📆 BETHELEHEM AREA EVENTS

🌡️BETHELEHEM AREA WEATHER

🌞🌾 Solar vs. Farmland: Can New York Achieve Both? ⚡🚜

🏢📦 55 JOBS AFFECTED AS ADI GLOBAL ANNOUNCES FEURA BUSH FACILITY CLOSURE 📦🏢

🧩☕ SATURDAY MORNING MATH PUZZLER SOLVED! ☕🧩

Introducing the Bethlehem Area Live Community Calendar

JULY 26th - Sunday

JULY 27th - Monday

More Events at: https://BethlehemAreaLive.com

As New York accelerates its transition to clean energy, an important question is gaining attention across the state:

How do we expand solar energy while protecting valuable farmland?

The state has already surpassed 8 gigawatts of distributed solar and is on track to reach its goal of 10 gigawatts by 2030 according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Distributed solar includes smaller installations on homes, businesses, and local properties that generate electricity close to where it's used.

But larger Industrial size solar developments of a thousand acres or more are being reviewed and approved under NYS Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) which bypasses local zoning and NYS Department of Environmental (NYSDEC) Regulations. These large scale renewal energy projects have sparked an ongoing conversation—particularly among New York's farming community. READ MORE HERE-EXCELSIOR SOLAR. and READ MORE - NEWS10NBC.

Many farmers support renewable energy but worry that prime agricultural land is increasingly being targeted for large-scale solar projects.

🚜 Some believe solar arrays should be placed on less productive land rather than some of the state's best farmland, helping preserve acreage needed for growing food.

Others see leasing land for solar as a way to strengthen their farms financially, providing stable income during a time when agriculture faces rising costs and economic uncertainty.

☀️ New York has installed more than 20,000 acres of solar projects over the past 15 years.

🌾 That represents approximately 0.3% of the state's 6.5 million acres of farmland.

📉 At the same time, New York has experienced broader farmland losses. Federal data shows the state lost 1.5% of its farmland in 2025, and the number of farms declined by 15% between 2015 and 2025.

NYSERDA officials say solar projects are only built on land voluntarily leased by property owners and point to ongoing investments in farmland preservation. New York has also permanently protected more than 138,000 acres of farmland through its Farmland Protection Program.

As the state continues working toward its clean energy goals, many believe the challenge will be finding the right balance between:

⚡ Expanding renewable energy
🌾 Protecting productive farmland
🚜 Supporting family farms
🍎 Maintaining New York's long-term food production

It's a conversation that is likely to continue as additional solar projects are proposed throughout the state.

💬 What do you think? Should large-scale solar projects be encouraged on farmland if landowners choose to lease it, or should prime agricultural land be protected for food production? Share your thoughts respectfully in the comments.

Source: Spectrum News

#BethlehemLocalNews #NewYork #SolarEnergy #RenewableEnergy #Farmland #Agriculture #CleanEnergy #FoodProduction #ClimateGoals #SupportLocalFarms #CapitalRegion #CommunityConversation 🌞⚡🌾🚜

A business in the Town of Bethlehem is preparing to close its Feura Bush distribution facility, resulting in the loss of 55 local jobs, according to a notice filed with New York State.

ADI Global, a wholesale distributor of smart home, security, audio-visual and related technology products, will shut down its warehouse on West Yard Road as part of a planned relocation. The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the state this week outlining the workforce reduction.

ADI Global is affiliated with Resideo Technologies, a company that was created from Honeywell and has announced plans to separate ADI into its own publicly traded business. The new standalone company is expected to begin trading in early August.

While the company has not yet publicly shared details about where the affected operations will be relocated or whether employees will have opportunities elsewhere, the closure marks another significant change for Bethlehem's local business community.

Residents who live or work in the area may notice changes at the West Yard Road facility in the coming months as operations wind down.

Our thoughts are with the employees and families impacted by this announcement, and we hope those affected are able to find new opportunities as quickly as possible.

💬 Do you or someone you know work at the ADI Global facility? Share your thoughts and well wishes for the employees in the comments.

Source: Times Union

#BethlehemLocalNews #BethlehemNY #FeuraBush #LocalBusiness #CapitalRegion #JobNews #EconomicDevelopment #Workforce #CommunityNews #Resideo #ADIGlobal #AlbanyCounty #LocalUpdates

Today's puzzle is:

X + X + X = 21

Find the value of X.

There are three identical X's being added together:

X + X + X = 21

This is the same as saying:

3 × X = 21

To find the value of one X, divide both sides by 3:

21 ÷ 3 = 7

Whenever you see the same variable repeated several times, you can rewrite it as multiplication.

For example:

Then solve by doing the opposite operation:

Replace X with 7:

7 + 7 + 7 = 21 ✅

The equation is correct!

👏 Did you figure out that X = 7 before looking at the answer? Let us know in the comments, and challenge a friend to solve it before you tell them! 😊🧠

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