Katie Kocijanski is reporting in the Register-Star Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell announced to the full board Wed., Oct. 19, the county is now "free of fiscal stress," according to a recently released State Comptroller’s report. "Columbia County is enjoying its third year in a row with a modest surplus and no increase in county taxes. A number of major actions taken by the board over the last several years have kept the county finances stable," Murrell said. County Controller Ron Caponera said each year the county has made steady progress in relieving its fiscal stress. The county's annual audit showed it is in good financial shape thanks to structurally balanced budgets and better internal controls over costs. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Katie Kocijanski is reporting in the Register-Star the saga of Second Ward Alderman Tiffany Garriga’s removal from the Hudson Common Council’s Police Committee continued Tue., Oct. 18. Garriga, a Democrat, was abruptly dismissed from the committee by Common Council President Claudia DeStefano, a Republican, on September 26, in the fallout that resulted from the resignation of former Police Commissioner Gary Graziano 10 days earlier. On Tuesday night, it was disclosed that DeStefano had received a letter from Garriga's legal counsel, Albany attorney Mark Mischler. In the letter, Mischler asserted the decision to remove Garriga from the committee was "unwarranted, improper, invalid" and a violation of her "constitutionally protected rights to due process, freedom of speech, assembly and association and equal protection." Mischler said because of DeStefano's improper actions, Garriga is, in fact, still a member of the Police Committee. City Attorney Ken Dow said the letter raised different points and he had not completely analyzed the document yet. Dow said he was not sure if DeStefano’s actions infringed on Garriga’s constitutional rights but his analysis of the document would continue. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman a crowd of approximately 25 people gathered outside the Inquiring Minds bookstore in the village of Saugerties, Wed., Oct. 19, to protest an anti-Donald Trump sign in the store’s window. The 4-by-4-foot sign has the candidate’s name and the words “Make America hate again” superimposed over a swastika. The display also features books critical of Trump, surrounded by books about the rise of Hitler and the German Third Reich. Store owner Brian Donoghue said he expected the display to ignite controversy. The protest Wednesday was organized by Angie Minew, a former member of the Saugerties school board and an unsuccessful Republican candidate for an Ulster County Legislature seat last year. Minew and Donoghue engaged in a heated exchange outside the store PLAY (1:00) Donohue was notified by village Code Enforcement that the sign violates the village window sign rules and that the store has until November 1 to comply. Mayor Bill Murphy said there is some question about whether further enforcement action should be taken given that Election Day is less than three weeks away. “I spoke with the Historic Review Board this morning, and their take is as distasteful and everything as it is, it is a political sign and he could be within his rights [for] political signage,” the mayor said. Read the full story and see a video recording of the protest at the Daily Freeman website.

Matthew Hamilton in Capitol Confidential reports a runner-up in last year's state medical marijuana license competition said Oct. 18 that the state Department of Health contacted the company about trying again for a license to grow and sell the drug in New York, as the state may be expanding the program. Earlier this summer, the Department of Health recommended to increase access to new medicines to eligible patients. DOH spokeswoman Jill Montag repeated that over the next few months the agency would revisit applications submitted during the initial application process to ensure that applicants are ready for registration. "DOH has agreed to look at a second group of applicants," Montag said. "We are in the process of reaching out to them now. We are doing our due diligence and rechecking their financials to make sure they are still in a good place. We have said that this is a two-year process in terms of phasing this in with the new (registered organizations), and this process is currently underway." Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Matthew Hamilton in Capitol Confidential reports that Democrat Hillary Clinton leads Republican Donald Trump by 24 points, according to a Siena College released Oct. 19. The poll says Clinton leads by six points outside New York City and its suburbs. Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein get five and four percent support according to the poll. Paul Kirby in The Daily Freeman reports that every Hudson Valley politician he could find debunked Trump's claims of "rigged" or "fixed" elections. A spokesperson for congressional candidate John Faso agreed. “We’re confident of an honest election in our district,” Faso campaign manager Dain Pascocello said. “That said, we’ll monitor polls on Election Day as we normally do to ensure everyone follows the rules.” Faso says he supports the Republican nominee for president, but may not actually vote for Trump. The poll results also showed Democrat Charles Schumer leads Republican Wendy Long 66-27 for Schumer's U.S. Senate seat. And Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s favorable-unfavorable numbers fell slightly to 56-favorable/41 percent unfavorable, from 57-39 in September.

Robert Cairns reports in The Watershed Post that Delaware County farmer Robert Bollinger is working with a team of engineers in a refurbished garage on Main Street in Hobart to design an off-road electric truck. “You don't really need a lot of range for a truck,” he said. “A truck is kind of the best use for an electric vehicle.” They are making the frame from aluminum to reduce weight and eliminate rust. “We're trying to keep it simple because we're looking to do it by hand,” Bollinger said. Like other electric vehicles, the truck will be virtually maintenance-free. Read the full story in The Watershed Post.

