📆 BETHELEHEM AREA EVENTS

🌡️BETHELEHEM AREA WEATHER

🌧️☔ JUST HOW WET HAS THIS SUMMER BEEN? THE NUMBERS ARE EYE-OPENING! 💦🌧️

🏠💰 MORE THAN 4 IN 10 HUDSON VALLEY HOUSEHOLDS ARE STRUGGLING — AND THE NUMBERS HIT CLOSE TO HOME 📈😟

🎉☀️ THURSDAY NIGHT IS LOADED! 9 EVENTS ACROSS BETHLEHEM, RCS & VOORHEESVILLE! 🎶🍅🧠

🧩☕ WEDNESDAY MORNING MATH PUZZLER SOLVED! ☕🧩

Introducing the Bethlehem Area Live Community Calendar

AUGUST 13th - Thursday

More Events at: https://BethlehemAreaLive.com

If it feels like we've spent much of this summer dodging raindrops around Bethlehem and the Capital Region, the numbers suggest you're definitely not imagining it! ☔

Following the historic flooding in late July and additional rain into August, the summer of 2026 is now among Albany's wettest on record.

🌧️ Here's where things stand:

💦 15.1 inches of rain has been recorded at Albany International Airport since June 1 through August 10.

📊 Only two summers since airport records began in 1938 had received more rain by this point:

☔ 2023 — 15.73 inches
☔ 2009 — 15.21 inches
☔ 2026 — 15.10 inches

That puts this summer just 0.11 inches behind 2009 at the same point — with roughly three weeks still remaining in meteorological summer.

June was actually close to normal, recording 4.09 inches compared with the typical 4.05 inches.

Then came July.

🌊 Nearly 10 inches of rain fell at Albany International Airport during the month — more than twice July's normal rainfall of about 4.5 inches.

For perspective, a typical entire summer from June through August receives about 12.36 inches.

We've already blown past that.

The historical numbers are fascinating.

According to National Weather Service records shown in the accompanying Times Union chart, Albany's wettest summers include:

🥇 1871 — 27.21 inches
🥈 1870 — 23.14 inches
🥉 2023 — 18.89 inches
🌧️ 2009 — 18.51 inches
🌧️ 2011 — 18.12 inches

If Albany receives another 3.79 inches before summer ends, 2026 could potentially surpass 2023 and become the wettest summer since the 1800s. 😲

For local residents, all this rain isn't simply an interesting weather statistic.

Repeated heavy rainfall can mean saturated yards, flooded basements, overflowing drainage systems, erosion, difficult gardening conditions and rapidly rising streams and creeks. It also makes soil and drainage conditions especially important when another heavy storm arrives.

There may finally be some relief ahead. A cold front expected late this week could bring another chance of thunderstorms before ushering in cooler and drier weather.

The big question: Is this the beginning of a drier pattern—or just a short break from one incredibly soggy summer? 🌤️

☔ BETHLEHEM AREA RESIDENTS: How has all this rain affected your property this summer? Flooded yard? Basement problems? Garden loving it?

SOURCE: TIMES UNION

Tell us what you're seeing around town! 👇

#BethlehemLocalNews #BethlehemNY #CapitalRegion #AlbanyNY #Summer2026 #Rainfall #Weather #LocalWeather #Flooding #DelmarNY #SlingerlandsNY #GlenmontNY #SelkirkNY #RCS #Voorheesville #UpstateNY ☔🌧️💦

A new report examining household affordability across the Hudson Valley is raising some important questions about the cost of living — and while Bethlehem isn't included in the study, the findings reach right up to our southern neighbors in Greene County.

Research from Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress found that nearly 400,000 households across nine Hudson Valley counties struggled to cover basic living expenses in 2024.

That's nearly 43% of households when families living below the federal poverty level and those classified as ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — are considered together.

ALICE households are particularly important to understand. These are often working individuals and families earning more than the federal poverty level but still not enough to comfortably cover necessities such as housing, childcare, food, transportation and health care. Because their incomes can exceed eligibility limits for assistance programs, many can find themselves living paycheck to paycheck.

The Greene County numbers make this especially relevant for residents of Bethlehem, RCS and the surrounding Capital Region.

In Greene County:

🔴 9% of households were below the poverty threshold.

🟠 Another 33% were below the ALICE threshold.

🟢 58% were above the ALICE threshold.

That means approximately 42% of Greene County households were either living in poverty or earning less than what was estimated to be necessary to meet basic household expenses.

Albany County and Bethlehem were not included in this particular nine-county study, so we shouldn't assume the Greene County or overall Hudson Valley percentages apply directly to Bethlehem.

But the pressures identified in the report should sound familiar.

🏠 Housing affordability — The study found housing costs are putting tremendous pressure on working households.

👶 Childcare — For many families with children, childcare was the single largest household expense, averaging more than $2,000 per month.

💵 The gap between wages and expenses — A household can earn too much to qualify for certain assistance programs while still struggling to afford everyday necessities.

👷 Workforce implications — When workers can't afford housing near their jobs or childcare that allows them to work, the effects can ripple through local businesses, schools, health care, restaurants and other essential services.

🏘️ Regional housing demand doesn't stop at county lines. What happens in neighboring communities can influence where people choose to live, work, commute and raise their families throughout the greater Capital Region.

