DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Tue., Dec. 5 (8:46). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman the town of Ulster has asked the state Department of Transportation if a speed limit reduction is warranted on part of Route 32. The portion of the road in question is the 55-mph stretch between Jim Glass Corvette and the turnoff for the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, just south of Route 199. Route 32 is known as Flatbush Road in Ulster. The state Department of Transportation has authority over its speed limit. A Flatbush Road resident told the Ulster Town Board at a recent meeting that it is difficult to enter the road from her driveway. She said development of the area during the past 48 years has increased traffic flows, and the problem is compounded by poor lines of sight where vehicles drive the fastest. And she said there is a problem with excessive speed. “Two years ago, someone lost control ... exceeded the speed limit and lost it, ended up flipping over into [my neighbor’s] yard; took out her camper and her well house,” she said. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Tim O'Brien is reporting in the Times Union the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police has called for Uber, Lyft and similar applications to be approved for upstate New York in an effort to reduce drunken driving. Cheektowaga Police Chief David Zack wrote a letter Mon., Dec. 5, to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, citing statistics on impaired driving and highway fatalities. He said Uber and other ride-share businesses could help reduce those numbers. "It's a relatively simple, painless solution," Zack said in an interview with the paper. Zack said communities located upstate need ride-sharing more than New York City, where those services can legally operate. Upstate New York accounts for 51 percent of the all licensed drivers in New York state, but 65 percent of all arrests for impaired or drunken driving. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office announced Mon., Dec. 5, the state will place 24 emergency response trailers at key locations along the state’s crude oil transportation corridor, including one in Albany and four others in the Capital Region. The trailers will be equipped with absorbent materials, booms and other tools used to control and contain crude oil and petroleum spills. They will be managed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and county emergency management departments. One of these trailers will be placed in each of the 21 “Crude by Rail Mainline” counties, including Albany, Greene, Montgomery and Schenectady counties. “Strategically locating these new spill response trailers along the state’s crude oil corridor will protect our communities and strengthen New York’s spill response capabilities,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Emilia Teasdale is reporting in The Columbia Paper four members of the Chatham Zoning Board of Appeals have resigned, leaving only two members left on the seven-person board. ZBA members Jeffrey Lick, Robert Leary, Mitchell Khosrova and JP Henkel have now submitted letters of resignation to the Chatham Town Board. As a cost-savings measure, the Town Board cut the salaries for ZBA and Planning Board members in the 2017 budget. Each member of those two boards currently receives $2,655 a year. The 2017 budget reduced that compensation to $75 per meeting, for a total of $900 a year for members, based on 12 meetings per year. The 2017 budget allocates funds for only six ZBA members, instead of the current seven. The Town Board intends to eventually reduce the size of the ZBA to five members. The Planning Board will remain a seven-member board. The Town Board also changed the status of the town historian position from paid to volunteer. Town Board member Henry Swartz said the current town historian would not be returning as a volunteer because the board made the change without consulting her. “She was highly insulted,” Swartz said. The town will advertise the open positions on both the ZBA and Planning Board, and also seek candidates for a volunteer town historian. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

The Daily Freeman is reporting the state Department of Environmental Conservation is looking for public comment on proposed changes to various wildlife regulations. The changes are posted on the DEC website at DEC [dot] NY [dot] gov. The agency is recommending a prohibition on feeding wild white-tailed deer and the elimination of a special permit for hunting and trapping bobcats in specific parts of the state. The DEC is also considering defining conditions for issuing permits for pesticides to kill deer tickets downstate, and strengthening measures to protect deer from chronic wasting disease. Comments will be accepted until December 23. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

The New York Times Sun., Dec. 4, published the first part of a series of stories that look at racial bias in the state's prison and parole systems. The Times reporters examined nearly 60,000 disciplinary cases and interviewed individuals and determined that racism is fact of life in upstate prisons. The environmental is especially hostile to people of color in the maximum-security penitentiaries of Attica, Clinton and Great Meadow, all located in rural areas where the community population is almost entirely white and nearly every corrections officer is white, as well. The Times found that in state prisons blacks and Latinos were disciplined at higher rates than whites — in some cases twice as often. They were also sent to solitary confinement more frequently, and for longer periods of time. The disparities were often greatest when it came to infractions that allowed corrections officers more discretion, like disobeying a direct order. In these cases, the officer has a high degree of latitude to determine if a rule has been broken and does not need to produce physical evidence in support of their decision. At present, The Times reported, blacks make up 14 percent of the state population but almost 50 percent of the state prison population. The State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision was presented with the The Times's findings. It responded, saying that while there were racial issues in any large organization, these were not a factor, and had little impact on the system's disciplinary process. The department provided no data to contradict the paper's findings. Read the full story in The New York Times.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Mostly sunny. High near 41. Tuesday night, rain and snow will likely become all snow after 9 p.m. The snow will continue overnight. An accumulation of one inch, or more over the higher elevations, is possible. Low around 33.br>
FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: A chance of rain and snow before noon, then a slight chance of rain showers between noon and 3 p.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 41. Wednesday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 28.
THURSDAY: A slight chance of snow showers before 1 p.m., mixing with rain through the afternoon, and then turning back into snow after 4 p.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 39. Thursday night, a chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy. Low around 25.

Sunrise today: 7:10 a.m.
Sunset today: 4:23 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 9:12 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Today is the first Tuesday of the month.
WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

ATHENS Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 2 First St., Athens (945-1052).
CATSKILL Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
CLERMONT Town Board meeting (rescheduled), 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868).
DURHAM Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-8260).
HILLSDALE Zoning Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 2609 State Route 23, Hillsdale (325-1702).
HUDSON Conservation Advisory Council meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
HUNTER Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5748 Route 23A, Hunter (589-6150).
ICHABOD CRANE Central School District Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at high school, 2910 Route 9, Valatie (758-7577).
LEXINGTON Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m., at Municipal building, 3542 Route 42, Lexington, (986-6303).
LIVINGSTON Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, County Rte. 19, Livingston (851-9441).
STOCKPORT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 2787 Atlantic Ave., Stottville (828-9389).
TAGHKANIC Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 909 Route 82, Taghkanic (851-7638).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Mon., Dec. 5 (3:33). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)