Greg Hudson is reporting in The Daily Mail the town of Hunter will proceed with plans to purchase two new $90,000 ambulances for the town’s emergency medical service. The new vehicles would replace two existing ambulances, which have logged more than 90,000 miles each, Hunter Ambulance Administrator Glenn Morrison said. “This is about our future as emergency responders. It may seem like a lot of money, but in this line of work, reliability and our ability to get to people in need and get them to medical care is the priority and you can’t measure that in dollars,” he said. The town board voted to approve Morrison's proposal to purchase two 2016 Mercedes Type 2 vans on an all-wheel-drive chassis. Officials also authorized Morrison to sell the vehicles currently in use. Morrison will update the board next month on any bids received for the construction of the new ambulances. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced Thu., Jul. 28, it has seized more than 1,100 pounds of undersized lobsters from Price Chopper Supermarkets over the last four months. An investigation was launched in March after environmental conservation officers found under-sized lobsters at stores in Binghamton. The law requires lobsters taken, possessed, bought, sold, imported and exported in New York measure between 3 and 3/8-inches and 5 and 1/4-inches from the eye socket to the end of the body shell. The lobsters seized by the DEC were valued at more than $7,000. Price Chopper faces fines of up to $100 for every shellfish involved. The undersized lobsters were seized and later donated to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced July 28 that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended several local attractions to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The local nominations include:

• The Haxtun-Tower House, Hopewell Junction, Dutchess County. The distinctive Greek Revival home was built ca. 1850 for successful farmer William Haxtun and expanded circa 1870 for Albert Tower, an executive in the region’s iron ore industry.

• Alton B. Parker Estate, Esopus, Ulster County. The 1860 estate known as Rosemount is nationally significant for its association with Alton B. Parker (1852-1926), chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals and Democratic Party candidate in the 1904 presidential election, which was won by Theodore Roosevelt.

• St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Helderberg Evangelical Lutheran Church), Berne, Albany County. Completed in 1835, the transitional Federal-Greek Revival style church remains the rural hamlet’s most impressive work of 19th-century architecture, as manifested in its overall scale, brick construction, and tall bell tower.

• Ancram Hamlet Historic District, Ancram, Columbia County. The district’s buildings, sites and landscapes retain much of their rural crossroads character and sense of place, reflecting the district’s development during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

• The Newton-Taber-Marvin Farm, Nassau, Rensselaer County. The architecturally and historically significant farmstead has a continuous history of farming activity and occupancy that dates back to at least 1788, when it was farmed by Abner Newton, a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, and a veteran of the American Revolution.

Julia Reischel reports in The Watershed Post about another death at Hunter's Kaaterskill Falls despite new safety improvements. Ezra Kennedy, a 17-year-old from Westfield, New Jersey, fell from the waterfall when hiking July 27, and the new Twin Clove Rope Rescue Team, a multi-department elite rope rescue squad, recovered his body from the bottom of the waterfall. In recent years there have been several hikers who have died at Kaaterskill Falls, a two-tier, 260-foot-tall waterfall that is New York State’s tallest. A spokesman for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation told The Daily Mail that Kennedy “had climbed up a staircase to the edge of the Middle Pool area of the falls so his hiking companions could take a picture from below.” Read the full story in The Watershed Post.

The Mid-Hudson News Network reports in The Daily Freeman that The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a "projected" fare increase for Metro-North Railroad riders. A four-year financial plan released July 27 expects fare and toll increases to stay at or below four percent. MTA President Thomas Prendergast said any specific increases will be announced in November. “We will see what our needs are and, if we do have needs for a fare increase, the staff will make recommendations for hearings to be held and, then, decisions to be made by the board based on that input.," he said. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Local weather forecast:

Today: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Mostly cloudy. High near 82. Friday night, partly cloudy. Low around 65.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SATURDAY: A slight chance of showers between 10 a.m. and noon, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny. High near 81. Saturday night, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy. Low around 65.
SUNDAY: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Cloudy. High near 76. Sunday night, showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 64.

Sunrise today: 5:45 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:17 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 14:30 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the fifth Friday of the month.
WGXC is unaware of any recurring meetings scheduled for today.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Thu., July 28 (4:02). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)