Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news update for Fri., Oct. 18. (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Columbia-Greene Media is reporting four forest rangers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation earlier this month recovered the body of a hiker at Platte Clove, according to a statement from the department. The 50-year-old man, who has not been identified, was reported missing in Platte Clove around 4 p.m. October 6. The man was dropped off on Platte Clove Road and intended to hike to the Plattekill Creek. He was to set up camp and then meet a friend at Saugerties Bridge on Becker Road, according to the DEC. A search was conducted and the man's body was found approximately 1.25 miles upstream from Becker Road. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union the federal Department of Energy has declared the site of the former NL Industries munitions factory in Colonie ready for redevelopment. The department owns the 11-acre site and wants to sell it or give it away. The site was tainted with radioactive dust left behind by the manufacture of depleted uranium armor-piercing shells. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent more than 20 years and $190 million to remediate the toxic dust and other waste generated there. The parcel may ultimately become open space or a driving shortcut between Central and Railroad avenues. “At this point it could be transferred over to the city or the local community. It is free to be used  to be developed,” DOE spokesman Padraic Benson said. Colonie Planning Director Joe LaCivita said he doubts the spot is marketable due to its history. “I don’t believe that there would be a governmental or municipal entity that would be able to put that out on the market,” he said. The NL plant was closed in 1984 under a state court order and the federal government eventually took control of the cleanup. Read the full story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman is reporting that employment continues to rise regionwide, with Sullivan County again leading by a large margin as it continued to benefit from the presence of its almost two-year-old casino. The casino, Resorts World Catskills, continues to be the main driver of that county's nonfarm employment, according to data provided October 17, by the state Department of Labor. Nonfarm employment includes all jobs in the private and public sectors, with the exception of those in agriculture. In Ulster County, the nonfarm job total rose by 1,700, a 2.2 percent gain; the Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Division gained 2,100 nonfarm jobs, an increase of 1.4 percent. The nonfarm job total for Columbia County in September 2019 was 22,600, a gain of 400, or 1.8 percent, from a year earlier. Greene County's total last month was 15,500, a gain of 1.3 percent. Statewide the September unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Rachel Silberstein is reporting for the Times Union the state of New York could require dyslexia screening in preschool. The state does not currently have a consistent standard for schools to screen students for the disorder. Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that cause difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but does not affect general intelligence. At a forum held recently at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, several experts in the field discussed common misconceptions amount educators about dyslexia and made a case for early detection and intervention. Researchers say that students who cannot read at grade level by the time they get to third grade are unlikely to ever catch up to their peers. "About 60 percent of kids learn to read no matter what you do with them. But about 40 percent don't and need direct instruction," Assemblywoman Joanne Simon said. "There are a lot of perceptions about dyslexia. What we want to do is make this easy and make sure we are helping the most kids." It is estimated that about one in five children have dyslexia, although some experts say the figure is significantly lower. Seven states in the U.S. have passed laws requiring schools to test students for dyslexia in early grades. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news for Fri., Oct. 18. Produced by Philip Grant.