According to the report, the average Hudson Valley renter working full-time would need to earn nearly $71,000 annually for a one-bedroom apartment to fall within the traditional affordability benchmark of spending about 30% of income on housing.

For a two-bedroom apartment, the required annual income rises to roughly $82,000.

That's why this conversation is about more than people officially classified as living in poverty. It's increasingly about working families who earn a paycheck every week but still struggle to keep up.

As Bethlehem continues its own discussions about housing, development, zoning, affordability and maintaining a strong local workforce, the experience of communities immediately to our south provides another useful piece of the regional picture.

SOURCE: TIMES UNION

💬 BETHLEHEM AREA RESIDENTS: Do you think our community is becoming too expensive for young adults, working families and seniors to remain here?

And what concerns you most — housing, property taxes, childcare, groceries, health care or something else? 👇

#BethlehemLocalNews #BethlehemNY #GreeneCounty #HudsonValley #CapitalRegion #HousingAffordability #CostOfLiving #AffordableHousing #WorkingFamilies #ALICE #Housing #Childcare #DelmarNY #SlingerlandsNY #GlenmontNY #SelkirkNY #RCS #Voorheesville

Thursday, August 13 is shaping up to be one BUSY summer night around our communities! 🙌🌞

Whether you're looking for live music 🎸, farmers markets 🍅, local history 🇺🇸, community connections 🤝 or a little trivia competition 🧠, tonight's lineup from the BethlehemAreaLive.com Community Events Calendar has you covered!

📅 HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING TONIGHT:

🍅 COEYMANS RIVERFRONT FARMERS MARKET
⏰ 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM
📍 Coeymans Riverfront Park, Ravena
Kick off the evening along the Hudson while shopping local! 🥕🌽

🤝 RCS CBA CONNECTS: AN EVENING AT THE MARKET
⏰ 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
📍 Coeymans Farmers Market / Evening on the Greene
Come out, connect with the RCS community and enjoy everything happening at the market.

🎤 CHAR REILLY LIVE
⏰ 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 Blackbirds Tavern, Voorheesville
Voorheesville joins the Thursday-night fun with three hours of live music! 🎶🍽️

🎸 THURSDAYS IN THE PARK: NORTHERN COMFORT
⏰ 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
📍 Elm Avenue Park, Delmar
Grab your lawn chair or blanket and enjoy an evening of music in the park! 🌳🎵

🎶 EAST BERNE BAND LIVE — EVENING ON THE GREEN
⏰ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
📍 Coeymans Riverfront Park, Ravena
Live music, the riverfront and a summer evening — sounds like a pretty good combination! 🌅🎸

🇺🇸 AMERICA 250: PHILIP SCHUYLER AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
⏰ 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
📍 Bethlehem Public Library, Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Take a trip into New York's Revolutionary history as we approach America's 250th anniversary. 📚🇺🇸

🧠🎉 TRIVIA NIGHT
⏰ 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 American Legion Blanchard-Currey Post 1040, West Poplar Drive, Delmar
Gather your team and put that random knowledge to work! ❓🏆

🍺🧠 TRIVIA AT THE WARBLER BREWERY
⏰ 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍 Delaware Avenue, Delmar
Another chance for Delmar's trivia experts to show what they know! 🤔💡

🍻❓ TRIVIA AT RAIL TO RIVER BREWING
⏰ 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍 Main Street, Ravena
RCS gets in on the trivia action, too — assemble your smartest crew! 🧠🏆

❤️ THIS is what summer in our hometown communities is all about!

In just one Thursday evening, you can shop local, support area businesses, enjoy live music, learn some history, spend time outdoors and connect with neighbors throughout Bethlehem, RCS and Voorheesville.

And remember — these are only the events on the calendar for TONIGHT! 😲

📲 Looking for something to do tomorrow or this weekend? Keep checking the BethlehemAreaLive.com Community Events Calendar — new events are being added all the time!

👇 Which event are YOU heading to tonight? Tag your friends and make some plans! 🎉

#BethlehemLocalNews #BethlehemAreaLive #BethlehemNY #DelmarNY #SlingerlandsNY #RCS #RavenaNY #CoeymansNY #VoorheesvilleNY #CommunityEvents #ThingsToDo #LiveMusic #FarmersMarket #TriviaNight #America250 #SupportLocal #ThursdayNight #CapitalRegionNY

Today’s problem is:

It looks simple, but order of operations is what matters! 👀

Remember PEMDAS:

P — Parentheses
E — Exponents
M/D — Multiplication & Division
A/S — Addition & Subtraction

Step 1: Parentheses first

2 + 2 = 4

So our problem becomes:

2 + 2 + 2(4)

Step 2: Multiplication before addition

2 × 4 = 8

Now we have:

2 + 2 + 8

Step 3: Add from left to right

2 + 2 + 8 = 12

The common trap is adding everything from left to right before doing the multiplication. When a number sits directly beside parentheses — 2(4) — that means multiplication.

🧠 Did you get 12 before reading the solution?

👇 Drop your answer in the comments — and challenge a friend to solve today's Thursday Morning Math Puzzler! 😁

#ThursdayMorningMathPuzzler #MathPuzzler #BrainTeaser #PEMDAS #OrderOfOperations #BethlehemLocalNews #BethlehemNY #ThursdayChallenge

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