Katie Kocijanski is reporting in The Daily Mail the Greene County Legislature will select a construction manager for the proposed new county jail next month. Four potential candidates will be interviewed by the Jail Construction Committee beginning July 7. BBL Construction Services of Albany, Turner Construction Company of New York City, Gilbane Building Company of Providence, Rhode Island, and the Pike Company of Clifton Park in Saratoga County have all formally indicated interest in the project. Greene County Jail Superintendent Mike Spitz said, “I called all of the county jail administrators and no one said anything negative about any of the companies.” Everyone on the list has municipal building experience and some have more experience building jails than others, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. Legislators will hold a special session July 14 to discuss the interview results and decide the next steps in the project. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Greg Hudson is reporting in The Daily Mail Hunter town officials and law enforcement continue to look for a solution to the parking problem on Platte Clove Road. “It’s getting rather hairy out there,” town board member David Kukle said at the Hunter Town Board meeting Wed., Jun. 22. Kukle said the road is narrow and has no viable shoulder area and cannot safely accommodate parked cars while providing safe passage for emergency vehicles. Hunter Police Sgt. Robert Haines told the board the section of Plate Clove Road near the parking area that is owned and managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation needs to be posted as no parking on both sides of the road. Haines said the parking issue is especially bad on weekends, even when there are no organized events taking place in town. Law enforcement and town board members are planning a visit to the site sometime before the next board meeting on July 19. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Chris Bragg is reporting at Capitol Confidential Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wed., Jun. 22, that he does not believe holding a special session later this year to close the so-called LLC loophole or to restrict lawmakers’ outside income would be productive. Cuomo said it would be futile to call them back and believes the only way to implement the changes is with a Constitutional Convention. “There’s no point to calling them back, because the measures they didn’t do, they don’t want to do,” Cuomo said. The Times Union reported this week not much progress has been made in building momentum for a Constitutional Convention so far. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Click here to play or download an audio version of this report.

Andrea Sears reports that States that reduce their prison populations are seeing their crime rates go down too, according to the the Brennan Center for Justice.

In the 1990s, getting tough on crime led to a rapid rise in the number of people incarcerated. Now, with more than 2 million people behind bars, the United States has the largest prison population in the world.

But according to James Cullen, a researcher with the Brennan Center, a new state-by-state analysis of data from 2006 to 2014 shows reversing that trend doesn't increase crime.

"Not only is it possible for states to lower incarceration and crime, but actually most states are already doing it," he states. "And that's important because it really shows us a pathway forward to solving mass incarceration."

Twenty-seven states have reduced both incarceration and crime rates, including New York, where the prison population declined by 18 percent and crime fell by 17 percent.

California reduced its incarceration rate by 27 percent with an almost equal drop in crime. And as Cullen points out, similar results have been achieved in states such as Texas and South Carolina.

"So you're not just seeing a few states you often think of as at the forefront of reforms, but you're seeing states that you wouldn't think about not only reforming but reforming and staying safe too," he points out.

Two out of three states that increased their prison populations in the same time period saw crime rates increase as well.

The 1994 federal crime bill gave funding to states to increase incarceration, and the prison population exploded. Cullen says the Brennan Center is proposing legislation it calls the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act.

"The idea is the federal government portioning off $20 billion over 10 years, giving funding to states that are able to lower incarceration and crime," he explains. "And we know from history that states are going to respond to those incentives."

Cullen notes that the Brennan Center analysis shows reducing crime and the prison population is not only possible, it's already happening.

David Lee reports in The Columbia Paper that on June 12 New Lebanon debuted a new playground at the Shatford Park pavilion on state Route 22 in Lebanon Springs. Linda Hursa, a local entrepreneur and community activist, found out last year that Stephentown Elementary School was being sold and was giving away the playground equipment for free to anybody who could remove it from its concrete foundations. Town officials and volunteers went to work to remove, and re-install the equipment in the Columbia County town. “I know New Lebanon,” said New Lebanon Town Supervisor Colleen Teal at the playground dedication. “We may not have a lot of money but we have dedicated residents.” Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Click here to play or download an audio version of this report.

Andrea Sears reports that New York's bald eagle population is on the rebound.

Monday was National American Eagle Day, and for the second year in a row, three bald eagle fledglings have taken flight at the Nature Conservancy's Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island. Mike Scheibel, manager of the preserve, said that is real cause for celebration.

"We are witnessing one of the most remarkable conservation success stories of our time," he said, "due in large part to the removal of DDT from widespread agricultural use."

DDT, a potent insecticide that interferes with birds' ability to reproduce, was banned in 1972. Fifty years ago, bald eagles had all but disappeared from New York. According to Scheibel, back then the eggs laid by a nesting pair near Hemlock Lake in upstate New York were no longer hatching.

"By 1965 it was the last known bald eagle nest in New York state," he said, "so we were essentially down to nothing; one pair of eagles that was experiencing continued nesting failure."

In 1976, the Department of Environmental Conservation began bringing young birds in from other states to rebuild the population, and there are now an estimated 350 nesting pairs in the state.

Scheibel likes to point out that groundbreaking work that made the connection between DDT and declining bird populations was done on Long Island.

"I think the lesson is that it's good to think globally, as they say," he said, "but it's a reminder to us all that conservation can and does start locally."

More information is online at nature.org.

Today is Day 6 of the extended WGXC All Together Now! 2016 Summer Pledge Drive. WGXC programmers, volunteers and staff are in the process of raising $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: Partly sunny. High near 78. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 55.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: Sunny. High near 81. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 56.
SATURDAY: Sunny. High near 86. Saturday night, mostly clear. Low around 60.

Sunrise today: 5:20 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:35 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 15:15 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

ANCRAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall, 1416 County Route 7, Ancram (329-6512).
CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CHATHAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-1651).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Finance Committee meeting, 2 p.m.; Pine Haven Sub-committee meeting, 3 p.m.; at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COLUMBIA Economic Development Corporation Governance and Nominating Committee meeting, 8:30 a.m. at 4303 Route 9, Hudson (828-4718).
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
HUDSON Community Development and Planning Agency meeting, 1:30 p.m. (tentative) at 1 North Front St., Hudson (751-1044).
HUNTER Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 7955 Main St., Hunter (589-6150).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines for Wed., Jun. 22 (6:54). (Produced by Philip Grant.)