Katie Kocijanski is reporting in The Daily Mail St. Patrick’s Church parishioners came together at the Washington Irving Senior Center on Mon., Jun. 13, in an effort to save the church from being permanently closed. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany confirmed last month the Catskill church would be permanently closed. The 131-year-old historic building is in poor structural condition, and has been shuttered for the past eight years. Parishioners intend to present a letter and petition to Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger this weekend. In the letter parishioners ask the bishop for the opportunity to speak with him about the issues and concerns surrounding the closing of the church. “We are hurt, upset and concerned that our church is closing,” said church member Debi Johnson. Among the ideas discussed by the group: The formation a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to raise funds and control disbursal of the funds in an effort to reopen the church. In addition to the bishop, copies of the letter will be sent to other church officials, including Pope Francis. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Sara Dunn and Roger Hannigan Gilson are reporting for Columbia-Greene Media approximately 300 people attended a vigil in Hudson's Washington Park, Mon., Jun. 13, to commemorate the victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. Various speakers addressed the crowd during the event, including Hudson Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton. The Christ Church Episcopal bell tolled 50 times for those lost in the massacre, and a moment of silence was observed. Most of those interviewed were deeply disturbed by the incident, as well as the growing number of mass shootings nationwide. Following the vigil the crowd carried the gay pride banner across Fourth Street to Warren Street, and then up to City Hall. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

The Greene County Solid Waste Department will collect household hazardous waste Sat., Jun. 18, at the Greene County Highway Department on Scott Lane in Athens. The event is open to Greene County residents, only, and proof of residence will be required. Household hazardous waste is a household quantity of a product that is toxic in nature and should not be disposed of as everyday trash. Materials accepted include acids and bases, automotive fluids, fire extinguishers and chlorine. Materials such as agricultural, commercial and industrial waste, as well as prescription medications and syringes will not be accepted. The event begins at 8 a.m. and participants are asked to arrive at suggested times according to the first letter of their last name. Anyone with questions is encouraged to call 943-4600 for more information.

News10 TV in Albany is reporting that New York state lawmakers have passed a bill requiring that decisions on parole appeals be published in a publicly accessible website within 60 days in a searchable database with a subject index. The index will also be printed and distributed annually to all prison libraries. The bill now goes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for a signature or veto. Read the full story at News10 Albany.

Joseph Spector is reporting at lohud.com Bill Finch, the former mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been chosen to head the state Thruway Authority. The agency's board voted Mon., Jun. 13, to select Finch to head the authority that oversees the 570-mile highway, the Tappan Zee Bridge and its replacement, which is set to open in 2018. Finch will serve as interim director until his appointment is approved by the state Senate. The Senate's confirmation could come before the legislative session ends Thursday. "I couldn’t be more excited to be here and do whatever I can to help," Finch said at the Thruway meeting. Finch takes over a Thruway Authority that faces financial uncertainty as it builds a $3.9 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge in the Hudson Valley and deals with growing costs for upkeep of the thoroughfare that stretches across New York. The authority is also leading the environmental review of the controversial Pilgrim Pipeline project. That pipeline would travel 178 miles from the port of Albany to New Jersey, running along the thruway for 90 miles. The pipeline would carry Bakkan crude oil to New Jersey, and refined material back to Albany. Read the full story at lohud.com.

The Daily Freeman is reporting Ulster County is offering assistance to those affected by the mass murder Sun., Jun. 12, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. County Executive Michael Hein said representatives of the county's Critical Incident Response Team and the Mental Health Association in Ulster County will be present at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Uptown Kingston, beginning Mon., Jun. 13. Services will remain available on demand indefinitely going forward. Hein said in a statement that Ulster County stands in solidarity with the people of Orlando,. He said local officials are "dedicated to honoring and supporting all affected by this tragedy." Hein also said flags countywide have been lowered to half-staff out of respect for the victims. At least 49 people were killed, and 53 more wounded early Sunday morning in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Hudson Pride Foundation and Out Hudson hold a vigil for victims in the shooting at 7 p.m. June 13 in Washington Park between the courthouse and the post office. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Casey Seiler is reporting at Capitol Confidential Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has revealed his list of six priorities for the end of the current legislative session in a letter to members of the Legislature. One of those items -- increasing access to breast cancer screening and treatment -- can already be crossed off the list after an agreement was struck Sun., Jun. 12, to expand breast cancer screening services. The items still pending: Combating the heroin epidemic; passing comprehensive ethics reform; combating Citizens United; improving safety at rail crossings; and updating the Alcohol Beverage Control law. Asked about closing the LLC loophole, a Cuomo spokesman said that falls under comprehensive ethics reform. Updating the state liquor law refers to the governor's wide-ranging proposal that deals with everything from legalizing alcohol service on Sunday mornings, to a variety of changes that would benefit the state's breweries, ciders and distilleries. Read the full letter to the Legislature at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Today is Day 13 of the 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: Sunny. High near 76. Tuesday night, mostly clear. Low around 51.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: Sunny. High near 81. Wednesday night, mostly clear. Low around 54.
THURSDAY: A chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 78. Thursday night, a chance of showers, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 58.

Sunrise today: 5:18 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:33 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 15:15 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

CATSKILL Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
CHATHAM Board of Education executive session, 6:30 p.m. at high school, 50 Woodbridge Ave., Chatham (392-2400).
CHATHAM Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-3262).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors .1 [point one] Committee, 3 p.m.; Health and Medical Committee, 4 p.m., at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
COXSACKIE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Reed St., Coxsackie (731-2727).
GERMANTOWN Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, Germantown (537-6687).
HILLSDALE Town Board public hearing to establish Conservation Advisory Council, 6:45 p.m.; regular meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Main St., Hillsdale (325-7563).
LEXINGTON Planning Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 3542 Rte. 42, Lexington (989-6476).
STOCKPORT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 2787 Atlantic Ave., Stottville (828-9389).
TACONIC HILLS Board of Education public hearing on 2016-17 budget, Central Office, 73 County Route 11A, Craryville (325-2800).

MIT News reports that if there are any Foley artists left, they may soon lose their jobs to automation. A Foley artist is someone who makes sounds for radio, film, or other media. The name comes from Jack Donovan Foley, who worked with Universal Studios when they released the first sound film in 1927, "The Jazz Singer." His name lasts for the job he did, which might soon be replaced by computers. Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory recently demonstrated an algorithm that predicts sound. The program can be shown a silent video clip of an object being hit, and produce a sound that can fool human listeners. "Researchers envision future versions of similar algorithms being used to automatically produce sound effects for movies and TV shows, as well as to help robots better understand objects’ properties," MIT reports. The group recorded an estimated 46,000 videos of the sounds of objects being hit, scraped, and prodded by a drumstick and analyzed their pitch, loudness, and other features. They tested the sounds by letting subjects guess whether sounds they heard were actual recorded sounds or computer-made sounds, and subjects chose the fake sounds as real twice as often. The National Science Foundation and Shell paid for the research. Read the full story in MIT News.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines for Mon., Jun. 13 (6:41). (Produced by Philip Grant.)