North Country Public Radio reports that New York has the third most certified organic farms in the country, according to New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office. California and Wisconsin have more certified organic farms than New York's 917. Those farms sold more than $220 million in products in 2008-2015, with the state ranking second nationally in organic milk, beef, and pork production, and third in organic maple syrup. Read the full story at North Country Public Radio.

Today is Day 2 of the WGXC Dead Air 2 Resurrection 2016 Fall Pledge Drive. During the coming days, WGXC programmers, volunteers and staff must raise $20,000 to keep WGXC Hands-on Radio on the air, live and local during the coming months. Your support will make all the difference. Call 518-697-7400 or go online to wgxc.org [slash] donate. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Rain likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 61. Thursday night, a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy. Low around 58.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: Rain likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 68. Friday night, rain. Low around 45.
SATURDAY: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy. High near 50. Saturday night, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy. Low around 38.

Sunrise today: 7:15 a.m.
Sunset today: 6:04 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:48 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS


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

AUSTERLITZ Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 812 Route 203, Spencertown (392-3260).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting, 5 p.m. at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COXSACKIE-ATHENS Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. at middle school, 24 Sunset Boulevard, Coxsackie (731-1850).
GHENT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
GREENE County Industrial Development Agency Board of Directors meeting, 8 a.m. at IDA Office, 270 Mansion Street, Coxsackie (741-5500).
GREENE County Fire Advisor Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Greene County Emergency Control and Training Center, 25 Volunteer Drive, Cairo (622-3548).
HUDSON Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3211 Church St., Kinderhook (784-2233). STUYVESANT Joint Zoning Law workshop, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Dr., Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Planning Board public hearing on site plan review application for Crown Fuels, 7:10 p.m. at Town Hall, Main St., Hensonville (734-4170).

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting in The Daily Mail Cairo resident Shannon Jackson rescued her three children from the family's burning car Mon., Oct. 17. Cairo police reported Jackson was taking her three daughters, aged three, six and seven, to Cairo Elementary School, when she noticed smoke coming from the vehicle's engine. Thinking the car was overheating, Jackson continued on, but eventually pulled over on Route 41, in Cairo. When she opened the hood of the car, flames burst from the engine. Jackson immediately closed the hood, and turned off the car. She then unbuckled each child, and pulled them from the vehicle. Jackson told each girl to run to a bench a far distance away. “I went almost halfway to the bench and there was an explosion,” she said. “I couldn’t believe how fast that car went up in flames.” Cairo Police Department Officer-in-Charge Richard Busch praised the efforts of the family, calling it a “picture perfect scenario” of what to do in a fire emergency. He said, “She got them a safe distance away before the tires started popping.” Jackson received help from a nearby woman who helped get the children to safety. The explosion and fire damaged the vehicle beyond repair. Jackson said the tires melted, the seats were gone and the original color of the car is now completely unrecognizable. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Lorna Cherot Littleway is reporting in The Columbia Paper a recent customer survey found that the Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market attracts on average 500 people every week, increasing to 1,000 visitors on major holiday weekends. The market is held at Roe Jan Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. According to the survey, 60 percent of the people who visit the market are part-time residents; 40 percent are local residents of Hillsdale, Copake and the surrounding area. The results of the survey were presented to the Hillsdale Town Board by Ron Bixby, a member of the market's Steering Committee. The survey also found that customers spend $15 to $30 at the market every week, and an additional $50 at local businesses, such as the IGA and Stewarts. The market currently has 27 full and part-time vendors. The market will close this year at the end of October. Bixby said the Steering Committee hopes to revive a winter market sometime in the future. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Jay Braman Jr. writes in the Daily Freeman the state Department of Environmental Conservation is reporting a Phoenicia man has been ticketed for illegally shooting a bear on Main Street in Shandaken. The DEC and local police were notified late Tue., Oct. 11, about a firearm being discharged in a residential area. When responding to the call, the police discovered the bear's dead body. The man who shot the animal told officers he was afraid of the black bear, but an investigation found no evidence to support that claim, according to officials. A DEC spokesman said trash was strewn about the backyard, but there were no signs the bear had broken into the man's home or tried to do so. The man was ticketed for illegally shooting a bear and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of nearby houses. The DEC declined to identify the man. He is scheduled to appear in Shandaken Town Court. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Andrea Macko reports in The Greenville Pioneer that Greene County Legislator William Lawrence (R-Cairo) says that if Greene County does not build a proposed new jail in Coxsackie, "the State Corrections will most likely close our jail" in Catskill. The Catskill jail is a 108-years-old, and the new Coxsackie facility would cost an estimated $51,700,644. "This would lead to a debt estimate of about $2,700,000 per year less than the cost of boarding out prisoners, which would reduced it to about $1,750,000 per year and increase the cost per thousand of assessed value by 32 cents, or for a $100,000 home, an additional $31.75 per year," Lawrence said. The jail would be on 50 donated acres just south of the Coxsackie State Correctional Facility. A public hearing on the environmental impact of the jail proposal will be held at 6:15 p.m. Oct. 19 just before the Greene County Legislature meets, at 411 Main St. in Catskill.

