David Levine

The man who invented history’s most iconic electric guitar couldn’t play, or even tune it. But when Clarence Leonidas “Leo” Fender’s eponymous company released the Fender Stratocaster 70 years ago, it forever changed popular music.
Fender, born in 1909, began tinkering with radios as a teenager. After college, he built sound systems for a local dance hall in California and started his own company, Fender Radio Service. He also began working with musicians to amplify acoustic guitars, just as ...

UPDATE: This original report from Feb. 18 has been updated to reflect the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday, Feb. 25.
President Joe Biden on Friday announced his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court to assume the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, Jackson, who is currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, will become the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, a significant moment that has a somewhat u...

Hudson Valley region was one main thoroughfares for slaves escaping to freedom
The Hudson Valley region was both powered by slavery and a major passageway for slaves seeking freedom north of here. But while the Underground Railroad made frequent stops through the valley, many slaves most likely took a more surprising route to safety.
“We know the Hudson Valley was one of the main arteries of the Underground Railroad,” wrote author and historian Fergus Bordewich, referring to the early to mid-...

Future Gov. Harriman was given an office gift as ambassador to the USSR. It contained a spying device.
Updated: July 3, 2023 2:43 p.m.
The Harriman name is arguably second only to Roosevelt in Hudson Valley lore. E.H. Harriman, railroad and banking tycoon during the Gilded Age, lent his name to the town and park in Orange and Rockland counties. His son W. Averell Harriman, diplomat and politician, became governor of New York and lent his name to the State Office Campus in Albany.
Both are wel...

A burst ice dam released 120 million gallons of water per second for 88 days
Updated: July 17, 2023 3:52 p.m.
The recent flooding throughout the Northeast and in the lower Hudson Valley has been nothing short of catastrophic. At least one person died, thousands were left without power or had their homes destroyed, and train tracks were washed out.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will apply for a disaster declaration and reimbursement from the federal government for cleanup costs that she sai...

What is the Hudson Valley? Although its namesake river starts its journey south from Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondacks, the area considered “the Hudson Valley” begins, at least by definition of New York state tourism offices and this publication, at Albany and Rensselaer counties.
Where does it end? If you say the New York City and New Jersey borders, you’re short — by about 450 miles.
To understand why, we need to take a literal deeper dive. We also have to go back in time. At the p...

My new book, published by Globe Pequot Press. "From the dinosaurs and the glaciers to the first native peoples and the first European settlers, from Dutch and English Colonial rule to the American Revolution, from the slave society to the Civil War, from the robber barons and bootleggers to the war heroes and the happy rise of craft beer pubs, the Hudson Valley has a deep history. The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years chronicles the Valley’s rich and fascinating history and charms."

From White Plains to Albany, Hamilton spent a great deal of time all over the Valley.

One novice tells his story of learning to frame the perfect gift: "Art is making something out of nothing and selling it." - Frank Zappa

Archive of articles on health and wellness for US News' health web site.

Westchester County medical providers are investing heavily in and competing furiously for cancer patients who want quality care without the commute.
According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the US in 2016. In fact, approximately 40 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes. While 600,000 Americans died from the disease in 2016, the overall death rate from cancer has declined stead...

Mindful of the drawing power of a good slogan, the people behind the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., call their recently renovated shrine to the racehorse "the best two-dollar bet in town." Though it may not be quite as exciting as watching your 50-1 shot put a nose in front at the wire, it is certainly the safest bet in town. Located across Union Avenue from the Saratoga racecourse, the museum reopened last July after a 10-month shutdown during which the...

Attention shoppers: Miniature golf is now available.

Mention the name Lou Nanne to older hockey fans and the first word to cross their minds most likely would be “Minnesota.”
Nanne has been an integral part of Minnesota hockey for more than half a century, from star player with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers to player, coach and general manager of the NHL’s North Stars to four decades of broadcasting high school games.
Now 73, it’...

It’s a watershed time on the American landscape as sexual harassment trumps all other issues — and local businesses had better pay attention.
In a year filled with more relentless political and social upheavals than at any time in recent history, TIME magazine saw fit to make sexual harassment the most important news event of 2017. In naming “the silence breakers” its persons of the year, TIME put this issue above not only Kim Jong-Un’s nukes and Vladimir Putin’s election tampering but also h...