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On Oct. 22 WGXC aired a candidates forum from Cairo-Durham High School with most of the candidates running for office in Cairo this fall. An audio recording of the forum moderated by seniors in the school's College Government Class is available in the Audio Archives at wgxc.org. Early voting starts Oct. 26 with four candidates on the ballot for Town Supervisor, including two former supervisors and the current supervisor who is not running for reelection. Republican John Coyne, who is also on the Your Voice Heard party line, was supervisor from 2008-2012; Democrat Ted Banta was supervisor from 2012-2015. Current supervisor Daniel Benoit is still listed on the Conservative line despite his announced intention not to run. Sherry B. True, who is Benoit's clerk, is on the True Choice party line. Two Democrats -- Lewis M. Connor and William F. Scheriff -- and two Republicans -- Stephen L. Kralovich and Timothy M. Powers -- are running for two seats on the town board. Scheriff is also on the Working Families and Independence lines, and Connor is also on the Independence line. Republican Arthur J. Evans III vies against Democrat Michael C. Maderic to replace Robert Hempstead as Highway Supervisor. Tanja Sirago is unopposed for town justice; Kayla L. Warner is unopposed for town clerk; and Susan B. Hilgendorff is the only candidate on the ballot for tax collector. Read more about the candidates backgrounds and positions at HudsonValley360.com.

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Oct. 22 funding new library construction in the state. The bill was co-sponsored by Democrat Didi Barrett, who represents the 106 Assembly District that includes parts of Dutchess and Columbia Counties. “Libraries are cornerstones of any community and great equalizers that provide resources and access to information to all New Yorkers, no matter who they are, where they come from, or how rich or poor they are,” Cuomo said in a statement. The bill funds up to 90 percent of constructions costs. On Oct. 26 the new Claverack Library opens in the in the former A.B. Shaw Firehouse. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

While everything coming out of Washington D.C. might seem to only be impeachment talk, government is continuing its work. On Oct. 22 Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck representing the 19th Congressional District, testified before the House Veterans Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs about his bill, the Improving Benefits for Underserved Veterans Act. PLAY EXCERPT

City and State round up which New York politicians have endorsed which presidential candidates, and, so far, Elizabeth Warren is leading. From next door in Massachusetts, the Senator has been endorsed by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer; state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi, Liz Krueger, and Gustavo Rivera; Assembly members Yuh-Line Niou, Linda Rosenthal, Harvey Epstein, Jo Anne Simo, and Catalina Cruz; and a number of New York City Council members. From next door Vermont, Bernie Sanders has almost as many endorsements as Warren, most from New York City. Joe Biden has only two endorsements, but one is Gov. Andrew Cuomo. New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson is backing Pete Buttigieg; Kamala Harris has endorsements from two state senators; and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who represents the 18th Congressional District in the southern Hudson Valley, is behind Beto O’Rourke. So far, none of the four Republican presidential candidates have received an official endorsement from a prominent New York politician. Read more about this story at City and State.

From Mark Dunlea from WOOC: "The Dunn landfill in the City of Rensselaer is the largest construction and demolition debris landfill in New York State. We talk to nearby resident Dave Ellis of Rensselaer Environmental Coalition, a group that does not believe that the recent operational changes mandated by DEC will resolve the odor and other pollution problems from the landfill."

Local headlines, radio highlights, and community events from Philip Grant, Tom Roe, Neva Wartell, Tim Light, and Lynn Sloneker.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news update for Tue., Oct. 22. (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Diane Walden is reporting in The Columbia Paper the state of New York has agreed to take over the town of Copake's efforts to have Salvatore Cascino's illegally constructed steel bridge demolished. The serial offender from Larchmont, Westchester County, was ordered by Acting Supreme Court Judge Jonathan D. Nichols in 2006, to remove the 30-foot-wide span he built over the Noster Kill, a protected trout stream, without permission. He was ordered to remove the structure for the second time in 2013. The removal of the bridge was just one item on a long list of tasks Cascino was ordered to do or stop doing after he was found guilty of illegal dumping, building and excavating on his 300-acre property on the east side of Route 22. Copake Town Board member Stanley Gansowski, Cascino's neighbor, has been working with state officials and the DEC to get the state to pursue the court-ordered bridge removal. On September 27, the board approved a resolution, requesting the DEC "demand, direct, and oversee" removal of the bridge. Gansowski announced October 10, state and federal officials have agreed to “take over the lawsuit” and see that Cascino complies. Supervisor Jeff Nayer said it was possible the town of Copake could once again have sued to uphold the judge’s order, but the town by itself is not in a position to enforce or monitor the removal of the bridge. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Vivian Wang is reporting for The New York Times that as local news is dying, the state of New York is trying to find a way to save it. Two state lawmakers next week will propose a requirement that any cable company operating statewide offer a local news channel with “news, weather and public affairs programming,” according to a draft of the bill. The programming would have to be independently produced — the companies could not simply rebroadcast others’ existing news shows. If approved, the bill would be the first of its kind in the country. Although other forms of intervention to save local news have been tried elsewhere, the New York proposal would be the most aggressive attempt by government officials to sustain local news in the long term. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the Democrat-led state Senate have already indicated support for the idea. Under the proposal, the Public Service Commission, New York's utilities regulator, would decide what qualified as local news. It would also determine how long and how often each channel was required to show it. There is some thought to including online-only content providers, such as Hulu or Amazon Prime, as well, in the rule. Media experts warned that such a law could effectively make the government an arbiter of news. One of the bill's co-sponsors emphasized that while the Public Service Commission would ensure a company's compliance with the local news requirement, it would not control the content of that news. Read the full story in The New York Times.

