The Times Hudson Valley Media group will expand to five publications later this month with the acquisition of The Cornwall Local and The News of the Highlands, weekly newspapers serving Cornwall and the Town of Highlands in Orange County.

The transition will be completed on Aug. 1, when the two newspapers are published under new ownership.

News of the Highlands Inc. President Simon Eristoff made the announcement this week:

“Our late father’s main objective in purchasing the News of the Highlands and later The Cornwall Local some fifty years ago was to preserve independent local journalism that informs and supports our local communities,” Eristoff said. “We are proud that the News and the Local have been able to continue to carry out that important mission, even as the local news business has faced many challenges over the past few decades. To best position the News and the Local to continue providing vital community journalism in the decades to come, we recently concluded an agreement whereby the News of the Highlands Inc. will become a part of Times Hudson Valley Media, a highly regarded and experienced publisher of several local news weeklies in neighboring Orange County communities. Being part of a larger organization will strengthen all the community newspapers in the Times’ portfolio. On behalf of our entire family, thank you for your longtime readership and your ongoing support for local news.”

Carl Aiello, founder of the Times Hudson Valley Media group, will assume the role of publisher of The Local and The News of the Highlands. Mary Jane Pitt will continue as editor.

“We are honored for the opportunity to continue the tradition forged by Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff and his family,” Aiello said. “We have long enjoyed a special relationship with the News of the Highlands over the years, in large part because of our similarities in our mission and our organizational structures. We see this as a natural extension of our mission of providing quality local news content.”

The change will include a format conversion, as The Local and The News will be converted to tabloid size, in accordance with the production schedule of their new sister papers: The Wallkill Valley Times, Mid Hudson Times, and Southern Ulster Times. All five newspapers will go to press Tuesday evening, distributed to newsstands on Wednesdays, and should appear in local mailboxes on Thursdays.

Readers will also have access to an expanded digital platform. Print subscribers will have access to HudsonValleyTimes.com, the news website that serves the extended coverage area of all five newspapers. The platform is also a source for breaking news.

“Readers and event organizers will have the ability to submit their events to a virtual calendar, and there will be more widespread advertising. Local advertisers will have the ability to have their business information appear in the other newspapers served by Times Hudson Valley Media,” Pitt said. “As the transfer of ownership happens, we hope our readers will stick with us, as we plan to stick with our communities.”