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

Sarah Trafton reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Greene County lawmakers are sticking by the proposal the highway workers union calls "laughable," and will hold a public hearing on the issue Nov. 20. “We haven’t had a raise in over a decade,” the former president of the Greene County union, Donald Maben said. The base salary for Greene County highway workers is $34,000, and the county is offering a raise of 40 cents for the next four years. Because the union has rejected several offers from the county, a fact-finder was brought in, and Greene County legislators voted to accept their findings. But, “If they deny it, we have to declare a final impasse and do a single-year contract,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. “Then we are back to the negotiation table next year.” On the Oct. 15 vote, Patrick Linger, R-New Baltimore; Linda Overbaugh, R-Catskill; Patricia Handel, R-Durham; William Lawrence, R-Cairo; Harry Lennon, D-Cairo; Ed Bloomer, R-Athens; and Larry Gardner, D-Hunter supported the resolution while Thomas Hobart, R-Coxsackie; Charles Martinez, R-Coxsackie; Michael Bulich, R-Catskill; Matthew Luvera, R-Catskill; Jack Keller, R-Catskill; and Gregory Davis, R-Greenville; voted against with James Thorington, R-Windham, absent. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Rick Karlin reports in the Times Union that a study conducted for the state Department of Environmental Conservation by Saint Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International lays out five options for Hoosick Falls residents to get clean drinking water. Four years ago perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, was found in the Rensselaer County town's drinking water, from Saint Gobain and Honeywell International factories there. The study suggests getting water from the nearby Tomhannock Reservoir or digging new permanent wells to provide residents with clean water. “Today’s release of the water supply study prepared by the companies is another milestone in the progress being made under DEC’s aggressive oversight to ensure the Hoosick Falls community continues on the road to recovery,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. Other options from the study included building multi-million dollar filtration systems or tapping in to the Tomhannock Reservoir or Troy's water supply, which would also cost up to $48.5 million. Now officials will consider these options to make a decision. “This is a positive development and I am glad the water resource study is now available for review by the public and other stakeholders. It has been several years since this issue was discovered and a comprehensive resolution is needed," Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

David Lombardo reports in the Times Union that the night before Thanksgiving the commission set to announce new state election campaign rules will announce its proposal. State Republican Party Chairperson Nick Langworthy accused the commission of burying the report by announcing it when few New Yorkers will be paying attention to the news. "We're doing the best we can with the schedule," said Commissioner Jay Jacobs, who is also chair of the state Democratic Party. The commission's report is due by Dec. 1. The commission is expected to propose creating a system of matching political contributions with taxpayer funds, but a majority of commissioners would have to approve of whatever plan is announced. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Many of the leaves from trees may have blown off in the storm earlier this weekend, but the New York foliage report predicts much color on those remaining. "In Greene County, observers reporting from Catskill project that the town and the county’s valley areas will be at peak this weekend, with 90 percent change and brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange. The county’s mountains will be past-peak with nearly 100 percent color change and bright red, orange, yellow, and green leaves; peak colors may still be found around Kaaterskill and Platte cloves. Foliage will be past-peak this weekend in Delaware County. Look for complete color transition and bright gold and orange leaves among a significant number of bare trees.... Foliage change has come on strong in the Kingston area of Ulster County. Spotters are projecting peak conditions for this weekend with 75 percent color change and yellow, orange, and burgundy leaves, along with brilliant shades of red. At Belleayre Mountain in the Ulster County community of Highmount, foliage changed quickly over the past week and will be past-peak by the weekend with 100 percent color transition and primarily orange leaves."

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The League of Women Voters of the Mid-Hudson Region held a candidates’ forum Oct. 16 with a live webstream for some of the event, but not when the candidates for Dutchess County Executive talked. The forum began at 7 p.m. at the FDR Presidential Library, and also included candidates for Dutchess County Clerk, and District Attorney. Reportedly members of the audience put up live webstreams of the early part of the event. But at 8 p.m., just before incumbent Republican Marc Molinaro and Democrat challenger Joe Ruggiero took the stage, organizers huddled with the candidates and decided to tell all audience members to turn off all live webstreams. A League of Women Voters official told WGXC they wanted, "to avoid issues when people splice and edit content out of context," though they did not say why they did not have that problem with the earlier part of the forum. Ruggiero, though, either misunderstood, or tells a different story. "League of Women Voters stated they’ve live-streamed in their previous events however in this case 'live-streaming would show one candidate in a more favorable light than another,'" he wrote in a message to WGXC. The Panda TV 23 station was recording the event, but for an unknown reason, were not live webstreaming. League of Women Voters officials say Panda TV 23 will post a recording of the event in a few days.

Village of Athens officials announced October 15, the village last week received a $9,900 grant from Hudson River Valley Greenway to support the updating of its 2007 comprehensive plan. According to a press release from Mayor Stephan Bradicich, the village will work with the town of Athens on the project. “The Comprehensive Plan is a vision for the future, with long-range goals and objectives for all activities that affect local government,” said Bradicich. “The 2007 Plan is a great foundation, but is due for an update because of significant changes in our economic, social, and environmental conditions over the past twelve years.” The award was presented during the October 9, meeting of the Greenway Communities Council at the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY.

MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado said October 16, as the opioid epidemic continues to devastate the country, more should be done in the area of prevention. The Rhinebeck Democrat said nationwide lawsuits against prescription manufacturers who pushed their opioid medications are a good beginning. At the same time he said those who legitimately need painkillers should not be prevented from using them. “We talk a lot about treatment,” he said. “We talk a lot about decriminalizing addiction but not enough emphasis is put on prevention and how we can get out in front of the problem, whether that is through more educational tools, whether that is through funding prevention centers, we should be not just reactive, but more proactive in our approach.” Delgado said he would like to see more emphasis placed on drug courts and decriminalization. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Brendan J. Lyons is reporting for the Times Union Schoharie County District Attorney Susan J. Mallery says the questionable business practices of the Mavis auto shop in Saratoga Springs played no role in the limousine crash in Schoharie last year that killed 20 people. The prosecutor contends the limo operator's defense team overstated the recent whistleblower revelations. In a letter October 16, to Schoharie County Court Judge George R. Bartlett, III, Mallery said attorneys for the limousine company's operator wrongly cast blame on the Mavis Discount Tire outlet, where workers had allegedly falsified invoices about the brake work performed on the 2001 Ford Excursion. Hussain is charged with 20 counts of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The district attorney said that an accident reconstruction expert attributed the failure to improper vehicle maintenance and concluded that the master brake cylinder was in working order at the time of the crash. The Mavis tire store in Saratoga Springs has been a target in at least four civil lawsuits brought by families of victims in the Oct. 6, 2018, crash. Read the full story in the Times Union.

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Stephen Williams reports for the Daily Gazette that one of the two Ukrainian associates of Rudy Guiliani indicted last week for campaign finance violations gave money to former Rep. John Faso during the 2018 election campaign. Igor Fruman gave $2,445 to 21 House Republicans including Faso, who lost his 19th Congressional District seat after one term to Democrat Antonio Delgado last year. Fruman made the donations under the name "Furman," and altering his name is one of the reasons for his indictment. Faso, a Republican from Kinderhook, said Tuesday he knew about the donation, but never met Fruman or his partner, Lev Parnas. The donation came through a joint Republican fundraising committee called Protect the House. "I've taken steps to either refund or donate the contribution to charity," Faso said, sounding like he already took action, but then said, "I will likely donate it to charity." Two other New York Republicans, John Katko and Claudia Tenney, also received $2,445 campaign contributions. Faso said he will not run for Congress in 2020. Read more about this story in the Daily Gazette.

All four Hudson Valley Congressional representatives voted together Oct. 16 to condemn Donald Trump's decision to let Turkey invade Syria and attack Kurdish forces who have helped fight ISIS terrorists there. Republican Elise Stefanik and Democrats Paul Tonko, Antonio Delgado, and Sean Maloney all voted for "Opposing the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria." The bill passed 354-60. Tom Reed, from Western New York, was the only state representative to vote against the measure.

Marina Villeneuve of the Associated Press reports in the Troy Record that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law Oct. 16 loosening double jeopardy rules so the state can still prosecute any criminals pardoned by a president. New York's broad double jeopardy law was unclear on the issue, but the new law is more explicit. State prosecutors will now be able to bring charges against someone committing a crime in the state even if that person has received a federal pardon. The bill was passed by the state legislature in May. A few days ago, lawyers for President Donald Trump's campaign chairperson Paul Manafort told a judge that their mortgage fraud case against him amounts to double jeopardy. Presidents can't give pardons for state crimes, so the law may be unnecessary. Ian Farrell, professor of constitutional law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, said, "The whole point of this law is to prevent a president from saying to his associates: 'Don't worry. If you get charged under federal law, I will pardon you, and then you aren't in danger of any state law charges, so there's no reason you have to flip.'" Read more about this story in the Troy Record.