The New York State Police reported at their latest underage drinking sting Oct. 13, they arrested clerks at three Greene County establishments, for selling alcohol to minors. Employees at Captain Kidd’s Inn, West Main Street, Catskill; Beer Universe, State Route 9W, Coxsackie; and Tops, State Route 32, Greenville sold alcohol to a minor as police monitored the sale. Clerks and bartenders at the following locations did not sell alcohol to the minor in the sting, Oct. 13: South Cairo Store, CR-23B, Cairo; Stewart's, SR-23, Cairo; Blackthorne Resort, Sunside Road, Durham; Durham Valley Liquor Store, SR-145, Durham; Milk Run, SR-145, Durham; Cumberland Farms, SR-81, Greenville; Country Square Wines and Liquors, SR-32, Greenville; Rite Aid, SR-32, Greenville; Stewart’s, SR-81, Greenville; Tops, SR-9W, Coxsackie; Bottle and Cork Discount Wine and Liquor, SR-9W, Coxsackie; Stewart’s, SR-9W, Coxsackie; Xtramart, SR-9W, New Baltimore; 21B Sports Bar, SR-9W, New Baltimore; Cumberland Farms, Mansion Street, Coxsackie; Cask and Rasher, Mansion Street, Coxsackie; Sunoco, Mansion Street, Coxsackie; Stewart’s, SR-385, Athens; Valero, SR-23, Catskill; Sunoco, SR-23, Catskill; Catskill Grocers, Main Street, Catskill.

Three weeks until the election, here are some comparisons between Republican John Faso and Democrat Zephyr Teachout, both competing to replace Chris Gibson in the 19th Congressional District.

First Issue Listed on Website: For Faso it is Equal Pay. "I believe in equal pay for equal work," his first sentence says. For Teachout it is Jobs and The Economy. "Zephyr Teachout believes that the beating heart of the Hudson Valley and Catskills has always been independent businesses and small to mid-scale farms," says the first sentence in her issues.

Endorsements: Faso has been endorsed by the incumbent, Chris Gibson; Teachout has appeared in an advertisement with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and at a rally with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Endorsing Party's Presidential Nominee: Faso on Trump, "said he still supports Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president but can’t promise that will translate to a vote" for Trump. Teachout supports Clinton.

Only poll: Faso led Teachout 43-42 in a Time Warner Cable News/Siena College poll released at the end of September, with 15 percent undecided.

Real Clear Politics: Says the election, "Leans GOP."

Audrey Matott reports in The Greenville Pioneer that Greenville Town Councilperson Richard Baer reported at a recent town meeting that several residents along Route 81 have had their private wells tested, and found sodium in their water. The story says, "There is currently no maximum allowable contaminant level for sodium in New York State." Greenville just started s 2,250-foot sewer extension along Route 81 and County Route 26A, and at the town meeting, Matott reports, speculation about the source of the sodium included the road salt stored at the town highway garage on Route 26, or that the state DOT caused it "maintaining Route 81 in the winter." While no solution or proposal was suggested in the story about the sodium problem, Tow Supervisor Paul Macko outlined plans to expand the sewer project to include water lines and add many costs. a permissive referendum and a public hearing would be required for Macko's spending plan to happen.

Today is Day 1 of the WGXC Dead Air 2 Resurrection 2016 Fall Pledge Drive. During the coming days, WGXC programmers, volunteers and staff must raise $20,000 to keep WGXC Hands-on Radio on the air, live and local during the coming months. Your support will make all the difference. Call 518-697-7400 or go online to wgxc.org [slash] donate. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast:

Today: A slight chance of showers early in the day. Mostly sunny. High near 74. Wednesday night, mostly clear. Low around 49.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
THURSDAY: Showers likely, mainly after 4 p.m. Increasing clouds. High near 62. Thursday night, rain likely. Cloudy. Low around 55.
FRIDAY: Rain likely. Mostly cloudy. High near 68. Friday night, rain likely. Mostly cloudy. Low around 45.

Sunrise today: 7:14 a.m.
Sunset today: 6:06 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:51 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS


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

CATSKILL Board of Education meeting, 6 p.m. at high school, 341 Main St., Catskill (943-4696).
CATSKILL Town Board Public Hearing on local law to override the tax levy limit, 6:15 p.m.; Town Board Committee/budget workshop meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors Human Services Committee meeting, 5 p.m. at 401 State Street, First Floor, Hudson (828-1527).
GREENE COUNTY Department of Social Services Committee meeting, 5 pm.; public hearing on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the new county jail, 6:15 p.m.; regular full meeting of the Greene County Legislature, 6:30 p.m., at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
GREENE COUNTY Planning Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. in Room 427, County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
HUDSON Zoning Board of Appeals meeting (tentative), 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
NEW LEBANON Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at junior-senior high school, 14665 NY-22, New Lebanon (794-7600).
STUYVESANT Zoning Revision Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Dr., Stuyvesant (758-6248).
TACONIC HILLS Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. at high school, 73 County Route 11A, Craryville (325-0390).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Tuesday, Oct. 18 (5:03). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)