[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="211 Union Street, Hudson"][/caption]Carole Osterink's always lively and engaging Gossips of Rivertown captured the behind-the-scenes face of changing Hudson this past week with a pair of Christmas Eve posts that not only showed how a personalized blog can stay objective while maintaining personality, and the personal, but also some of the discussions centering the city's sense of self these days. On the one hand, there's a fine report about the final approval discussion for a facade change at 211 Union Street, the birthplace of General Wm. Worth, by Hudson's Historic Preservation Commission, including much talk about real versus Potemkin historic looks and the concept of "Garden State Brick" facades. The single brick wall proposed was ultimately approved despite the bloggers disapproval, it turns out, with much brought up for future discussions. Balancing the hyperlocal political is some good news of a highly personal nature: Osterink reports on a discussion she had with candymaker Jim Vasilow about what led him to pull his Toffee Pistachios for the season... as well as how he plans to get them back into his historic Vasilow's Confectioners by February. For this full bon bon of a blog, click HERE...