WASHINGTON-Critics of plans for what one called "Washington Club Med" turned up the volume at a land-use meeting this week, prompting the chairman to scold them for theatricality.

Federal court Judge Peter Dorsey on Tuesday denied an appeal by the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation (STN) seeking to overturn the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs' 2005 decision denying the STN federal tribal recognition.

CORNWALL-These days, commercial photographer Dick Frank enjoys the luxury of being mostly retired with his wife, Suzanne, and his toy schnoodle, Bartley, at their Cornwall home. The pace of life is certainly different from the time he photographed the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 in New York City harbor while leaning out of a helicopter 1,000 feet in the air. A collection of Mr. Frank's commercial and personal prints will be on display at the Cornwall Library beginning Sept. 5.

NEW MILFORD-As the 9/11 Memorial Committee prepares for the seventh annual remembrance ceremony, held at the moment the first plane struck the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, the town's simple monument has earned a place on the Voices of September 11th Web site.

WOODBURY-There may be new teachers and new students in Region 14 this year, but there is one thing that isn't new-the ongoing tussle about the reconfiguration of the school district's elementary schools and its impact.

LITCHFIELD-Fifteen years ago, a group tried to get a greenway project started in Litchfield, but the idea fell through. Now it's back and has momentum.

KENT-Invasive species, the so-called "bullies" of the natural world, which take over landscapes while driving out indigenous species, are increasingly meeting competition from natural predators. In some instances, those predators are also foreign species, such as two forms of beetle, Galerucella calmariensis and G. pusilla, that have been nibbling on the fingers of purple loosestrife since 1985.

Cordelia Foster of New York City tackles the climbing wall last Saturday at the Bridgewater Country Fair. Photograph by Walter Kidd.