Bethany Bump is reporting in the Times Union the state Department of Health announced October 21, it has expanded the services available through the New York State Smokers' Quitline to offer free coaching and nicotine replacement therapy to e-cigarette users who want to stop vaping. The decision was made in response to the nationwide outbreak of vaping-related illnesses that have killed 33 people and hospitalized almost 1,500 more. The department worked with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo to develop eligibility criteria and practices that help e-cigarette users stop vaping. Nicotine replacement therapy, especially a regimen that combines use of a patch with gum or lozenge, usually doubles the odds that a user will quit, the department said. Anyone interested can contact the quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) any day of the week beginning at 9 a.m. and speak with a specially trained coach, who will provide an assessment. Based on that evaluation, a user may be eligible to receive free nicotine replacement therapy. Read the full story in the Times Union.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the department's 17th annual "Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor" will take place Tue., Oct. 22. The DEC estimates 5,000 local students will take over the shorefronts of the Hudson River and the piers of New York Harbor to collect data and study the river's fish, invertebrates and more. Local schools participating in the annual event include Coxsackie Elementary School, Chatham High School, Hudson High School, Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School and Taconic Hills High School. During the Day in the Life event students collect scientific data using hands-on field techniques in an effort to capture a snapshot of the river’s ecology at more than 100 sites along the Hudson. The data collected by students will give the DEC a window into the ecosystem that spans 160 miles. The data will be posted online after the event. Read the full press release at DEC [dot] org.

Click above to download or play today's "Better Weather." Produced by Joe Demanso of the Catskill Makers Syndicate.

Local headlines, radio highlights, and community events from Philip Grant, Tom Roe, Neva Wartell, Tim Light, and Lynn Sloneker.

Cayla Harris reports in the Times Union that New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Antonio Delgado, both Democrats, spoke in Hudson Oct. 21 of their wish for a $50 billion federal grant program to help development in rural areas. Delgado, from Rhinebeck, and Gillibrand, from Rensselaer County, spoke at the Hudson Hall in favor of the Rebuild Rural America Act. Under their plan local officials across the country would have to form a council to identify developmental priorities, and then they could apply for a five-year renewable grant. "This bill gives rural communities the funding, flexibility and technical assistance to do what they know will best help their towns," Delgado said. Gillibrand and Delgado said they expect Republicans to also back the measure, but this year in the U.S. House Democrats have passed many bills that the Republican-led Senate have ignored. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that incumbent Congressperson Antonio Delgado leads all other candidates running to take his place representing the 19th Congressional District. On Sept. 30 the Democrat Delgado told the Federal Elections Commission he has $1.5 million on hand for his 2020 campaign. Delgado raised $2,063,246.39 this year through Sept. 30, spending $616,643. Republican Tony German, a retired two-star general, has $49,849 raised since his August announcement, spending $1,774. Republican Ola Hawatmeh, a fashion designer, raised $5,447 and spent $210. Mike Roth, another Republican, has not raised any money. So far no Democrats have announced a challenge to Delgado. The three Republicans will face off first in a primary election on June 23, 2020, before the winner takes on the Democrat nominee the following fall. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

The Altamont Enterprise reports about one area locally where a medical practice closed, but another one will open in December. The Hudson Valley has food deserts where there are not full grocery stores, and many spots were cell phones receive no service. And there are also places without medical services. In October, Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson stopped delivery services, sending pregnant women to Albany, Kingston, or Western Massachusetts. Now Berne, in southern Albany County, is getting a new medical practice after five months since Community Care Physicians closed its Helderberg Trail practice. Nurse practitioner Jill Martin will open Hilltown Healthcare, PLLC, on Dec. 2. Dr. Gary Kolanchick, who used to lead the Community Care Physicians office there before retiring, just got his New York State medical license reinstated in case Martin needs help. The area has only one other medical provider, Myria Emeny, M.D. in nearby Westerlo, not enough to help the 1,900 patients displaced after Community Care Physicians closed. Hannay Reels Inc., a Westerlo business, contributed $10,000 to help get the new medical practice started. “We were very impressed by Jill Martin and [organizer] Ray Schimmer’s presentation,” wrote the co-owner of the business Elaine Gruener in an email to The Enterprise, “as well as all the work that was done to date by these individuals and others to ensure that this much-needed medical practice will once again be operating and available to the residents that most need it.” Read more about this story in the Altamont Enterprise.

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Oct. 21 exempting women who are breastfeeding from serving on a jury. To get a jury duty postponement, an applicant must provide a note from a doctor, and cannot have already been postponed or excused from jury service. “While jury service is a critically important civic duty, we also know new moms oftentimes juggle countless responsibilities and navigate enormous adjustments in the early stages of their child’s life,” Cuomo said. “This commonsense measure takes that reality into account by providing new moms the flexibility and option to postpone jury service while they care for a newborn.” Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

"The History of Hudson's Merchants and Whalers," a talk by Carl Whitbeck from Oct. 17 at Hudson Hall.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news update for Mon., Oct. 21. (Produced by Philip Grant.)