There are lifts, excavators, stacks of cardboard boxes, piles of metal sheeting, ladders, buckets and tools all about, but “once we get past the dumpsters, it’s very pretty looking.”

Construction is still well underway in southern Dutchess County to complete phase two of the major upgrades taking place at the county-owned ballpark, Heritage Financial Park, home of the New York Yankees’ High A-affiliate Hudson Valley Renegades, in time for Opening Day on April 16, 2024.

The team begins their 66-game season on the road in order for construction crews to finish the work in progress, but once complete, the stadium will offer year-round amenities in an all-inclusive, upper-level event space that will be paired with upscale seasonal and traditional ballpark fare from a CIA-trained chef, in addition to a 300-person capacity rooftop party deck, our very own little “Green Monster” in left field, and new seating that will offer fans the first-ever chance to catch a home run ball at the stadium from a Major League hopeful.

• March 4: On March 4, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States. His infamous line – “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” – was a key moment in the address that also outlined his New Deal plans during the height of the Great Depression. This date is also the last time a U.S. presidential inauguration took place; FDR’s second inauguration in 1936 took place on January 20 as per the 20th Amendment.

• March 6: The Town of Milan was established on March 6, 1818. “During the Civil War, Milan’s young men volunteered for the Union army in one of the highest numbers in the county proportionate to population,” according to Dutchess County History. The Town of Union Vale was formed on March 6, 1827. Union Vale is the source of the Fishkill Creek, and its Clove Mountain is part of the Taconic Range of the Appalachian Mountains, with an elevation reaching 1368 feet.

• March 7: Nine Dutchess County towns were formed on March 7, 1788: Amenia, Beekman, Clinton, Fishkill, North East, Pawling, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck and Washington after the New York State Assembly passed a general law granting town status to all of the existing precincts in the state.

  History bit: The name Amenia is derived from the Latin word amoena, and means “pleasant to the eye.” Amenia also had a baseball team as early as 1899. Members from that team formed the Amenia Club and played games at the Amenia Diamond in town. According to league history: “Hundreds of spectators ringed the local field at the Sunday games, which had to finish in time for the farm boys on the team to hustle home and milk their cows.” Former Yankees hurler Jim Bouton would even show up – wearing cut-off shorts and a straw hat – to throw batting practice once in a while.

• Upstate Oscar connections: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, who are nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Barbie,” filmed their 2011 film “Frances Ha” at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. Baumbach received his BA in English from Vassar in 1991 and was roommates with another future filmmaker, Jason Blum. Emma Stone, nominated for Best Actress for her performance in “Poor Things,” co-starred in the episodic Cary Joji Fukunaga series, “Maniac,” which filmed in Ulster County in 2017.  (Stone also received a SAG award nomination for her performance in the series). The 96th annual Academy Awards takes place on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 7pm. The Woodstock Film Festival is hosting an Oscars viewing party at the Bearsville Theater, tickets include hors d’oeuvres and exclusive swag – including a tote bag from Stone’s nominated film “Poor Things.”

• The record daily high temperature was broken in Albany on Monday, March 4 as temps reached 60-degrees at 3pm. The previous record of 59-degrees was set in 1919.

• Don’t forget: Spring forward on Sunday. Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 2am.

• Share your news + events by emailing hello@hvny.info. Deadline for this newsletter is 5pm on Fridays.

Shamrock Run races down the Rondout, Guns and Hoses Hockey Game in Poughkeepsie, History of Fly Fishing in the Hudson Valley, WFF’s Oscar Viewing Party, a Parade of Green in Beacon, and more: