Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting in the Register-Star the Columbia County airport has received a state grant of nearly $500,000 for safety improvements to one of the hangers at the facility, located in Ghent. The airport is county owned and maintained by the Department of Public Works. It is a public airport, and services Columbia County and the Upper Hudson Valley. The award was made as a part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's $10 million Aviation Capital Grant Program, which is intended to support safety, infrastructure and economic development projects in New York. Elsewhere in the Capital District, Albany International received more than $600,000 for the replacement of a drainage system, and Schenectady County Airport was given nearly $200,000 to pay for an upgrade to control tower equipment.

Katie Kocijanski is reporting in The Daily Mail as Greene County lawmakers consider a new local law to regulate the use of Styrofoam materials at food establishments, the county Legislature heard from Styrofoam industry representatives during a recent Public Safety Committee meeting. Similar laws have been adopted in Ulster and Albany counties. The committee heard from Mike Levy, a senior director of the American Chemistry Council, and Chris DeAngelis, from Gen Pak, a food packaging manufacturer based in Glens Falls. Levy told the committee the foam is 98 percent air, and that much of the material currently produced should be recycled. DeAngelis said a major advantage to using Styrofoam is its cost -- the material is cheaper than other products used to package food. He said Styrofoam was banned in Albany County because of the large amount of litter found in the streets. Levy denied there are any ill effects associated with the use of the material. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the latest round of the New Farmers Grant Fund June 8, with over $743,000 in grants to support 25 early-stage agricultural businesses across New York State, including a few locally. The MX Morningstar Farm in Columbia County got a $19,200 grant, and the Sparrowbush Farm in Columbia County got $16,932. In Dutchess County, the Alewife Farm received $15,728 and the Sawkill Farm received $33,925. In Ulster County, the Platte Creek Maple Farm got $26,289 from the program, now in its second round, that is meant to assist, "early-stage farmers in improving their farm’s profitability, and as a result, adding to the diversification and growth of New York’s agricultural sector."

The New York State Senate passed legislation June 8 sponsored by Senator George Amedore that would allow land acquired by Greene County last year for a new jail in Coxsackie to be used for additional purposes, possibly a 911 emergency call center or other law enforcement or municipal purpose. “Last year, I was happy to sponsor a bill, at the request of the Greene County Legislature, to allow the County to acquire a 50 acre parcel of land in order to build a much-needed new jail and help save taxpayer dollars,” Amedore said in a press release. “This bill will provide greater flexibility when it comes to the use of the land. It makes sense that other related facilities be allowed to be located on the same land if the County finds it appropriate.” The bill now goes to the Assembly, where it is sponsored by Assemblymember Peter Lopez, with just a few days left in the legislative session. The jail would go on land just south of the entrance to the medium-security Greene Correctional Facility in Coxsackie, replacing a very old facility in Catskill.

The Daily Freeman reports that the New York State Public Employees Federation's members voted June 7 in favor of a one-year agreement with the state, while continuing negotiations for a longer-term contract. The union says their more than 54,500 professional, scientific, and technical employees get a two percent retroactive raise in the temporary contract. The contract applies to employees at state agencies and facilities, and at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Schools for the Deaf and Blind.

Matthew Hamilton in Capitol Confidential reports that farm owner groups want Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take their side in a lawsuit over farmworker rights filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union. The suit, on behalf of a North Country dairy worker, would expand labor protections and allow farmworkers to organize. On June 7, different groups representing farm owners asked Cuomo for help. Currently, the state Labor Relations Act excludes agricultural workers, the lawsuit supporters say that is unconstitutional, "because an amendment to the state Constitution approved in 1938 extended the right to organize for all workers, regardless of industry," Hamilton writes. When the lawsuit was announced Cuomo said his administration would not go to court to defend an “unacceptable” “flaw in the state labor relations act.” Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Farmers Lawsuit Letter to Cuomo 6-06-16 by Matthew Hamilton

Katie Kocijanski is reporting in The Daily Mail country music fans will gather at Hunter Mountain this weekend when the Taste of Country Music Festival comes to town. In its fourth year, the three-day festival will feature headliners Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen and Kid Rock. and 21 other acts, including Big & Rich, Jana Kramer and the Swann Brothers. The event is produced by Townsquare Productions, a collaboration between Townsquare Media Group and Chet-5 Festivals. According to Townsquare Media, 50,000 people attended the 2015 Taste of Country event. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Today is Day 8 of the WGXC All Together Now! 2016 Summer Pledge Drive. During the next two weeks, 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: Mostly sunny. High near 65. Wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph are forecast. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 45.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: Sunny. High near 69. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 47.
SATURDAY: A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 76. Saturday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 76.

Sunrise today: 5:18 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:31 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 15:12 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

CHATHAM Village meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CLAVERACK Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 91 Church St., Mellenville (672-7911). COPAKE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountainview Road, Copake (329-1234).
GALLATIN Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 667 Route 7, Ancram (398-7519).
HUDSON Community Development and Planning Agency special meeting to open bids for the sale of real property in the 200 block of Columbia Street, for the purpose of construction of low to moderate income housing, 1:30 p.m. at 1 North Front St., Hudson (751-1044).
HUDSON Planning Board public hearing on the application to amend a previously approved site plan for 347 Warren Street, followed by the regular board meeting, 6:30 p.m. both at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board workshop meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
LIVINGSTON Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 119 County Route 19.
NEW BALTIMORE Planning board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3809 County Route 51, Hannacroix (756-6671).
STUYVESANT Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Town board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

The Communications Law blog reports about the Federal Communications Commission's plan for Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) linking transmissions on automobiles with highways. Those broadcasts on the the 5.850-5.925 GHz band are right next to the 5.725-5.85 GHz band used by Wi-Fi systems, and that industry keeps eyeing the DSRC bandwidth and saying, "Heh, since you aren't using those frequencies why don't we?" Most people have probably never heard of Dedicated Short Range Communications, as it is not in any cars now, though Cadillac plans to introduce it in the fall. The technology is for safety, with vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure transmissions, perhaps eventually helping to steer driverless cars. While there may be future uses for the frequencies, right now FCC commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel, Ajit Pai, and Michael O’Rielly have called for Wi-Fi sharing of the frequencies, and the commission is reportedly speaking with the Department of Transportation about how to manage the band. And the Commission has released a Public Notice seeking comments on two band-sharing proposals from the Wi-Fi industry. Cisco wants to allow unlicensed users to use the frequencies when DSRC is not in use. Qualcomm wants to “channelize” the band by moving “safety-related” DSRC to a segment at the top of the band (5.895-5.925 GHz), using the lower portion between non-public safety related DSRC and Wi-Fi via standard 802.11 protocols. The FCC accepts comments through July 7; enter Proceeding Number 13-49 to comment at fcc.gov.

In 2014 Zephyr Teachout was the outsider, insurgent candidate for governor, taking 33 percent of the vote against Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. In 2016, Teachout is in another Democratic primary, though this time she's the insider, with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and other mainstream Democrats backing her against Columbia County farmer/journalist Will Yandik in the 19th Congressional primary election June 28. “I am pleased to endorse Zephyr Teachout for Congress. She is a tenacious reformer who will fight to keep our water clean, fix our broken campaign finance system and make sure women earn equal pay," said Schumer's statement announcing his support on June 7. Teachout also has endorsements from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and many Ulster County-based elected officials, while Yandik recently was endorsed by Hudson Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines for Mon., Jun. 6 (5;34). (Produced by Philip Grant.)