Free Stuff!

Every metropolitain area or region has a different library of free publications available in the doorways of grocery stores, in street corner boxes, and on the shelves and stoops of local merchants. Many times these gratis periodicals are passed over, but more so than the local newspaper, they can speak to the character of a region, what a community is, and what a community is striving towards.

I'm interested in forming a comprehensive list of these publications, their content, and an estimation of their usefullness, everything from the Syracuse New Times to the local Pennysaver. I'm sure most of our readers can contribute at least one, so if you know a local periodical, and even better, if it has a website, email us at york.staters@gmail.com or post it as a comment, and we'll incorporate it into the uber-list.

I'll start with my personal favorite, which is also alphabetically at the top:

AboutTown
Area: One AboutTown covers Northern Dutchess and Southern Columbia Counties, the other serves Ulster County.
Format: Newspaper (As opposed to tabloid format [i.e. New Times] or magazine.)
Frequency: Seasonal
Content: Local history is featured prominently, as well as articles about sustainability, environmental concerns, food, and health in the Hudson Valley. AboutTown has a pleasing black, white, and one-color scheme, and its advertisers are primarily local business and includes a calander of community events. Not particularly youth oriented, and gracefully stradles the divide between weekenders, transplants, and area natives.
Website: http://www.abouttownguide.com/
Recommended Article: A History Not Quite Visible by Dorothy Dow Crane explores the hidden history of slaveholding in the Hudson Valley. Well-written and well researched.

What free publications are you reading?

Posted by Natalie