog feces at Mayor Rick Rector when your Youth Department budget was contested?
Clearly it is best to leave official police reports to the police, and to avoid speculation when investigations are ongoing.
We appreciate Gossips’ verbatim republication of notable police reports, with any editorial or contextual heading, as is its right as a private blog.