The past few months the ever-wobbling balance between consumers and business has been receiving a fresh look in the chambers of the Dutchess County Legislature. The Legislature initially established consumer protection practices in Dutchess County in 1991. On our agenda has been two bills that would seek to modify the item-pricing system used by supermarkets and impose accurate street advertising of gasoline prices for both cash and credit at gas stations.Item pricingIn 1991, the county passed laws to require supermarkets to place signs on grocery store shelves, individually stamp each item for sale and made it a violation to sell an item at a higher price than the price advertised. In 1994, the law was updated to ensure scanner device accuracy at computer-assisted checkouts. The present bill under consideration would provide for an opt-out procedure for supermarkets who prefer not to price-tag each individual item. Adherence to proper shelf signage and scanner accuracy would remain.The 2012 item pricing opt-out bill comes at the request of area supermarkets represented by the Food Industry Alliance of New York State. In October 2012, area store managers complained that Dutchess is only one of two counties in the state that still require item pricing laws and that most supermarkets find it cumbersome and choose instead to pay the penalty rather than comply. In some cases big chain supermarkets opt not to establish themselves in Dutchess County due to the “onerous” item-pricing law. The Food Industry Alliance said that most jurisdictions provide for an opt-out procedure such as this bill would provide.As written, the bill under consideration will allow supermarkets to apply to the county and pay a fee that upon the passing of two random scanner inspections could then be exempted from the item-pricing laws. The fee would vary depending upon store size. An annual renewal with scanner inspections would be required. Stores would also be required to install price check scanners to assist consumers in looking up prices of individual items.The item-pricing bill was first introduced in August of last year and has been amended each month since based on legislator concerns, as well as public comment. Some unions and the New York Public Interest Research Group have opposed the bill citing the convenience to shoppers and the possible labor loss of item taggers. It is expected to receive passage in late January or February.Gasoline station advertisingIn 1991, the Legislature prohibited unfair trade practices which it defined as any misleading representation which had the capacity, tendency or effect of deceiving or misleading consumers. The local law which we passed in December 2012 will outlaw as an unfair trade practice the seemingly widespread practice of gas stations to advertise a low cash price for gasoline on the street, which serves to attract motorists who then must pay a higher rate for credit transactions once at the pump.Motorists are sometimes lured in by the discounted street price, but unaware once they swiped their credit card that the station was charging them a higher premium for credit transactions. Under current state law both prices must be marked at the pumps, but not at the street. The new county law which will go into effect April 1 will require stations to either advertise both prices at the street, or the standard gasoline price without any discounts.Michael N. Kelsey represents the people of Amenia, Washington, Stanford, Pleasant Valley and Millbrook in the Dutchess County Legislature. Write him at KelseyESQ@yahoo.com. Read past blogs at blog.VoteMikeKelsey.com.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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